City Announces Affordable Housing Credit Checks No Longer Needed for Tenants Using Rental Assistance Vouchers

On October 5, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) announced that households using housing vouchers will no longer have their credit checked during the process of affordable housing selection. A renter who is using rental assistance vouchers is guaranteed to pay rent either through a rental subsidy which they are qualified for or connected to the affordable unit. It is an unnecessary and … <Read More>


City Council Passes Legislation in Increase Value of Rental Assistance Vouchers

The increased voucher amounts help take advantage of decreased rents. On May 27, 2021, the New York City Council passed legislation that increases the number of apartments available to homeless New Yorkers and helps move more New Yorkers out of shelters and into permanent housing.  The legislation, titled Int. 146-C, requires the City to pay higher rates to homeless New Yorkers receiving rental assistance vouchers and eliminates the program’s previous five-year cap for vouchers. … <Read More>


City To Streamline Rental Assistance Programs

Old rental assistance programs will be combined into one. On July 18, 2018, the de Blasio Administration announced the new City Fighting Homelessness & Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) program, which will replace the Living in Communities, the Special Exit and Prevention Supplement, and the City Family Eviction Prevention and Exit Plan Supplements programs, creating one unified rental assistance program. The new CityFHEPS program will simplify the rental assistance process making it easier for New Yorkers … <Read More>


City Council Passes Law to Promote Transparency for Rental and Utility Emergency Assistance Grants

The bill promotes transparency of the program due to possible heightened need as the eviction moratorium is set to expire on January 15th. On December 15, 2021, the City Council passed Int. 2081-A, a bill that provides more transparency around emergency assistance grant programs. These grants, run by the Human Resources Administration (HRA), are “one shot deals” that can assist New Yorkers with rent or utility payments when they are facing an unforeseen situation or <Read More>


City Mandatory Rental Terms Violated State Law

Rental Assistance program sought to establish lease renewal and limit rent increases based on rent stabilization regulations. In 2015, prospective tenants Regina Alston and Sandra Vaughn-Cooke inquired about apartment vacancies at Spring Creek Towers. Starrett City, Inc. owns Spring Creek Towers, located in the East New York neighborhood in Brooklyn. Spring Creek Towers is an apartment complex with 5,881 apartments. Alston and Vaughn-Cooke both had Living in Communities (LINC) rental vouchers. Starrett City, Inc. … <Read More>


City Initiative to Help Create Affordable Housing for CityFHEPS Voucher Holders

On February 8, 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Molly Wasow Park announced the Affordable Housing Services (AHS) initiative that will serve to create 1,500 permanent affordable homes. The homes created under AHS will specifically aid New Yorkers who are exiting the shelter system with City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) vouchers. In addition to the launch of AHS today, DSS has … <Read More>