New York will start accepting applications for rental assistance on Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, meaning eligible tenants will have access to subsidies to cover a portion of their rent from the last four months.
The COVID Rent Relief Program, as it’s called, is intended to supplement a person’s rent burden — or the amount a tenant may not be able to pay because of lost wages.
To qualify for the program, tenants have to meet a handful of requirements:
- Household income before March 1, 2020 and at the time of application has to be below 80% of the Area Median Income, adjusted for household size
- Applicants must have had to pay more than 30 percent of their gross monthly income toward rent before March 1, 2020 and at the time of application
- Applicants must have lost income at some point between April 1, 2020 and July 31, 2020
The application period will be open for two weeks starting Thursday. Tenants can apply on the state’s website, here: https://hcr.ny.gov/RRP
The program was made possible by the Emergency Rent Relief Act, which was approved last month by the state Legislature. The law directs $100 million in federal funding toward rent relief, which is administered by Homes and Community Renewal, a state agency.
“Despite the progress we have made in fighting COVID-19, millions of New Yorkers are struggling because of this virus and the economic crisis,” said Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. “Providing direct aid to overburdened renters will help these New Yorkers stay in their homes and be able to make ends meet.”
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, acknowledged that tenants will need more relief in the future, but said the program was a step forward in rental assistance.
“This rental assistance program, while still not enough to meet the tremendous needs that exist, is a step forward to lifting a financial burden off of our most vulnerable families,” Heastie said. “We will continue to look to do more to help people remain in their homes during this unprecedented time."
Some Democrats have called for rent to be waived altogether for tenants, and for special funds to be set up for struggling landlords. It doesn’t appear those proposals will move forward when the Legislature returns to Albany next week, and the governor does not support the idea.
Cuomo, meanwhile, has placed a moratorium on evictions for non-payment of rent until late August. He said the rent relief program will supplement that effort.
"It's critically important that people are able to stay safely in their homes as we progress through our data-driven, phased reopening, and the COVID Rent Relief Program reinforces that commitment with direct assistance to those in the greatest need,” Cuomo said.
