New York’s rent assistance program will close January 15

New York’s rental assistance program, which helps tenants affected by the pandemic, might soon stop accepting new applications. On December 14, the state and lawyers reached an agreement to close this program due to the lack of funding.  

The Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) became available in the summer of 2021. Since then, the state has received nearly 400,000 applications that request help paying overdue rent and utility bills. However, as the funding began to decrease, the state decided to stop taking new requests later that year. In December 2021, tenants represented by Legal Aid Society sued to keep the program open, but it remained underfunded. 

“At this juncture, with the unlikely possibility of New York securing additional funding from Washington, we lack sufficient legal basis to challenge ERAP’s closing scheduled for next month,” said Edward Josephson, supervising attorney with the Civil Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “However, should Albany secure any future allocation to replenish ERAP, we will immediately petition the court to order the reopening of the program’s portal.”

Under the ERAP, approved applicants may receive help paying their rent and utility bills that accumulated on or after March 13, 2020. The program provides assistance to New Yorkers who lost their income or had an increase in spending due to COVID-19. The payments are made directly to the landlords.

The state’s rent relief program faced a lot of criticism from landlords. Renters, who have requested the state’s assistance, cannot get evicted while their application is pending. So far, New York has issued $2.7 billion worth of payments to landlords across the state. However, about 174,000 approved applications have yet to be paid out. The lack of sufficient funding leaves many landlords wondering how they will get their payments.

As a part of the agreement, New York state promised to reopen the program to more tenants if it secures more federal funding. However, similar programs across the United States have also been running out of money. NY renters who applied before January 15 will still be able to receive rent assistance. 

Resources:
“NY rent assistance program could close Jan. 15,” by Chau Lam (Gothamist, 2022)

“Insolvent rent-aid program will close Jan. 15,” by Suzannah Cavanaugh (The Real Deal, 2022)