Paramus NJ home repair program helps seniors, lower-income residents

A longstanding Paramus program that helps lower-income residents repair their homes is getting a renewed push from the borough.

“It’s a good opportunity for us to help,” Mayor Chris DiPiazza said, adding that applicants to the program are typically senior citizens on fixed incomes. “It’s a good program to help people stay in town and give them tools that they need to fix their homes if they are not capable themselves.”

The Community Rehabilitation Program is run by the Paramus Affordable Housing Corp. and is supported by developers’ fees. The fund is expected to increase in the coming years as major developments in the borough’s commercial district have gained approvals.

Paramus Rehabilitation Program: Who’s eligible

Eligible projects include work on heating systems, weatherization, leaders and gutters, windows, doors, roof replacement, electrical upgrades and plumbing systems. Homes are inspected, and when the needed upgrades are identified, a bid goes out to contractors to make the repairs, the mayor said.

Recipients must fall within the program’s income thresholds: for a one-person household, up to $64,764; for two people in a household, up to $74,016; for three, $83,267; four, $92,519; five, $99,921; and six, $107,323.

The borough will provide grants of up to $24,000 for repairs. The support comes in the form of a zero-interest loan that is forgiven after 10 years of continuous home residency.

“Every year it goes down 10%, and after the 10th year, you do not have to pay it back,” said Laura Mongello, the borough’s rehabilitation administrator.

The program has been around for at least 12 years, but the COVID-19 pandemic “put a halt to it, like many other things,” DiPiazza said, so the borough is making a renewed effort to promote it.

An underused initiative

“We have the money to help the residents,” he said. “It’s just getting the word out there.”

Four rehab grants have been awarded since DiPiazza became mayor in 2022, but he would like to see that grow

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“That’s not even close to the goal I want to reach,” he said. “We want to do two or three a month from here on out. Especially with all the development going on in town, the funds will be there for those in need.”

Mongello said the initiative so far has helped a family that had lived with a faulty heating system for years and another one that had to keep a tarp on the roof to keep out leaks. Another household got help insulating a home with poor heating and big gas and electric bills, Mongello said.

How to apply

DiPiazza and Mongello will hold a roundtable discussion about the program at the Paramus Senior Center, at 93 N. Farview Ave., on Wednesday for those who want to learn more. It’s scheduled for 11 a.m..

Interested residents can also contact Mongello at 201-265-2100, ext. 2223, or at [email protected]. The borough’s website also has a manual and application materials.