Homeowners repairing Superstorm Sandy damage can now apply for state help to meet rents in their temporary houses.

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The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) has begun taking applications for the Rental Assistance Program (RAP), open to eligible homeowners in the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) and LMI Homeowners Rebuilding (LMI Program) initiatives.

Applicants who qualify can receive up to $850 per month for three months, with an option for an additional three-month extension if funds are still available, state officials said.

HMFA officials anticipate subsidies for about 1,750 homeowners, assuming six months of aid totalling $4,950 each. The agency is under instructions to pay out the full reservoir by September 30, 2015.

The program's financial source is a $9.5 million dollar federal Social Services block grant (SSBG) through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS). Officials say RREM participants have about $7.6 million available to them, and LMI applicants have about $1.2 million to access.

Find the downloadable application at the HMFA web page.

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