55:14K-65. Findings, declarations relative to Rental Housing Incentive Guarantee Program

2. The Legislature hereby finds and declares:

a. The present depressed condition of the housing industry in this State is both an obstacle to economic recovery and a source of distress to those among our population for whom housing at affordable cost has become inadequate, insufficient or unavailable.

b. By enactment of P.L.1992, c.114 (C.55:14K-45 et seq.) this Legislature recognized the severity of this problem and endeavored to provide a stimulus to the housing industry through a program of loans and loan guarantees for housing development, to be administered by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA).

c. The aforesaid enactment, however, is limited to the encouragement of housing that is to be developed for sale to individual home owners; whereas for the foreseeable future the most pressing need for housing will be among those lower-income groups for whom home ownership remains out of reach, and to whom it is essential that affordable rental housing of a decent standard of habitability be made available.

d. The Assembly Task Force on HMFA Operations, which issued its general recommendations on January 27, 1993, recommended that additional resources be allocated towards significantly increasing rental housing production.

e. The Assembly Housing Committee, in both the 1992-1993 and 1994-1995 legislative sessions, has provided forums on numerous occasions to the banking industry, HMFA, and builders of rental housing, which enabled these parties to formulate a plan to remove the barriers to the construction of affordable rental housing.

f. It is, therefore, the intention of this act to make available, under administration of the HMFA, loan guarantees to developers of rental housing upon terms that include assurances of long-term affordability to low and moderate income renters of a significant proportion of the dwelling units thus developed.

g. It is the further intention of this act to suggest that a portion of the funding provided to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) under the "Economic Recovery Act" P.L.1992, c.16 (C.34:1B-7.10 et al.), be directed to the development of affordable rental housing.

L.1995,c.359,s.2.