New Jersey Scraps Fee for Rebuilding Damaged Homes

Homeowners in New Jersey won’t have to pay the state an extra fee to rebuild their houses after a fire or flood.

The state’s Council on Affordable Housing proposed an exemption. The council had come under fire for approving regulations in June that considered a burned-down home like a demolition that would require the fee.

The exemption is going to help one family right away.

The Ferraros of Franklin Borough in Sussex County lost their in March due an electrical fire. Under the rules approved in June, they or the town would have had to pay $17,500.

The Ferraros told the Star-Ledger of Newark that work is under way on their house and they hope to be moved back in by Thanksgiving.

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Information from: The Star-Ledger, http://www.nj.com/starledger