ALBANY, N.Y. — Governor Kathy Hochul, on her first day in office, announced a series of changes to both attract more applications and accelerate payments within New York State's Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
Under the Governor's direction, the state will invest an additional $1 million in marketing and outreach efforts to raise awareness about the rent relief program, the available funding, and the strong tenant eviction protections in place for those who apply. The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which administers the program, will analyze application data to target areas of the state with relatively low numbers of applications.
Governor Hochul is also ordering a rapid review of the rent relief program's workflow, as well as the reassignment of 100 contracted staff to work solely with landlords to complete pending applications, which will accelerate payments.
"The pandemic thrust countless New Yorkers into financial turmoil and uncertainty, leaving many struggling to pay their rent," Governor Hochul said in a statement. "By expanding and better targeting our marketing and outreach efforts, we can raise awareness in the communities that need our help the most, encourage more people to apply, and protect them from being evicted. We are also reviewing and recalibrating the workflow and will dedicate more staff specifically to helping landlords through their application, so we can get outstanding applications fully approved and money out the door much more efficiently."
As of Tuesday, more than 46,000 tenants have had their applications provisionally approved and rent relief funding set aside for them, but in some cases, small discrepancies in information between the tenant and landlord applications or the need to reconcile landlord accounts are delaying payments from being sent out. These reassigned vendor staff will work proactively to rectify these issues so direct payments already set aside can be disbursed.
Since the program began accepting applications on June 1, OTDA has either distributed or obligated more than $680 million in federal funding, including more than $200 million in direct payments to landlords.
New York now ranks second nationally for the most funding approved or paid to households, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition reporting, which tracks the state-by-state implementation of the program.
To receive assistance, a landlord must agree to waive any late fees due on past-due rent; and not increase the tenant's monthly rent or evict them for one year, except in limited circumstances.
Under federal law, both tenants and landlords must complete the application before payments can be made. New York State, however, allows for the tenant side of the application to be approved so that the renter is fully covered by the eviction protections offered by the program. In these cases, the state holds the obligated funds for six months as efforts are made to identify and pay the landlord. Tenants in this circumstance will receive a clear notification that they can use as an affirmative defense to avoid eviction for up to one year.
"We are focused on helping New Yorkers in need and are grateful for Governor Hochul's leadership and support on this vital issue," OTDA Commissioner Mike Hein said. "While we continue to take steps to ease and expedite the application process, we are also encouraging all eligible New Yorkers to apply for this critical assistance so that they are shielded by the strong eviction protections afforded to all applicants."