Mayor Adams' administration proposes rent hike for people with NYC housing vouchers

Thousands of low-income New York City tenants who use city assistance to cover their housing costs could soon face a rent hike when they renew the aid, under a new plan from Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.

The city’s Department of Social Services is seeking to require many households that receive CityFHEPS vouchers to pay 40% of their income toward rent in their sixth year of eligibility, up from the current rate of 30%. The rule change is an attempt to curb the housing program's rising costs and would apply to tenants with jobs who renew their vouchers after an initial five-year period — about a quarter of recipients, officials said. Tenants who pay more than 30% of their income on housing are considered “rent-burdened,” and critics warn the increase will put more people at risk of becoming homeless.

The proposal is part of a package of new measures, including a program that would immediately provide rental assistance to pregnant women entering the city shelter system and a grant for landlords who renovate empty apartments and lease them to people with vouchers.

CityFHEPS is the country's largest city-funded housing voucher program and helps 52,000 low-income families and individuals pay their rent, according to Department of Social Services statistics. But budget watchdogs and city officials, including Adams, have cautioned that the program’s ballooning costs threaten its expansion. The program is expected to cost more than $1.2 billion this fiscal year as more households use the vouchers, up from $253 million four years ago, city budget data shows.

Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Park told Gothamist the change is necessary for the program’s long-term sustainability.

"It would be devastating for all of us if we didn’t have CityFHEPS, which is why the city needs to run it in a way that is responsible and prioritizes this resource for the most at-risk New Yorkers,” she said in a statement. "Taking a financially sustainable approach is better than having to make harder decisions down the line which could impact extensions or the issuance of new vouchers."

But critics of the proposed rent hike, including homeless rights advocates and landlord groups whose members lease apartments to voucher recipients, said raising the tenants’ share will hurt families and could backfire for the city. They say the increase will put many families at risk of becoming homeless again, disrupting their lives and costing the city more money in shelter expenses and emergency grants.

“It’s financially risky and morally bankrupt,” said Christine Quinn, president and CEO of the family shelter operator Win. “It’s assuming a formerly homeless person’s income is going to go up 10% or more. You’re going to have a significant number of people who can’t pay that, meaning they’re going to go back into shelters.”

New York City is facing record-high homelessness as rents rise and the number of available, affordable apartments remains at a historic low. Over 140,000 New Yorkers lacked stable housing during the city’s most recent one-day count, and around 100,000 people spend each night in a city shelter.

The CityFHEPS program remains the lone viable option for most low-income and homeless families in need of rental assistance. Other housing voucher programs do not meet the need among low-income tenants and face growing uncertainty.

More than 200,000 New York City households are on a waiting list for a limited number of vouchers through the federal Section 8 program, which faces potential cuts from the Trump administration. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has notified local housing agencies that a federal emergency rental assistance program established during the COVID pandemic is almost out of money and will end four years earlier than expected, putting nearly 8,000 New York City households at risk of a dramatic spike in rent.

New York state offers a subsidy to a limited number of low-income families with children. State lawmakers will establish a new rental assistance program in the upcoming budget, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday. But with only about $50 million in funding, the program will cover a small fraction of New Yorkers in need of housing help.

The city has issued thousands of vouchers to help people out of homeless shelters over the past three years, but Adams last year vetoed a package of laws meant to expand eligibility to many more city residents. The Council overrode the veto and ended up suing Adams to force him to implement the legislation, but a judge sided with the mayor. The Council is currently appealing that decision.

New York Apartment Association CEO Kenny Burgos, whose organization represents owners of rent-stabilized apartments, called it the “worst time” for the city to alter its voucher program

“We understand that the city has budget concerns, and there is tremendous fear of federal cuts to voucher assistance,” Burgos said. “But the response shouldn’t be to pull support from the city’s most vulnerable residents, who live in the city’s most distressed housing.”

The proposed rule changes are subject to a public hearing on May 30.