As of this Friday, New York State reopened the rent relief program until February 1, and extended the eligibility criteria for residents impacted by the pandemic. This is all you need to know about the program.
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The program received $ 100 million in funding this summer, of which still $ 60 million are available.
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Housing attorney Sulay Grant from Legal Aid Society explained to Univision News 41 that when the program was launched early in the pandemic it was not well designed.
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“I didn’t help tenants with everything they owed with just part of it,” Grant said. “The only difference was that they changed a part that says that before it had to be low income and pay more than 30 percent of the income in rent, now they only have to be low income.”
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The aid is aimed at those who lost their income from April to July 31, as well as households that before March 7 were below 80 percent of the area median income and who had difficulty paying their rent between April and July. .
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The subsidy offered varies, since it covers the total rent after deducting 30 percent of the total income of the tenant. But some like Assemblywoman-elect Marcela Mitaynes believe that the state should do more to help New Yorkers.
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“The requirements are difficult to meet these days,” Mitaynes explained. “The legislature can pass legislation that can do more, like the universal extension to the moratorium, and at the state level we must help because the programs that exist are outdated and do not work.”
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Keep in mind that when calculating your income the income relief program considers cash income and unemployment benefits. The application is available in Spanish and those who have requested it will not have to do it again to be considered.
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But activists are calling for the program to pay the full back rent rather than what is more than 30 percent of income.
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