FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, June 12, 2018


Information Session to be Held in Toms River on June 19th for Participants of the RREM, LMI, and LRRP Programs

Trenton, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) today announced the 48th Housing Recovery Information Session will be held Tuesday, June 19, 2018, in Toms River to assist Sandy-affected homeowners participating in the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program and the Low- to Moderate-Income (LMI) Homeowner Rebuilding Program, as well as rental property owners participating in the Landlord Rental Repair Program (LRRP). 

The Information Session will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the L. Manuel Hirshblond Meeting Room of the Toms River Municipal Building, 33 Washington Street, to provide individualized, hands-on assistance to help eligible RREM Program, LMI Program and LRRP participants with any housing recovery questions or issues they might have.

Information Sessions have been held since October 2014 in communities within the nine counties (Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Union) most impacted by Sandy, as determined by the federal government. This will be the sixth Information Session held in Toms River, one of the communities most impacted by the storm. They have also been held in other Ocean County communities.

Representatives from DCA’s Sandy Recovery Division and Housing Recovery Centers will be present at the Information Session, as well as RREM and LRRP Program Managers, who can answer specific questions about the RREM Program, LMI Program and LRRP. Additionally, representatives of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs will be available to discuss best practices in selecting a reliable contractor to undertake rebuilding work. 

Housing Counselors from the Sandy Recovery Housing Counseling Program will also be in attendance to offer RREM Program and LMI Program participants free HUD-certified housing counseling services for a wide array of housing-related issues, including foreclosure prevention, mortgages, budgeting, and rental guidance. 

The $1.3 billion RREM Program is the State’s largest Superstorm Sandy housing recovery program. RREM provides grants to Sandy-impacted homeowners to cover rebuilding costs up to $150,000 that are not otherwise funded by insurance, FEMA assistance, U.S. Small Business Administration loans, or other sources. Similarly, the $50 million LMI Homeowner Rebuilding Program provides up to $150,000 in reconstruction, rehabilitation and elevation assistance to Sandy-impacted homeowners of limited financial means who did not apply to the RREM Program. Together, the RREM and LMI programs have already rebuilt approximately 6,200 Sandy-damaged homes.

The $54 million LRRP provides up to $50,000 per storm-damaged rental unit to assist eligible rental property owners in repairing their residential rental properties. To be eligible for the award, a landlord must rent the repaired unit(s) to LMI households after project completion. To date, approximately 449 units have been repaired and are now occupied by LMI households. 

For more details about the Information Session, applicants may contact the DCA’s Sandy Constituent Services Office by calling 609-292-3750 or by emailing sandy.recovery@dca.nj.gov.  

For more information on the Sandy Recovery Housing Counseling Program, people can visit

www.renewjerseystronger.org/homeowners/sandy-recovery-housing-counseling-program/.

Established in 1967, DCA offers a wide range of programs and services that respond to issues of public concern including affordable housing production, fire safety and building safety, community planning and development, local government management and finance, and disaster recovery. 

For more information regarding DCA, please log on to http://www.nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on Twitter @NJDCA, Facebook /NJDeptofCommunityAffairs, and Instagram @nj_dca

 

 

CONTACT:
Lisa Ryan 
(609) 292-6055