The housing trust fund (HTF) was established by the housing and economic recovery act of 2008 to provide funds to grantees for affordable housing activities

The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development awarded the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs $5.685 million under the Housing Trust Fund (CFDA 14.275) formula grant program on December 11, 2025, with a period of performance through December 11, 2032.

The grant funds the production, preservation, and rehabilitation of rental housing for extremely low-income and very low-income households. New Jersey must allocate at least 80 percent of annual grant funding to rental housing activities, with up to 10 percent available for homeownership and up to 10 percent for reasonable administrative and planning costs. The department may also direct up to 30 percent of HTF funds toward operating rental housing acquired, constructed, or rehabilitated with grant proceeds. Assistance takes the form of grants, equity investments, or interest-bearing or non-interest-bearing loans to support acquisition, new construction, or rehabilitation of affordable units. Housing Trust Fund activities target households with incomes at or below 30 percent of area median income or the federal poverty line, whichever is greater.

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, headquartered in Trenton, administers Housing Trust Fund awards as a pass-through entity, distributing federal resources to local governments, nonprofit organizations, and housing authorities across the state. The department manages a diverse portfolio of federal housing and community development programs totaling over $40 million annually, including the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Emergency Solutions Grant, and Continuum of Care homelessness initiatives.

Activities

Grantees must use at least 80 percent of each annual grant for rental housing. Grantees may use up to 10 percent for homeownership and up to 10 percent for its reasonable administrative and planning costs. Grantees use their housing trust fund funds to provide assistance in the forms of grants, equity investments, or interest-bearing or non-interest bearing loans to acquire, newly construct, or rehabilitate affordable housing. In addition, up to 30 percent of a grantee's housing trust fund funds may be used for the operation of rental housing that is acquired, constructed, or rehabilitated with housing trust fund funds.

Expected outcomes

Based on priorities identified in the grantee's annual allocation plan that is submitted to HUD, IT is expected that grantees will use housing trust fund funds to acquire, rehabilitate, or newly construct affordable rental housing units for households with incomes at or below 30 percent of area median income (AMI) or the federal poverty line, whichever is greater. The quantifiable results of this program change on a constant basis. However, they can be tracked via the HTF national production report. This monthly cumulative summary report of HTF data by federal fiscal year (FY) includes: allocations, commitments, disbursements, leveraging ratios, low-income benefit, committed funds by activity type, and HTF cost per unit by tenure and activity type. The monthly report can be reviewed at https://WWW.hudexchange.info/programs/HTF/HTF-national-production-reports/

Intended beneficiaries

At least 75 percent of housing trust fund funds must be used to benefit households with incomes at or below 30 percent of AMI or the federal poverty line, whichever is greater. The remaining 25 percent can be used to benefit households with incomes at or below 50 percent of AMI, except when the annual amount available to allocate is less than $1 billion in which case 100 percent of the housing trust fund allocation must benefit households with incomes at or below 30 percent of AMI or the federal poverty line, whichever is greater.

Subrecipient activities

The subrecipient activities are unknown at the time of award.