Township of Bernards, NJ Lower Income Housing Requirements

Conducting an outreach process to insure affirmative marketing of affordable housing units in accordance with the Affirmative Marketing Plan of the Township of Bernards and the provisions of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.15; and

Providing counseling or contracting to provide counseling services to low- and moderate-income applicants on subjects such as budgeting, credit issues, mortgage qualification, rental lease requirements, and landlord/tenant law.

(b)

Household certification.

Soliciting, scheduling, conducting and following up on interviews with interested households;

Conducting interviews and obtaining sufficient documentation of gross income and assets upon which to base a determination of income eligibility for a low- or moderate-income unit;

Providing written notification to each applicant as to the determination of eligibility or noneligibility;

(4)

Requiring that all certified applicants for restricted units execute a certificate substantially in the form, as applicable, of either the ownership or rental certificates set forth in Appendices J and K of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.1 et seq.;

(5)

Creating and maintaining a referral list of eligible applicant households living in the housing region and eligible applicant households with members working in the housing region where the units are located; and

(6)

Employing the random selection process as provided in the Affirmative Marketing Plan of the Township of Bernards when referring households for certification to affordable units.

(c)

Affordability controls.

Furnishing to attorneys or closing agents forms of deed restrictions and mortgages for recording at the time of conveyance of title of each restricted unit;

Creating and maintaining a file on each restricted unit for its control period, including the recorded deed with restrictions, recorded mortgage and note, as appropriate;

Ensuring that the removal of the deed restrictions and cancellation of the mortgage note are effectuated and properly filed with the appropriate county's register of deeds or county clerk's office after the termination of the affordability controls for each restricted unit;

(4)

Communicating with lenders regarding foreclosures; and

(5)

Ensuring the issuance of continuing certificates of occupancy or certifications pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.10.

(d)

Resale and rental.

Instituting and maintaining an effective means of communicating information between owners and the administrative agent regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or rental; and

Instituting and maintaining an effective means of communicating information to low- and moderate-income households regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or rerental.

(e)

Processing request from unit owners.

Reviewing and approving requests from owners of restricted units who wish to take out home equity loans or refinance during the term of their ownership;

Reviewing and approving requests to increase sales prices from owners of restricted units who wish to make capital improvements to the units that would affect the selling price, such authorizations to be limited to those improvements resulting in additional bedrooms or bathrooms and the cost of central air conditioning systems; and

Processing requests and making determinations on requests by owners of restricted units for hardship waivers.

(f)

Enforcement.

Securing annually lists of all affordable housing units for which tax bills are mailed to absentee owners and notifying all such owners that they must either move back to their unit or sell it;

Securing from all developers and sponsors of restricted units, at the earliest point of contact in the processing of the project or development, written acknowledgement of the requirement that no restricted unit can be offered, or in any other way committed, to any person, other than a household duly certified to the unit by the administrative agent;