New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 5 - COMMUNITY AFFAIRS › Chapter 43 - NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION BALANCED HOUSING PROGRAM › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 5:43-1.5 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms as used in this chapter, shall have
				  the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
"Administrative agent" means the entity responsible for enforcing
				  the affordability controls or restricted units created pursuant to
				  52:27D-301 et seq.
"Affordable" means that the sales price conforms to the standards
				  set forth in 5:80-26.6 and, that the rental price
				  conforms to the standards set forth in
				  5:80-26.12. Where Federal funding is
				  used in conjunction with Balanced Housing, the Federal program definition of
				  "affordable" shall apply.
"Age-restricted unit" means a housing unit designed to meet the
				  needs of, and exclusively for, the residents of an age-restricted segment of the
				  population where the head of the household is a minimum age of either 62 years, or
				  55 years and meets the provisions of
				  42 U.S.C. §§
										3601 et seq., except that due to death, a
				  remaining spouse of less than 55 years of age shall be permitted to continue to
				  reside.
"Alteration" means the rearrangement of any space by the
				  construction of walls or partitions, the addition or elimination of any door or
				  window, the extension or rearrangement of any system, the installation of any
				  additional equipment or fixtures and any work which affects a primary structural
				  component.
"Balanced Housing Units" means those units within a project
				  receiving Balanced Housing funds.
"Cash flow" means the remainder of project revenue minus
				  expenses.
"Certified household" means a household that has been certified by
				  an administrative agent as a low-income household or moderate-income
				  household.
"Community housing development organization (CHDO)" means a
				  private, non-profit organization that serves a specific neighborhood or geographic
				  area, has as a primary purpose the creation of affordable housing, and is in
				  compliance with the requirements set forth in the Federal HOME Program regulations
				  at 24 CFR
				  §
										92.2.
"Department" means the Department of Community Affairs.
"Design considerations" mean projects that have been designed to
				  harmonize architecturally with the surrounding buildings and neighborhood. (See
				  chapter Appendix I, incorporated herein by reference, for further details.)
"Division" means the Division of Housing in the Department of
				  Community Affairs.
"Eligible neighborhood" means a neighborhood that is viable, as
				  defined by 52:27D-143 et seq. ( P.L. 1975, c.248),
				  the Maintenance of Viable Neighborhoods Act, a target area or a currently non-viable
				  neighborhood provided that there is in place a strategy that is realistic and
				  financially feasible which will ensure that the neighborhood will be viable within a
				  reasonable time of project completion. Included in any such strategy shall be a plan
				  for ameliorating crime, blight, high vacancy rates and any other factors that might
				  have a negative impact on the long term viability of the neighborhood and a proposed
				  project.
"Expenses" means the sum of all cash expenditures incurred in the
				  operation of a project including:
1. Debt
				service on superior mortgages;
2.
				Expenses unpaid but properly accrued; and
3. Payments to the projects reserve accounts.
"Green building strategies" means those strategies that minimize
				  the impact of development on the environment, and enhance the health, safety and
				  well-being of the residents by producing durable, low-maintenance, energy efficient
				  housing and making optimum use of existing infrastructure. (See Chapter Appendix M,
				  incorporated herein by reference, for further details.)
"Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME)" means the Federal
				  funds allocated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which
				  are administered by the Department to support the production of affordable housing.
				  Program activity funded by HOME must be consistent with the HUD approved
				  Consolidated Plan for the State of New Jersey.
"Low income census tract" means the median household income is 60
				  percent or less of the median income for the housing region in which the census
				  tract is located, as determined for a three-person household by the Council on
				  Affordable Housing, in accordance with the latest Federal decennial census.
"Low-income household" means a household whose gross annual income
				  is equal to 50 percent or less of the median income for the housing region as set
				  forth by the Council on Affordable Housing, N.J.A.C. 5:94 Appendix A.
"Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)" means the credit,
				  established by Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
				  26 U.S.C. §
											42, that may be applied against the Federal income
				  tax of persons or associations who or which have invested in certain buildings
				  providing housing for families of low-income. As the housing credit agency for the
				  State of New Jersey, the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA)
				  allocates these credits to qualified taxpayers and thereafter monitors their
				  compliance with Section 42 of the Code. The rules used by NJHMFA to perform its
				  allocation and monitoring responsibilities are set forth in the Qualified Allocation
				  Plan (QAP). Each year, the Qualified Allocation Plan is published at N.J.A.C.
				  5:80-33. Two types of tax credits are described in the QAP. Credits issued in
				  connection with buildings financed with the proceeds from tax exempt bonds subject
				  to the volume cap restrictions provided in Section 42(h)(4) of the IRS code are not
				  allocated on a competitive basis and are referred to as "volume cap tax credits."
				  Those credits which are issued in accordance with the State housing credit ceiling,
				  are awarded through competitive cycles described in the QAP, and referred to in the
				  chapter as the "competitive tax credits."
"Market rate units" means housing that may sell at any price
				  determined by a willing seller and a willing buyer.
"Mixed income/use development" means a development which contains
				  both affordable and either market housing units and/or commercial development and,
				  wherein, the permits and approvals for the non-affordable portion of the development
				  are bound by the requirement that the affordable portion also be built.
"Moderate-income household" means a household whose gross annual
				  income is in excess of 50 percent but less than 80 percent of the median income for
				  the housing region, as set forth by the Council on Affordable Housing, N.J.A.C. 5:94
				  Appendix A.
"Moderate rehabilitation" means the repair, renovation and/or
				  alteration of a unit.
"Neighborhood" means an area which is recognized as a distinct
				  entity by virtue of certain factors, such as: definite boundaries, natural or
				  man-made; history; architecture; facilities which attract people within a certain
				  radius; or a shared sense of identity or social cohesion. This definition is equally
				  applicable to neighborhoods in urban, suburban, and rural communities.
"New unit" means any unit that has been constructed, reconstructed
				  or created through the conversion of a non-residential building within the three
				  years preceding submission of an application, meets all applicable code requirements
				  and has not been occupied since the time of its construction or
				  reconstruction.
"Pilot program" means a trial program of limited duration
				  established by the Commissioner which will further the purpose of the Fair Housing
				  Act and which may require waiver of specific provisions of these rules.
"Preservation" means a subsidy granted to an existing affordable
				  housing project with expiring controls, in order to extend the period of
				  affordability.
"Range of affordability" means the household income, expressed as
				  a percentage of the median income, at which a given unit is affordable.
"Reconstruction" means any project where the extent and nature of
				  the work is such that the work area cannot be occupied while the work is in progress
				  and where a new certificate of occupancy is required before the work area can be
				  reoccupied. Reconstruction may include repair, renovation, alteration or any
				  combination thereof. Reconstruction shall not include projects comprised only of
				  floor finish replacement, painting or wallpapering, or the replacement of equipment
				  or furnishings. Asbestos hazard abatement and lead hazard abatement projects shall
				  not be classified as reconstruction solely because occupancy of the work area is not
				  permitted.
"Rehabilitation" means the repair, renovation, alteration or
				  reconstruction of any building or structure as defined herein and as defined in
				  5:23-6.3.
"Renovation" means the removal and replacement or covering of
				  existing interior or exterior finish, trim, doors, windows or other materials with
				  new materials that serve the same purpose and do not change the configuration of
				  space. Renovation shall include the replacement of equipment or fixtures.
"Rent" means the gross monthly cost of a rental unit to the
				  tenant, including the rent paid to the landlord, as well as an allowance for
				  tenant-paid utilities computed in accordance with allowances published by the
				  Department for its Section 8 Program. With respect to units in an assisted-living
				  residence, rent does not include charges for food and services.
"Repair" means the restoration to a good or sound condition of
				  materials, systems and/or components that are worn, deteriorated or broken using
				  materials or components identical to or closely similar to the existing.
"Revenue" means the sum of all cash received from project
				  operations, including, but not limited to:
1. Tenant paid rents;
2. Commercial income and/or lease
				payments;
3. The net proceeds of any
				insurance payments which are not reinvested in the property; and
4. Any other funds, including reserve accounts
				which are deemed available for distribution by the owner.
"Single room occupancy unit (SRO)" means a unit within a structure
				  in which households maintain private rooms yet share kitchen and plumbing
				  facilities, central heat and common areas.
"Standard" means a building which has been repaired in whole or in
				  part with Balanced Housing funds and certified by the local construction official or
				  other public official having jurisdiction to be free of code violation in accordance
				  with the standards adopted under the Uniform Construction Code, N.J.A.C. 5:23, and
				  the Section 8 Existing Housing Quality Standards.
"Substandard" means a building which has been certified as
				  substandard by a municipality. The certification must state that health and safety
				  code violations exist and that, in order to abate those code violations, one or more
				  of the following major systems must be replaced or extensively repaired: roof,
				  electrical, plumbing, sanitary plumbing, heating or load bearing structural
				  systems.
"System" means the primary structural, mechanical, plumbing,
				  electrical, fire protection, or occupant service components of a building including
				  any equipment, fixtures, connections, conduits, wires, pipes, ducts, as well as any
				  associated sensors, controls, distribution or safety elements.
"Uniform Housing Affordability Controls" or "UHAC," found at
				  N.J.A.C. 5:80-26, regulates the means, methods, and duration to preserve the
				  affordability of law and moderate income units created under the New Jersey Fair
				  Housing Act (52:27D-301 et seq.).
"Urban Aid Municipality" means any municipality eligible for
				  Balanced Housing funding in accordance with
				  5:43-1.2(b)6.