Get Help as a Renter or Tenant

Are you a student renting an apartment or house? There may be rental, utility, and legal aid options available to you. Make sure to know your rights as a renter.

Tenant Rights and Protections
If you are dealing with issues related to the landlord-tenant relationship, you may need an attorney. Legal Services of New Jersey (LSNJ) provides free legal assistance to low-income New Jerseyans for their civil legal problems.

• Contact their statewide Legal Hotline at 1-888-LSNJ-LAW (1-888-576-5529) or click here to submit an online intake form.
• LSNJ legal manual for tenants available here.

The Truth in Renting Guide highlights important information on lease agreements, payment, and collection of rent, habitability, evictions, senior citizens and protected tenants, foreclosures, security deposits, and other topics pertaining to residential tenancies in New Jersey. Landlords are required to distribute this guidebook, which is available in both English and Spanish, to their tenants.

More informational materials and publications are available online to assist both residential landlords and tenants to understand their rights and responsibilities.

Rental or Utility Assistance:
To get a quick understanding of which programs you might qualify for, fill in this screener (takes about 3 minutes) from DCAid, a program of the Department of Community Affairs. This page provides a quick screening questionnaire for an array of housing-related benefits, including rental assistance (e.g., Section 8, rental assistance, Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS, Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing), homeless and eviction prevention, home energy assistance (e.g., LIHEAP, Universal Service Fund), and weatherization assistance.

Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program assists in making safe and quality housing in the private rental market affordable to low, and very low-income households by reducing housing costs through direct rent subsidy payments to landlords. The program is based on the premise that housing costs (rent and utilities) should not exceed 30 percent of a household's income. For more information and to see the list of county authorities, visit here.

State of New Jersey Rental Assistance Program (SRAP) is a state funded program that provides housing subsidies on behalf of very low-income New Jersey residents, for decent, safe, and sanitary housing. Persons applying must meet all applicable SRAP income and eligibility requirements.