S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8419
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 25, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction  and
   Community Development
 
 AN  ACT  in relation to enacting the "emergency rent relief act of 2020"
   to establish an  interim  residential  rent  relief  program;  and  to
   provide for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "emergency rent relief act of 2020".
   § 2. 1. For the purposes of this act:
   a. "Coverage period" shall mean April 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020.
   b.  "Eligible  household"  shall  mean  a household (i) with an income
 below 80 percent of the area median income, as adjusted for family size,
 both prior to March 7, 2020 and at the time of application; (ii) with  a
 rent  burden both prior to March 7, 2020 and at the time of application;
 and (iii) has lost income during the coverage period.
   c. "Income" shall mean income from all sources of each member  of  the
 household, including all wages, tips, overtime, salary, recurring gifts,
 returns  on  investments,  welfare assistance, social security payments,
 child support payments, unemployment benefits, any benefit,  payment  or
 cash grant whose purpose is to assist with rental payments, any payments
 whose  purpose is to replace lost income, and any other government bene-
 fit or cash grant. The term "income"  shall  not  include:    employment
 income from children under eighteen years of age, employment income from
 children  eighteen  years  of  age  or older who are full-time students,
 foster care payments, sporadic gifts, groceries provided by persons  not
 living in the household, supplemental nutrition assistance program bene-
 fits, earned income disallowance, or the earned income tax credit.
   d.  "Fair market rent" shall mean the fair market rent for each rental
 area as promulgated annually by the United States department of  housing
 and urban development's office of policy development and research pursu-
 ant to 42 USC 1437f.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD16519-03-0

 S. 8419                             2
 
   e.  "Rent  burden"  shall  mean  the amount of a contract monthly rent
 which is more than 30 percent of the household income.
   2. The commissioner of housing and community renewal is hereby author-
 ized and directed to establish and implement an interim residential rent
 relief program to support households impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
   3.  Such  program  shall be provided up to $100,000,000 of monies that
 have been allocated to the state of New York by the federal  Coronavirus
 Aid,  Relief,  and  Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 (P.L. 116-136)
 that have not otherwise been obligated, to provide rental assistance  to
 eligible  households  for  their  primary  residence in the state of New
 York.
   4. A rental subsidy shall be provided in the form of a voucher  to  be
 provided  directly  to  the  owner  of  the dwelling unit for applicants
 determined to be eligible households during the coverage  period  in  an
 amount  equal  to  the difference between the applicant's rent burden on
 March 1, 2020 and their rent burden during the month or  months  assist-
 ance  is requested for.  Such subsidy shall be limited to 125 percent of
 the fair market rent.
   5. Applicants shall not be expected or required to repay  any  assist-
 ance  granted  through  this  program  unless otherwise required by law.
 Assistance shall not be considered income for purposes of  public  bene-
 fits or other public assistance. There shall be no requirement on appli-
 cants  to  seek  assistance  from  other  sources,  including charitable
 contributions, for eligibility.
   6. The commissioner of housing and community renewal may delegate  the
 administration  of  portions of this program to any state, county, city,
 town, or public housing agency or any non-profit organization as  neces-
 sary to implement such program.
   7.  The  commissioner of housing and community renewal shall establish
 preferences prioritizing  households  with  the  greatest  economic  and
 social  need  in  processing applications for this program. Such prefer-
 ences shall account for, at a minimum:
   a. the historical income level of the household as it relates to  area
 median income;
   b. the rent burden of the household;
   c. the percentage income lost for the household; and
   d. the risk of homelessness or eviction.
   8.  The  commissioner  of  housing  and community renewal shall, on or
 before, October thirty-first two thousand twenty submit and make public-
 ly available a report to the governor, the temporary  president  of  the
 senate,  the speaker of the assembly, and on its website, on the monthly
 expenditures made pursuant to this act including  recipient  demographic
 data, regional data, and details on subsidy values.
   §  3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire July 31,
 2021, when upon such date the provisions of this  act  shall  be  deemed
 repealed.