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New Yorkers Get Another Chance To Apply For COVID Rent Relief
By
Emily Lang
Published Jan 10, 2021
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By
Emily Lang
Published Jan 10, 2021
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After failing to disburse more than half of the federal funding in a COVID-19 rent relief program, New York state has opened a new application window—with broader eligibility criteria—in order to hand out the remaining $60 million.
With lawmakers and activists fearful that unspent federal dollars would need to be returned, the state agreed to loosen the requirement: Previously, applicants needed to prove they were “rent-burdened” -- defined as paying more than 30% of their income toward rent -- before the pandemic. Now, tenants will need to show that they were “rent-burdened” during the months of April through July, and that their pre-pandemic household income was at or below 80% of the Area Median Income to qualify for partial rent payments.
The new application window will close at the end of January. Residents who applied for rent relief earlier will not have to reapply to be reconsidered. Also, all applications previously denied will be re-evaluated, according to the new criteria.
New Yorkers can apply for the program online here.
Back in July, the New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) received $100 million from the state’s CARES Act money to give to eligible renters, but the criteria was so limited in scope that only about 15,000 applicants out of 94,000 received aid. The average payment across all five boroughs came out to about $1,900 to cover partial rent payments over a maximum of four months (April 2020 to July 2020).
This has caused housing activists and attorneys to call both iterations of the program cruel. “The program doesn’t pay what people owe. It pays a complicated formula that has an expectation that people will continue to pay rent even though they have increased costs and lower income,” said Ellen Davidson, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of New York
And many New Yorkers are barred from applying regardless of income due to immigration status requirements. Some non-English speakers may also be experiencing difficulty. According to Davidson, one tenant, Sonia Lachapel, called the state’s Rent Relief Call Center near the end of the December and “was told she should speak English on the call and was told she didn’t qualify because she didn’t have minor children.”
Brian Butry, a spokesperson for the state’s program, said, “We have zero tolerance for discrimination and we will investigate this tenant’s claims thoroughly.” Butry also added that there are call agents available that speak multiple languages and online materials are available.
But, the combination of navigating the process, accessing documentation, and trying to determine eligibility criteria is complicated, according to housing advocates, which can still mean some of the most vulnerable tenants may not be getting the needed assistance.
Some landlords say the program has helped, despite a rocky start. “It was a little frustrating at first; the program was slow to get off the ground,” said Jay Martin, Executive Director of the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), which mostly represents rent-stabilized property owners, “but we have seen several thousands of dollars for arrears and it has helped to some degree keep families in their homes.” There is still a ban in place in most evictions in New York State, but that ends on May 1st.
Estimates for unpaid rent nationwide range between $30 billion - $70 billion. The Congress-approved pandemic aid bill includes $25 billion for emergency rental assistance, and Butry said, “We are awaiting federal guidance on how the federal rent relief funding can be implemented.”
New York is expected to receive at least about $1.3 billion of the recent federal allocation for rent relief.
“That money needs to get into the hands of tenants as quickly as possible,” said Davidson of Legal Aid. “If we do not spend it, it will be taken away and given to a state that will.”
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COVID-19
rent
coronavirus
Emily Lang
Emily is a former WNYC and Gothamist producer.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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