Relates to the payment of shelter and rent arrears; provides that all shelter arrears payments authorized for applicants to receive an emergency grant to pay for rent, property taxes or mortgage arrears shall be limited to once every year unless the district determines at its discretion that additional shelter arrears payments are necessary based on the individual circumstances.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A501
SPONSOR: Magnarelli (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to the payment of
shelter and rent arrears
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would amend certain eligibility criteria for accessing emer-
gency grants to pay for rent, property taxes, or mortgage arrears.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends the Social Service Law to create a new section 131-ww.
Section 131-ww specifies that emergency grants for rental, mortgage, and
property tax arrears will be available to applicants once every year
(current regulations specify no more than once every five years) unless
the district uses discretion to allocate more funding. This section also
states that applicants will not be required to demonstrate an ability to
pay shelter expenses or prove that they can make repayments. The section
ends by instructing the commissioner to promulgate regulations in line
with the requirements of this section of law.
Section 2: Amends section 131-w of the social services law to increase
the gross household income cap from 125% to 200% of the federal income
official poverty line.
Section 3: Amends subdivision 1 of section 131-r of the social services
law to change the way in which lottery winnings can be used to claw back
emergency grants for rental, mortgage, and property tax arrears. Pres-
ently, there is a lookback window of 10 years, and any winnings in
excess of $600 may be clawed back. This bill changes the lookback window
to five years and increases the threshold at which winnings may be
clawed back to $20,000.
Section 4: Establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State's housing costs arrears eligibility guidelines have been
in place for decades and apply an outdated set of standards to those
seeking funds to stay in their home. These antiquated standards are far
too narrow, and as a result, thousands of individuals who need help are
unable to access it.
New York State is battling a dual housing and homelessness crisis. As
rents continue to rise throughout the state, many families are struggl-
ing to keep up. While New York saw a sharp decline in the number of
evictions during the pandemic moratorium, eviction filings are now
rising at a startling pace. From their low of 69,346 filings during the
peak of the pandemic in 2021, statewide filings have risen drastically
to 212,464 in 2023.
Evictions are disruptive for the community at every level. For individ-
uals, a forced move can take a toll both financially and on their
health. At the community level, evictions disrupt the social cohesion of
neighborhoods. Constant churn in residents makes it much more difficult
for neighbors to get to know and trust one another.
Upstate New York has been hit particularly hard by the housing and cost
of living crisis. As a result, rather than coming about due to the
actions of a tenant or the lapse of a lease, most evictions are a result
of a tenant's inability to pay. In Buffalo City Court for example, over
the last 5 years, 85% of evictions were filed due to non-payment. Just
last year, in Erie County at large, non-payment was the cause of 83% of
eviction warrants that were issued. This figure is on par with many
other large counties throughout the state. That means that for most
people facing an eviction, the only thing that will keep them in their
homes is access to housing costs arrears funds.
Eviction proceedings are costly and time consuming for everyone
involved: tenants, landlords, and the courts. None of the parties leaves
the court feeling like they achieved their ideal outcome. Avoiding a
court case is better for all parties.
Not only is housing court time consuming and costly, forcing families
out of their homes and into the shelter system also generates huge costs
to the state and localities. For each household in the shelter system
the state pays almost $13,000 in total. Given that the average eviction
is filed for a sum as small as $1,200, making housing costs arrears
funds more accessible will ultimately be a cost saving measure for the
state. Since these funds are already dispersed and only going unused due
to obsolete restrictions, enacting this bill will result in no addi-
tional cost to the state.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: A.9372-A
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
501
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI, ZINERMAN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M.
of A. DAVILA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Social
Services
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the payment of
shelter and rent arrears
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section
2 131-ww to read as follows:
3 § 131-ww. Shelter arrears. 1. Applicants may receive an emergency
4 grant to pay for rent, property taxes or mortgage arrears once every
5 year unless the district determines at its discretion that additional
6 shelter arrears payments are necessary based on the individual circum-
7 stances.
8 2. In an application for an allowance to pay shelter arrears, an
9 applicant shall not be required to demonstrate an ability to repay shel-
10 ter expenses, rent, property taxes, or mortgage payments going forward,
11 nor shall a district consider an applicant's ability to make payments
12 under any repayment agreement.
13 3. Unrepaid shelter expenses shall have no bearing on an applicant's
14 eligibility to receive additional loans.
15 4. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations consistent with this
16 section.
17 § 2. Section 131-w of the social services law, as added by chapter 41
18 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
19 § 131-w. Limitations in the payment of rent arrears. Districts shall
20 not provide assistance to pay rent arrears, property taxes or mortgage
21 arrears for persons not eligible for home relief, aid to dependent chil-
22 dren, emergency assistance to needy families with children or emergency
23 assistance for aged, blind and disabled persons, except to persons who
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01309-01-5
A. 501 2
1 are without income or resources immediately available to meet the emer-
2 gency need[,] and whose gross household income does not exceed [one
3 hundred twenty-five] two hundred percent of the federal income official
4 poverty line [and who sign a repayment agreement agreeing to repay the
5 assistance in a period not to exceed twelve months. The districts shall
6 enforce the repayment agreements by any legal method available to a
7 creditor, in addition to any rights it has pursuant to this chapter].
8 The department shall promulgate regulations to implement this section
9 which shall, among other things, [establish standards for the contents
10 of repayment agreements and] establish standards to ensure that assist-
11 ance is provided only in emergency circumstances.
12 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 131-r of the social services law, as
13 added by chapter 81 of the laws of 1995 and as designated by chapter 340
14 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
15 1. Any person who is receiving or has received, within the previous
16 [ten] five years, public assistance pursuant to the provisions of this
17 article, and who wins a lottery prize of [six hundred] twenty thousand
18 dollars or more shall reimburse the department from the winnings, for
19 all such public assistance benefits paid to such person during the
20 previous [ten] five years; provided, however, that such crediting to the
21 department shall in no event exceed fifty percent of the amount of the
22 lottery prize. The commissioner shall enter into an agreement with the
23 director of the lottery, pursuant to section sixteen hundred thirteen-b
24 of the tax law, for the crediting of lottery prizes against public
25 assistance benefits. Nothing herein shall limit the ability of a social
26 services district to make recoveries pursuant to section [104] one
27 hundred four or section [106-b] one hundred six-b of this chapter.
28 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
