Picture this: the nurse who bandages your child’s scraped knee, the firefighter who answers your call in the night, the home health aide who tends to your aging parent — all commuting long distances because they can’t afford to live where they work.
New Jersey’s affordable housing crisis has intensified, with homelessness rising 24% since 2023, totaling over 12,600 individuals, including a significant increase in families with children.
It’s been 50 years since the Supreme Court’s landmark Mount Laurel decision, effectively ending discriminatory zoning and expanding affordable housing opportunities throughout New Jersey.
As the U.S. faces an unprecedented housing affordability crisis, many New Jersey residents who want to contribute to their communities — seniors, working families and young professionals — are being priced out.
A century before the New Jersey Supreme Court declared Mount Laurel’s zoning laws unconstitutional, Black families had planted roots in the South Jersey township’s sandy soils.
New Jersey faces a severe affordable housing shortage, but its Mount Laurel Doctrine mandates municipalities provide their fair share of affordable homes.
As one of the most expensive real estate markets in the U.S., New Jersey faces a severe shortage of affordable homes — over 200,000 units short, with 14 prospective renters vying for each vacancy. The human impacts of this crisis are profound, especially for Latino families, who experience housing instability at disproportionate rates due to the lingering effects of historical discrimination and residential segregation.
A Superior Court judge declined to pause the implementation of an overhaul of New Jersey’s affordable housing system passed last spring, roundly rejecting a challenge from towns that argued they would face harm if a law they claim is unconstitutional was allowed to take effect.
Evesham Township’s officials write that affordable housing
should be viewed as a way to enhance the local economy,
promote inclusivity, and strengthen community bonds.
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Fair Share Housing Center is a nonprofit advocacy organization that uses legal, policy, and community-building strategies to fight for housing justice in New Jersey and beyond.
