Affordable Housing – Cape May County in Crisis

In order to analyze some of the reasons why we have an affordable housing crisis, I am sharing with you what I learned in my brush with the regulatory process. To convert my non-conforming structures into a rental unit, I went through a convoluted and time-consuming process. What I experienced to bring a tiny project to a zoning board required $5,650.63 in legal and zoning costs. 
The zoning hearing: My attorney and I appeared before Middle Township Zoning Board in 2017. My application request was to convert one building into a one-bedroom rental house of 900 square feet. The board questioned the prior use of the building. I replied it was a two-car garage built in the 1920s, in the 70s a takeout seafood restaurant, an auto body repair, and finally into a storage unit. All new electrical receptacles were installed and a new roof, new windows, carpet, new tiles in the kitchen and bath, new appliances, and all rooms were freshly painted. My engineer testified I resided in a mixed-use neighborhood of preexisting housing stock, with older homes mixed in with newer homes. Since I am located in a town/business district, there are several businesses within a block of my property, along the Route 9 corridor. My engineer spoke for no more than 15 minutes, and I was charged $1,000. A board member questioned the use of a building next to my lot. I stated my neighbor did wood crafts, antique car restoration, and other hobbies in his private garage. My application was approved.
Another cost I underestimated was renovation costs. Tradespeople did great work, but it was their schedule, not mine. In 2020, I was astonished to discover I had spent $80,000. Does money spent tell the whole story?
Effects of property taxes on rentals – Property taxes on my ancient house and garage were $4,200 in 2015 and $5,411 in 2022, an increase in four years of $1,211 on a rental house still under construction. Middle’s tax office advised me the collection of added tax to an unfinished rental was legal.
Breakdown cost of one rental house for 2022: My tenant pays all utilities and $12,600 in yearly rent. My expenses were $5,326, giving $7,274 in income. As you see, providing rental housing is not lucrative. After four years of delays by Middle’s zoning and administration, plus unforeseen problems with construction, my rental house was put on the market in March 2020.
Out of the blue state interference -During Covid, Gov. Murphy issued executive orders of no rent/no evictions. Five other landlords and I attended a zoom meeting with Sen. Testa warning of the ramifications of no-rent policies. Landlords decided not to rent because it would be cheaper to let housing sit vacant. Stimulus monies were flowing to business and citizens, including tenants, in some instances living rent free for two years. Yet, landlords of two units or less received nothing. This became a major incentive to exit the business, and it would be far more lucrative to convert yearly housing into seasonal vacation rentals.
Ironically, executive orders put in place to protect tenants led to the final nails being driven into coffins that sealed the fate of some housing.
Escalating disastrous government policies by legislators who do not understand simple economics or business forced landlords to sell cheap. Landlords are selling in record numbers, desperate to unload “money pits” that are draining life savings. When executive orders ignore legislative debate, and violate the constitution and seize the use and profit of property from owners, what did our legislators expect?
Can the supply of housing be increased? – A four-year odyssey of rules, regulations, red tape, misinformation, and zoning requirements of unnecessary expenses for lawyers, surveys, engineering and proposed environmental studies tells the story. What should have taken six months became an agonizing four years. Cape May County’s housing has become an endangered species. It doesn’t have to be this way. Strip malls, outdated buildings, garages, and other structures can be converted to non-conventional housing. Cheaper rents will occur when zoning boards encourage housing with a less expensive fee structure and streamlined zoning processes.
Examples – Why must surveys be provided for building’s already constructed, surveys of land already on tax records for decades? Is it just to provide work for engineers? Why debate environmental studies when my land is in a town?
Without affordable housing, our citizens suffer, our seasonal economy is suffering, we all suffer. 
ED. NOTE: The author, David Robinson, is a member of Cape Issues.