Bayonne rental assistance provided by BEOF and the housing authority

Two Bayonne rental assistance programs combine to provide lower income households in this Hudson County community with the safety net necessary to combat homelessness. This one-two punch keeps homelessness at bay while providing financially distressed tenants with the rental help they need to retain access to safe and affordable housing.

Rents can be abnormally high when you are living in the shadow of Brooklyn. The City of Bayonne depends on two primary programs to provide the help with rent that local residents need to meet financial challenges.

Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation

The Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation (BEOF) is a nonprofit agency that serves as the local affiliate of the national Community Action Partnership. This organization receives rental assistance grants that are distributed to local tenants who meet the qualifications for cash assistance.

These rental assistance grants can be used by tenants who are behind on their rent payments and may be evicted if they are unable to get caught up on their rent balance. Cash assistance can be provided to keep you in your home, which statistics show can be a more effective use of funding than paying for homeless shelters. Still, there are restrictions.

Understand that no agency will provide cash payments to a landlord in a hopeless situation. What this means is that if the rental property is permanently unaffordable, then you should not expect to receive back payment assistance. Your case manager will not abandon you though. Instead they will work to help you find a better situation. Cash payments could potentially be made to help you move into a new, more affordable rental property. Of course any cash assistance depends on the availability of funding from primary or secondary grant providing organizations.

To apply for rental assistance grants, contact BEOF at 201-437-7222. Expect to bring photo identification, social security cards for everyone in your household, income statements (W-2s) and receipts showing evidence of your previous rent payments. A copy of your lease will also be helpful.

Bayonne Housing Authority

The Housing Authority of the City of Bayonne provides access to lower rent dwellings for households unable to afford regular rental rates. By awarding capital grants to developers that promise to create affordable housing properties, the city ensures that a large number of affordable rental properties are available to the city’s residents.

Rent-controlled apartments are specifically limited through city contracts to be affordable to lower income tenants. Often a developer that needs money to update a property to use as a rental unit will get money from the city as long as the landlord promises to cap the rent at a certain level. In Bayonne, this is no different.

If you would like to be considered for a reduced rent apartment, contact the Bayonne Housing Authority at 201-339-8700 or visit the office at 549 Avenue A in Bayonne.

The programs that provide Bayonne rental assistance to lower income households are committed to serving everyone who finds difficulty in paying the rent each month. Sometimes the help comes in the form of a cash grant. Other times it means moving to a new apartment with a much lower rental rate.

Either way, you can take advantage of free rental aid without having to repay personal loans. Contact each organization to determine if you qualify for benefits. Elderly and disabled applicants receive special consideration for available funding.