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Montclair housing, shelter, and rental resources

Montclair housing, shelter, and rental resources

How can I find short-term shelter housing?

  • Check the organizations in the section below.

How can I get help paying rent for my current housing?

  • MNDC (Montclair Neighborhood Development Corporation), 228 Bloomfield Avenue, montclairmndc.org. Call +1 973-744-9094 and speak with Elaine Spears. MNDC helps our neighbors facing eviction and those who are homeless, with needed resources, information on benefits, and services. Case managers also help with PSE&G assistance and back rental, for households within Federal Poverty Guidelines.
  • Montclair Salvation Army, 13 Trinity Place. Call +1 973-744-3312 x600 for confidential assistance and to speak with a caseworker. Salvation Army also provides shelters, summer camp, and disaster services to people who need help.
  • MESH (Montclair Emergency Services for the Homeless, +1 973-692-8857, wearemesh.org, info@wearemesh.org) is a religion-based organization that provides overnight respite shelter in extreme cold and hot weather at The MARK, St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 51 Elm St. Open seasonally.
  • Family Promise of Essex County, 46 Park Street, fpessexnj.org. Email Melissa Perales melissa@fpessexnj.org, or call +1 973-746-1400, Monday-Friday 9:30am-5:30pm. Offers emergency shelter housing, permanent housing placement, rental assistance, and free after-school care.
  • New Jersey 211, nj211.org. Call 2-1-1. It’s a free, confidential information and referral helpline, for all housing, food, health, finance, and other essential life services. Need help? Start here.
  • Real House (realhouseinc.com, +1 973-746-2400) operates treatment programs and 24/7 shelters focused on recovery, wellness and care, in the Montclair area.
  • Bloomfield Health Department, 1 Municipal Plaza room 111, Bloomfield. Call +1 973-680-4024. Housing rental cost assistance and other aid for Montclair and Bloomfield residents.
  • Joi’s Angels, 114 South Arlington Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07018, joisangels.com. Call +1 973-395-4348, email joisangels@gmail.com. Joi’s Angels provides provides food (wholesome groceries, fresh fruit, produce, and meats) at several free pantry or market sites, essential goods (diapers, baby formula, personal hygiene products, and feminine hygiene products), youth programs (sanctuary, afterschool, weekend, summer opportunities, volunteer work, civic engagement), shelter (men’s residence), and low-cost housing.
  • Isaiah House, 238 North Munn Avenue, East Orange, isaiahhouse.org. Call +1 973-678-5882. Homelessness prevention: rental arrears, relocation, and utility assistance for Essex County residents who have low income (not from public assistance) and have children.
  • EOCDC (East Orange Community Development Corporation), 490 Main Street, East Orange, website. Call +1 973-266-5315. Addresses the needs of individuals/families facing extreme economic crisis. Rental assistance and other resources. Residents outside East Orange are welcomed.
  • La Casa de Don Pedro, lacasanwk.org, Newark, +1 973-483-1883. Prenatal care, parenting education, preschool, youth education, recreation, family psycho-social counseling, adult education, healthcare, support networks for marginalized people (often immigrants), domestic violence safety support, affordable homes, home repair, workforce preparation, immigrant assistance, neighborhood revitalization, emergency financial assistance.
  • ULEC (Urban League of Essex County), 508 Central Avenue, Newark, ulec.org. Call +1 973-624-9535 x293, x209, or x100. Counseling and emergency housing assistance for Essex County individuals and families. May be able to assist with utilities, preventing eviction, securing a rental residence to avoid homelessness.
  • The Apostles’ House (theapostleshouse.org, +1 973-482-0625, 24 Grant Street, Newark), provides emergency shelter for women and children, transitional housing, food pantry, job training, children’s classes, medical clinic, HIV/AIDS case management, and rapid re-housing.
  • Mental Health Association (mhainspire.org, +1 973-509-3777, 80 Main Street, West Orange) offers community support services for individuals living with a mental illness who are homeless and/or need housing, aiming to increase access to quality, affordable housing.
  • NJ Citizen Action, njcitizenaction.org. Call +1 973-643-8800. Free direct services to low-and moderate-income individuals across New Jersey to empower people to take control of their economic futures.

      How can I find a low-cost place to live in Montclair, NJ or nearby?

      • Search on facebook.com. (You might get more results if you have a Facebook account, which is free.)
      • Check craigslist.org. Customize your search to fit your price range, apartment type, and other options. Many private landlords use Craigslist because it’s free, rather than having to pay a broker. Most listings on Craigslist are legitimate, but be wary of the few that might be deceptive. You can also post for free in craigslist’s Apartment Wanted section.
      • Check other apartment websites. Most of these charge a listing fee to landlords. These tend to have fewer low-price rentals.
      • Check local bulletin boards and community sites where listings might be posted. And post your own notes there. In Montclair, sites may include: laundromats, barbershops, beauty and nail salons, grocery stores, pizza shops, bagel shops, ice cream shops. (However, many places have paused their bulletin boards during the Covid-19 pandemic.)
      • HomeCorp, 17 Talbot Street, homecorp.org. Call +1 973-744-4141. HOMECorp has developed nearly 200 units of affordable housing in Montclair (rental and owned). HOMECorp’s housing counseling department helps nearly 200 households annually to achieve housing goals. HomeCorp can help you get on waiting lists for affordable housing.
      • Montclair Affordable Housing webpage tells how to get onto the waiting list for low- and moderate-income housing units in Montclair and other NJ municipalities.