As summer starts to wind down, many New Jersey residents are concerned about homelessness in the winter months ahead, and how the COVID-19 eviction moratorium will protect them.
Thus, the State has introduced critical protections to renter households who experienced economic hardships during the pandemic by introducing an income self-certification tool on their website.
According to the State’s website, “All renter households with incomes below 120% of the area median income are protected from eviction or removal at any time for nonpayment of rent, habitual late payment of rent, or failure to accept a rent increase that accrued from March 1, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2021.”
Some renters may even be protected from eviction or removal through Dec. 31, 2021, and depending on their household’s income level and specific circumstances, they could receive other assistance and services.
To take advantage of the income self-certification tool and to complete the required form online, households should:
- Read here for more details and frequently asked questions regarding renter protections and the self-certification form.
- Learn more about the State’s rental assistance program and apply for help.
The self-certification tool will help renters understand which protections they are eligible for, and allow them to submit a self-certification of income to the courts, and send a copy of that form to their landlords, or keep it for their records.
How to use this online income self-certification form
- Answer the questions in the online form.
2 .After answering all the questions, review the form on the screen and, if correct, type your name to officially certify that the contents are true. You are certifying that your answers are true under penalty of perjury.
3. After typing your name, click “Complete.”
4. A copy of the form for your records will be sent to your email address you provided in the form. It is very important that you retain your copy of the form. In addition to what you will receive by email, the online tool will allow you to download and print your form.
5. Send (by email, hard copy, or U.S. mail) a copy of your form to your landlord. It is very important that your landlord has been notified of your self-certification and possible protection under the new law.
6. The online tool also allows you to send the form directly to the court if you have a docket number for an eviction case for non-payment of rent (or failure to pay rent increase or for habitual late payment) that has been filed against you. If there is a pending eviction action against you for unpaid rent from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021, include the docket number on your form so that the form is also sent to the courts after you complete it. The court will notify you separately when your form is processed by them, and your pending eviction case dismissed.
7. If there is not a pending eviction action against you for non-payment of rent and you are otherwise eligible for protection, your form will be retained in a database linked to the courts. Should an eviction action be filed against you for rent accrued between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021, after your form has been completed, it will be sent to the court for you at that time. However, you should bring a copy of your form with you at any legal proceedings you are summoned to attend.