New York State Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)

14 Jun New York State Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)

New York State Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)

Are you or your tenant behind on rent payments? Then the New York State Emergency Rental Assistance Program could provide significant economic relief. This program is designed to help low and moderate-income households at risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability by providing rental arrears, temporary rental assistance and utility arrears assistance.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for the rent and/or utility assistance, you (or your tenant) must meet the following criteria:

• Household gross income has to be at or below 80% of the Area Median Income, which varies by county and household size. There is a chart available on New York State’s website that displays all the counties, household size, and relative Area Median Income amounts.
• You or someone in your household must have received unemployment benefits or experienced some sort of reduction in income or another financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic on or after March 13, 2020.
• The applicant must be someone who has overdue rent at their residence for payments that were owed on or after March 13, 2020

NOTE: There are no immigration status requirements to qualify for this program.

Benefits

If you meet all three of the above criteria, then the benefits you will receive include:

• Up to 12 months of rental arrears payments for rents incurred on or after March 13, 2020
• Up to 3 months of additional rental assistance if the household is expected to spend 30 percent or more of their gross monthly income to pay for rent
• Up to 12 months of electric or gas utility arrears payments for arrears that have accrued on or after March 13, 2020.

The payments will be made directly to the landlord/property owner and utility company on behalf of the tenant. Tenant applicants will be notified of the amounts paid on their behalf.

How to Apply

New York State opened the window for applications on June 1^st and for the first 30 days, they are giving priority to the following households in this order:

1. Households with income at or below 50% of the Area Median Income that also include a household member who:
   1. Is currently unemployed for at least 90 days
   2. Is a veteran
   3. Is currently experiencing domestic violence or is a survivor of human trafficking
   4. Has an eviction case related to their current residence pending in court
   5. Resides in a mobile home
   6. Lives in a community that was disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 (If you enter your zip code on NYS’ website as it will tell you if you are eligible)
   7. Lives in a dwelling of 20 or fewer units
2. Households with income at or below 50% Area Median Income
3. Households with income at or below 80% of the Area Median Income that also include a household member who:
   1. Is currently unemployed for at least 90 days
   2. Is a veteran
   3. Is currently experiencing domestic violence or is a survivor of human trafficking
   4. Has an eviction case related to their current residence pending in court
   5. Resides in a mobile home
   6. Lives in a community that was disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 (If you enter your zip code on NYS’ website as it will tell you if you are eligible)
   7. Lives in a dwelling of 20 or fewer units
4. Households with income at or below 80% Area Median Income

After the first 30 days, applications for all eligible households will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis until the allocated funds become unavailable.

If you are a landlord whose tenant(s) are eligible for this benefit, you may apply on their behalf. There is a checklist of items that will be required when submitting the application and can be found on New York State’s website under “Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)”.

Seven communities/counties within New York State that received funding for emergency rental assistance opted to administer their own programs, so the application will be found directly on their website. Residents of City of Rochester and Monroe County, the City of Yonkers, Onondaga County, Town of Hempstead, Town of Islip, and Town of Oyster Bay are only eligible for their respective local programs and are ineligible for assistance from the state-administered Emergency Rental Assistance Program.