Fact Sheets

New Jersey’s housing affordability crisis demands immediate action from state legislators. More than 400 municipalities are now moving forward to create affordable homes under the state’s landmark 2024 affordable housing law (A4/S50). Reforming outdated zoning laws, strengthening tenant protections and housing access, and providing strong housing funding — especially restoring the Affordable Housing Trust Fund — are essential to build on that progress and to prevent a surge in evictions driven by unprecedented federal budget cuts.

Fair Share Housing Center is a nonprofit advocacy organization that uses legal,
policy, and community-building strategies to dismantle decades of racial and
economic discrimination in New Jersey and beyond.

As zoning reform has risen to the top of the national agenda in response to the housing affordability crisis, our five decades of experience provide important lessons on policy design, building strong coalitions, and enforcing laws to create homes.

This factsheet contains an overview of the Mount Laurel Doctrine’s function, enforcement, and timeline in New Jersey. 

In 2024, New Jersey enacted landmark legislation to strengthen the Mount Laurel Doctrine and increase affordable housing production over the next decade.