N.J. has a new affordable housing law, but will it help and how soon?

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New Jersey Gov Phil Murphy signed a law Wednesday to expand affordable housing across the state.

But even in the best-case scenario, it will take several years before these homes are built and become available for low- and middle-income families.

Proponents insist the new law will address the housing shortage, now at a crisis level, in a meaningful way.

New Jersey state Senator Troy Singleton, a key sponsor of the legislation, said the new law will allow municipalities to determine their present and prospective fair housing obligations and have a detailed, timely and predictive system that allows for creation of new reasonably-priced homes.

But some lawmakers insist it will make a bad situation worse, and send already sky-high property taxes even higher.

New Jersey Republican state Senator Declan O’Scanlon, who serves on the law and public safety committee, said the new law could be one of the most negatively impactful pieces of legislation that’s been passed in decades.

“It mandates levels of affordable housing that many, many communities, particularly our suburban ones, can’t sustain,” he said. “It is a dramatic over-reach, and could potentially negatively impact our communities, and the whole way of life in New Jersey.”

He said the guidelines are vague, and towns could be required to construct as many as half-a-million new units over the next 10 years, with 100,000 of them being affordable homes. Building experts agree that’s virtually impossible.

The new law stipulates that starting next year, the state Department of Community Affairs will establish non-binding calculations of municipalities’ current and prospective need for affordable housing using a formula based on prior court decisions. Any disputes about a town’s affordable housing obligations will be settled by the courts, based on a new dispute resolution program.The law also encourages municipalities to build senior housing units, while providing incentives to expand affordable housing near transit hubs and supermarkets.