• Households with a total income of 120% or less of Area Median Income (AMI) .
• Households that currently live in or were residing at the time of Hurricane Ida in the following counties: Bergen, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Union, and Warren.
• Households that are still displaced from Hurricane Ida and are currently unhoused, at risk of becoming unhoused; or are residing in housing that is not safe, stable, sanitary, or affordable.
• Households not receiving another form of rent subsidy.
• Households with at least one adult member who is a legal resident of the United States.
• First priority will be given to households at or below 30% of AMI.
• Second priority will be given to households between 30% and 80% of AMI.

• Rental payments paid directly to the tenant’s landlord to pay a portion of the rent. The rental payment will not exceed 30% of the tenant’s adjusted gross monthly income.
• Rental payments on housing units that do not exceed 130% of Fair Market Rent (FMR) as defined by HUD for the county where the unit is located.
• Utility allowance for housing units that do not include utilities in the rent.
• Rental application fees (limited to households at or below 80% AMI).
• Security deposits of up to 1.5 months of rent.

Assistance must be used for rental housing units located in the 12 counties that received the most impact from Hurricane Ida: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Somerset, Passaic, Union, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris, and Warren.

The pre-application period has ended. The pre-application period was February 27, 2023, to June 1, 2023.

TBRA program staff will review pre-applications submitted during the pre-application period and refer households that meet eligibility criteria to complete a full application. Households will be notified by June 15, 2023, of their eligibility status to complete the full application.

The TBRA program will refer all participating tenants to a DCA-designated housing counseling agency.

The housing counseling agencies will contact participating tenants at least once every six months and also 60 days prior to the tenant’s lease end date to plan for possible transition to other housing or to find alternate rental assistance after TBRA assistance ends.

As part of their contract with DCA, housing counseling agencies are responsible for helping participating tenants locate permanent affordable housing units prior to the termination of their TBRA assistance.

Legal services are also available to program participants who need assistance to overcome barriers to secure permanent housing.