Fixing the Housing Crisis
The Housing System is Broken. Let’s Fix It.
New Jersey is facing one of the most severe housing shortages in the nation, creating both a housing crisis and an affordability crisis that touch nearly everyone in the state.
Young adults can’t afford to move out of their parents’ homes (New Jersey ranks #1 there). Workers can’t afford to live near their jobs and get stuck in long commutes. Long-term residents are getting priced out of their communities. Seniors on fixed incomes have to choose between their medications and their home. And our most vulnerable neighbors and those with the lowest incomes face eviction, housing insecurity, and homelessness at alarming rates.
This is what a housing crisis looks like, and we’re all paying the price.
The good news is that this crisis was caused by public policy, meaning it can be solved by public policy. The bad news is that, unless we do something to fix this crisis soon, it’s going to get much, much worse.
Katie Brennan’s Housing Plan for New Jersey tackles the housing crisis from multiple angles: strengthening tenant protections and closing rent control loopholes, cracking down on corporate landlord abuses, removing zoning and building code barriers that prevent new construction, and expanding affordable housing programs.