Sandy Recovery Programs

Sandy Recovery Housing Counseling Program

The Sandy Recovery Housing Counseling Program provides free HUD-certified housing guidance to renters and homeowners through community-based nonprofit housing counseling agencies on a wide array of issues, including foreclosure and homelessness prevention, budgeting, rental guidance, and utility help.

To be eligible for the free counseling services, renters and homeowners must have been impacted by Superstorm Sandy and lived in one of the nine counties most affected by the storm at the time of Sandy (Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Union).

Information for the housing counseling agencies’ main offices listed by county

Atlantic City Resilience Program

The Atlantic City Resilience Program helps to address infrastructure and public facilities in Atlantic City that sustained damage due to Superstorm Sandy and/or are subjected to repetitive flooding. Activities include the repair, replacement, or introduction of bulkheads, as well as mitigation efforts such as floodproofing Atlantic City’s City Hall and other public buildings that are essential for emergency response; upgrading and elevating critical traffic signal components; and inspecting and replacing check valves in drainage areas.

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation is working closely with the City of Atlantic City to administer these projects, which will help guard against repetitive flooding and support Atlantic City’s resiliency and sustainability to attract future investment.

Atlantic City Resilience Program Project Summaries

Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program

The RREM Program provides eligible homeowners with grant awards up to $150,000 for activities necessary to restore their primary residence that was damaged by Superstorm Sandy. These activities include reconstruction, rehabilitation, elevation and/or mitigation. Additionally, the RREM Program ensures that homeowners participating in the program are able to comply with federal elevation requirements for structures located in flood zones.

The calculation of RREM assistance takes into consideration the cost of home repairs and other funds the homeowner has received for repairs from other sources such as insurance, FEMA, SBA, and non-profit organizations. The RREM Program is no longer accepting applications.

RREM Program Policies & Procedures

RREM Program Summary Guidelines

Appeals/Withdrawals

Low- to Moderate-Income (LMI) Homeowner Rebuilding Program

The LMI Homeowner Rebuilding Program provides reconstruction, rehabilitation, elevation and/or mitigation grant assistance of up to $150,000 to low-income and moderate-income homeowners whose primary residence was damaged by Superstorm Sandy but who did not apply to the RREM Program. The LMI Program includes a reserve of funding for owners of manufactured housing units/mobile homes to ensure that this population receives needed assistance. The LMI Program is no longer accepting applications.

LMI Program Policies & Procedures

LMI Program Summary Guidelines

Appeals/Withdrawals

Supplemental Fund

The Supplemental Fund is a source of funding within the RREM Program and LMI Program that is designed to eliminate financial barriers preventing homeowners in these programs from completing construction by supplementing their grant award with additional reasonable and necessary funding to finish their project. The Supplemental Fund is no longer accepting applications.

Supplemental Fund Policy

Supplemental Fund Overview

Landlord Rental Repair Program (LRRP)

LRRP provides eligible rental property owners with grant awards up to $50,000 per rental housing unit to repair residential rental properties that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy. In an effort to increase affordable rental housing options in areas that were impacted by Sandy, rental property owners in the program must rent the housing units repaired with LRRP funds to low-income and moderate-income households at approved affordable rents.

The calculation of LRRP assistance takes into consideration the cost of rental housing repairs and other funds the landlord has received for repairs from other sources such as insurance, FEMA, and SBA loans. LRRP is no longer accepting applications.

LRRP Program Policy & Procedures

LRRP Landlord Handbook

Non-Federal Cost Share Program

Several federal funding streams allocated in the Sandy recovery effort require non-federal levels of government to share in the costs of recovery projects. This cost share is also known as “match.” The State, county, municipality or other government entity benefitting from the recovery project must pay for a portion of the project. Under the Non-Federal Cost Share Program, Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding covers this match for the State and other eligible governmental entities.

Contact Us

 Sandy Housing Assistance Hotline
     1-855-SANDYHM (726-3946)

   Phone : Constituent Services Office
      (609) 292-3750

  Email
       DisasterRecoveryandMitigation@dca.nj.gov

  Mail
        Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation
        PO Box 823
        101 South Broad Street
        Trenton, NJ 08625-0823