The city has distributed 91 percent of the roughly 7,800 new emergency housing vouchers (EHVs) they received last May—a dramatic increase since March, when they had issued less than a third of the total. Now comes the hard part: helping recipients use the subsidies to actually lease an apartment.
After a slow start, New York City has issued nearly its entire cache of coveted rental vouchers provided by the Biden Administration as part of last year’s American Rescue Plan. Now comes the hard part: helping homeless recipients use the subsidies to actually lease an apartment.
NYCHA and New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) have distributed 91 percent of the roughly 7,800 new emergency housing vouchers (EHVs) they received last May, city officials said—a dramatic increase since March, when they had issued less than a third of the total. Still, recipients have used just 11 percent of the vouchers to rent an apartment, federal data shows. The nationwide lease-up rate is roughly 37 percent, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD.)
The city agencies and nonprofits helping to administer the program blamed the initial distribution and lease up delays on onerous federal requirements, staff shortages and the challenge of linking various agencies that serve homeless New Yorkers. The two agencies received more than 10 percent of the total nationwide allotment of 70,000 vouchers and committed to prioritizing the city’s most vulnerable residents, including families in shelter, young adults experiencing homelessness, frequent hospital patients and survivors of domestic violence.
Similar distribution delays were seen across the country, as local housing authorities slowly navigated the eligibility rules and began issuing the subsidies. Senior HUD officials told reporters Tuesday that the program is now on track for full “lease-up”—all 70,000 vouchers used to rent permanent housing—by the end of 2023.
New York City’s 91 percent distribution rate actually outpaces the national rate of 87 percent, but voucher recipients face numerous challenges to securing permanent housing, including administrative hurdles and discrimination against people with rent subsidies. Housing policy advocates had pushed the city to move faster to issue the vouchers quickly to address New York City’s homelessness crisis. The EHVs function like Section 8, with recipients paying 30 percent of their income per month towards rent and the voucher covering the rest.
“We had hoped they would have been able to move faster, but there is a lot of time left and we’re optimistic,” said Brendan Cheney, policy director at the New York Housing Conference.
To unlock more housing options, HPD has urged developers to set aside units for people with EHVs in buildings created with city financing or subject to Mandatory Inclusionary Housing rules, which force owners to cap rents for people making a portion of the area median income. The city has also hired more than 80 housing navigators to help recipients find housing by identifying units and negotiating with landlords. The agency said its Public Engagement Unit is recruiting landlords to lease to voucher-holders and added extra incentives to owners who accept EHVs.
The number of vouchers used to secure housing has more than doubled since March, while the number of issued vouchers has tripled.
“I’m very hopeful and it’s infinitely better than it was six months ago,” said Nicole Branca, the executive director of the organization New Destiny Housing, which provides housing and services to survivors of domestic violence.
The city set aside 1,168 vouchers for families and individuals who became homeless after fleeing domestic violence. So far, Branca said, about 830 households have received the EHVs and 185 have found an apartment or actually moved in. She said New Destiny clients who receive EHVs usually take six weeks to find an apartment and then wait another six to eight weeks for a unit inspection—a process that could go faster if the city deputizes qualified nonprofits to conduct the inspections on their own, she said.
Despite the delays, Branca said New York City’s approach to EHVs will ultimately serve “a lot of people who don’t usually get housing access.”
“New York City, compared to a lot of localities around the country, chose to serve everyone with the vouchers, whereas a lot of communities chose the option to use the vouchers for people who were already housed or to do prevention only,” she said.
The vouchers come at a crucial time for New York City, with evictions increasing and the number of families and individuals entering various shelter systems on the rise. More than 61,000 people stay in New York City homeless shelters each month, according to data tracked by City Limits. There were 9,266 families in Department of Homeless Services shelters on July 6 compared to 8,455 on Jan. 1, the data maintained by City Limits shows.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime boon to the city and we want to make sure households are able to use the vouchers,” Homeless Services United Policy Director Eric Lee told City Limits in March.
After everyone is housed, however, the program faces another obstacle: Federal funding for the EHVs will run out by 2030 without a re-appropriation from Congress.
Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents an area that accounts for more evictions than anywhere else in the state, said he is confident lawmakers will fund the vouchers to limit disruption as the deadline nears.
“It could in theory expire, but it’s unlikely to happen,” Torres told City Limits. “If you have 70,000 vouchers that have funding for a decade it’s unlikely to be defunded in the 11th year.”
6 thoughts on “After Slow Start, NYC Issues Thousands of Federal Housing Vouchers”
To whom it may concern:
Thank you for this informative and highly resourceful article.
I am a homeless individual who’s been residing in a NYC shelter for the past ten months and I am still waiting on my Citypheps.
By any chance, do you have a contact I can use to better assist me in obtaining my housing voucher and escaping homelessness?
Thank your time and assistance
Johnny Rivera
1-646-836-3591
jrivera10033@gmail.com
Me and my wife been homeless almost 16 yrs due to false diagnosis saying I had cancer. My wife was in her second year I. College going to school for her associates. She had to drop out of school to take care of me and we had to give up our privately own high rise to beco.e ho.eless over 16yrs . We’ve been in the shelters almost 6 to 7 yrs we hav the EHV Boucher still discriminated because we have a registered LICENSED emotional support dog he’s been one since he was two months been raised in the shelter he’s two we’ve been treated wrong with our animal Mastiff mixes very friendly only two he was my wife emotional support but this situation has broken her down to where I had to put him in my name my ESA LICENSED registered support animals in my name and I have a certified housing letter from a licensed therapist from ESA in my name. You wont give us a home but you had the dog and my wife in one room in the shelter when he was only to be housed with her. When she went to the hospital no o. Notified me and they literally drilled my dog in the room for two days what if there was a fire to me that was animal cruelty. We have been pulled apart. Because she had the papers I had to sleep out side freezing g with him. When I had to go and get him when I finally found d iut thru her family the room was so hot and to see him drilled in there with screws like a monster it devastated me to pieces. I had to send hi. To the breedrr til I got him in my name now but I refuse to take him thru anymore discrimination and mistreatment from these places we had to change storages. They think black person mean animal why I feel like that I see white people with cane Corso and husky Shepard’s pit bulls and all kind of dogs like mind. Excuse any areas im6 upset if I misspelled any words not a black and white I believe because they have money and I’m disabled and in a shelter. We’ve never been thru anything like this me Getty sick changed our lives for the worse forever. Plz help us help get our dog in our home again. Plz give a home to live in our section Ehv voucher is for westcher county we’re looking for a place in white plains ny. Or New Rochelle ny. We even reached out to Hudson Park apartments and the most amazing Avalon apartments the fact they both have the doggie care on site washer and dryer and balcony out door space. We fell in love we would love 2bdrm very spacious place because the size of the dog needs to move around. Or section 8 house or townhouse anyone who could help plz do. Habitat anyone who can care enough lottery anything we just want a safe environment a place we can walk our dog a d no one snatch their animals away like he’s monster. He breaks my heart when he goes to play and they dont6 or he bends low thinking if they think he’s small they’ll come play I’m so over it.
Ok my co.ment was literally long but I wanted you to get the feel of all the trauma and pain we’ve been and houng thru. Thank you for this safe place to put my heart pain and family shelter not only story our experiences that are still going on cause we are still stuck here to woman from the suburbs because your in a shelter try to put you in the worst housing and neighborhoods but always the dog or once we say section 8 or shelter no call back or credit score high 40×your income. They discriminate in ways that its6in your face but try to make it something else who disabled has 4p times the rent or raising there credit score. All we want after all these yrs not seeing our families and being pulled apart. Is this to end waiting on paperwork they messed up and took 4ever. I’m on my last extension we dont want to lose the EHV section 8 voucher. Thanks again we’ve contacted legal aid the Mayor 311 anyone who would listen nothing. Yes tried it all. As many animal lovers in New York my dog treated like this. We’re extremely horrified. Thank you
To whom it may concern I’m going to reduce this because the mai. One that I wanted up there is not up cause I posted the remaining of it. I rather you kept the first part because it gave the feel of our jury. 17 yra in a homeless due to my illnessa6. Wife had to drop out of college her second yrs. Going for her associates. My emotional ESA LICENSED registered support dog has been discri6in everyway you can imagine because hes6 four Mastiffs in one he’s two friendly as ever been a support animal since two months. My wife go so depressed she wenr6 into the hospital twice. I had to sleep outside two days after I found out with the dog. He was drilled in a room in Tillary Shelter Brooklyn for two days no one called me I called looking for her I didn’t hear from her I panic. Her family told me she was in the hospital what if it was a fire and he was screwed in the room .they also had my wife and the Emotional support animal in a room with eight other woman which was not suppose to be. But you won’t and cant find us our own home but stick them in a room with eight other woman and a dog. Storages places everything treat our baby si ce a baby like a monster. We have been in these shelters almost seven years and still here when my wife went to the hospital I had to sleep outside freezing cold because she had the papers support so now i have the ESa official Papi from ESA certified in my name and a certified housing letter. Do now that will never happen ever again. Because of this whole situation we was force to send our ESA pet to our breeder way in Jersey til we find a place we don’t want him traumatized or mistreated in these places. We should all not be living separately we never been apart me and my wife been together over 15yrs and best friends over 30yrs we never been apart til this. This has caused my wife major depression.plz in one who love animals we are on our last extension due waiting on paperwork our EHV voucher is for Westcher County. We were looking at White Plains New Rochelle. Three places we seen in Yonkers were Crestwood apartments Hudson park apartments. My favorite besides Hudson Park Apar5 is Avalon apartments and townhouses. They have the private outdoor space washer dryer dog care our favorite and they have always been kind even knowing we have a vouchers they still treated us with respect
We need a two bedroom the dog plus my health iss6 when I’m in pain I need my whole big bed my dog makes me happy. Having to give my dog away what was supposed to be a second felt like a death I still don’t sleep he’s emotionally attached to us as well he had such bad anxiety. Plz help get into one of these amazing units I even signed up for the affordable housing in Avalon we’ve been approved but who knows how long we have to get our dog b4 February he sold his home two months and still nothing. And we don’t want no unfit apartment or house unsafe neighborhoods. Everytime they do offer it’s not fit for a dog. We deserve to be treated as we are dont allow how other shelter people live and act defy us as a whole. Plz Habitat any one private owners anyone who will rent to us our family Westchester County. Hudson park apartments Avalon apartments we really would love if you would allow our family to become part of your amazing community. City Limits plz hear our cries traumas our pain not just hear it change it to a happy ending plz help put us together again . Thank you for your platform
Hello our family been thru the worse our family been homeless forever and getting in the shel6 we thought it would get better it’s only been worse. Discrimination at it’s all time high. When is we gonna see progress
We been in the shelter over 6and a half yrs we been in here with vouchers still nothing discrimination and they say yeah we take the voucher and nothing happens nobody should lose that many yrs in a shelter not aee their families no place to call home when is it gonna get better do better be better. Tired of not mattering to those who are responsible of getting us at of these places then they wanna bit you in the worse places ever. Plz we have section 8 and Westchester County NYC