Following the New Jersey Eviction Moratorium

Income levels are defined as the following, and they are a percentage of the median (average) income based on the household size in the area in which they reside* (also known as the Area Median Income, or AMI):

• Very low income: at or below 30% AMI
• Low income: at or below 50% AMI
• Moderate income: above 50% AMI, below 80%
• Middle income: at or above 80% AMI and below 120% AMI

*Renters will be able to determine their household income level by completing the state’s online self-certification form.

Read the full CDC Eviction Order here.

“Covered person” means any tenant, lessee, or resident of a residential property who provides to their landlord, the owner of the residential property, or other person with a legal right to pursue eviction or a possessory action, a declaration under penalty of perjury indication that:

• The individual has used best efforts to obtain all available governmental assistance for rent or housing;
• The individual either (i) earned no more than $99,000 (or $198,000 if filing jointly) in Calendar Year 2020 or expects to earn no more than $99,000 in annual income for Calendar Year 2021 (or no more than $198,000 if filling a joint tax return), (ii) was not required to report any income in 2020 to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or (iii) received an Economic Impact Payment (stimulus check).
• The individual is unable to pay the full rent or make a full housing payment due to substantial loss of household income, loss of compensable hours of work or wages, a lay-off or extraordinary out-of-pocket medical expenses;
• The individual is using best efforts to make timely partial rent payments that are as close to the full rent payment as the individual’s circumstances may permit, taking into account other nondiscretionary expenses;
• Eviction would likely render the individual homeless–or force the indivdual to move into and reside in close quarters in a new congregate or shared living setting–because the individual has no other available housing options; and
• The individual resides in a U.S. county experiencing substantial or high rates of community transmission levels of SARS-CoV-2 as defined by CDC.

“Substantial” and “high level”  transmission levels are experiencing (1) 50.99-99.99 new cases in the county in the past 7 days divided by the population in the county multiplied by 100,000; and (2) 8.00-9.99% positive nucleic acid amplification tests in the past 7 days (number of positive tests in the county during the past 7 days divided by the total number of tests performed in the county during the past 7 days).

Check your county’s level of community transmission here.