Rent help · New Jersey
Open, per the source
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): Home Energy Assistance · New Jersey
New Jersey help for very low-income residents with heating and cooling bills, and with past-due electric and gas bills
At a glance
- Kind of help
- Power, gas or water
- What its page says it pays; the agency decides the amount in your case.
- Is it open?
- Open, per the source
- What its page said on November 6, 2026.
- Checked
- November 6, 2026
- Against the program's official page.
Type of help
What help it gives
- Utilities
Source text
The Home Energy Assistance Program helps very low-income residents with their heating and cooling bills, and makes provisions for emergency heating system services and emergency fuel assistance within the Home Energy Assistance Program. A summary of what the program publishes; not a promise of help or advice. Funds, limits and application dates change without notice.
At a glance
Who qualifies
Each answer comes from the program's page. "Not stated — ask" means its page doesn't make it clear: ask before you apply.
Source text
Assistance Provided To: Very low-income persons. Type of Assistance: Financial-Grants. … Award Period: October 1 to September 30. - Income limit Ask for the limit for your household size
- Immigration requirement Not stated — ask
- Accepts ITIN? Not stated — ask
- Spanish materials Yes
- Program status Open, per the source
- Where it applies All of New Jersey
What its page says about being open
The application period to receive help with past due electric and gas bills is currently open. Read on the official page on November 6, 2026. nj.gov
Step by step
How to use it, step by step
The steps to ask for the help, with what the program’s page says. What its page leaves open is further down, in the questions.
See how to apply-
Confirm it is still open
Its page said it was open when we checked. These programs run out of money: look again before you start.
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Find who takes your application
Check the official page for how to apply: with New Jersey Department of Community Affairs or with a local agency in your area. If you can’t find it, call New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and ask.
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Have your papers ready
Have your lease, the notice or past-due bill, and proof of your income ready. Ask what else they need and keep a copy of everything you hand in.
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If you have an eviction case, don’t miss court
Don’t assume that asking for help stops an eviction case. Go to every hearing, tell the judge you applied for help, and look for free legal aid.
Before you call
What to ask
Its page leaves 4 points unclear. Write them down for when you talk to New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
What its page does not say
- What is the most it gives, and how is it calculated?
- Is there an income limit for my household?
- Which immigration status or residency documents do you ask for?
- Do you accept an ITIN?
Worth asking for this kind of help
- How many months of rent, or which bills, does it cover?
- Does it pay the landlord or the utility company, or me?
- How long does an answer take, and how will I know if I’m approved?
- Do I have to pay anything back, or can I apply again next year?
More rent help
Other rent-help programs in New Jersey
One more program we checked in New Jersey, with what its page says.
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Omnibus Eviction and Homelessness Prevention (OEHP) program
Run by New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), Office of Eviction Prevention
New Jersey program that, through organizations in all 21 counties, helps renters with back rent, moving and free legal advice when facing eviction
Sources
How we checked this program
We read the program's official pages on November 6, 2026 and copied their text as it appears on them. We add no amounts or requirements those pages do not state, and a program is listed as open or closed only when its page says so.
We check every program again. If more than 180 days pass without a check, the page says so.
Talk to a housing counselor
A HUD-approved housing counselor helps for free or at low cost with your budget, back rent and your options if you face eviction.
Find a counselor (HUD)Guides to paying rent and asking for help
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Renting
Emergency rental assistance: how it works and what to bring
How to get help with back rent or utility bills: who offers it today, what papers to bring, how long it takes and what to do if you have an eviction case.
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Help and programs
LIHEAP: help paying for power, gas and heat
What LIHEAP is, who qualifies, how to apply in your state, crisis help when a shutoff is coming and free weatherization (WAP) to lower your bills.
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Renting
What to do if you get an eviction notice
Notice, lawsuit and the judge's order: what you can do at each moment, where free legal help is and what federal law says about the 30-day notice.