Senate Bill S8652A

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8652A

SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to diminishing
certain limitations and restrictions on emergency assistance to pay rent
arrears and removing the requirement that such assistance be repaid  by
the recipient

 
PURPOSE OF BILL:

This bill is intended to expand access to emergency rental assistance
under Emergency Assistance for Adults, Emergency Assistance for Fami-
lies, and Emergency Safety Net Assistance, to make these programs more
effective at preventing evictions and homelessness for a broader range
of individuals and families with children.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends Section 131-w of the Social Services Law to
increase the gross household income eligibility for qualifying for emer-
              

gency assistance from 125% of the federal poverty line to 200% of the
federal poverty line.

Section 1 of the bill further amends Section 131-w of the Social
Services Law to remove the requirement that applicants demonstrate t he
ability to pay their rent in the future as a condition for granting
emergency rental assistance, and to remove the requirement that social
service districts must require the repayment of emergency rental assist-
ance and enforce such requirement by any means available to a creditor.

Section 1 of the bill further amends Section 131-w of the Social
Services Law to prohibit social service districts from requiring pro of
of a court proceeding in order to qualify for emergency rental assist-
ance.

Section 2 of the bill amends Section 131 of the Social Services Law by
adding a new subdivision 21 to allow social service districts to pay
emergency rental assistance to cover rent arrears for a period of up to
12 months, and to provide that a recipient of such assistance shall not
be eligible for subsequent assistance for 2 years; the new subdivision
provides districts the discretion to make exceptions to these limita-
tions when necessary based on individual case circumstances.

Section 3 of the bill amends Subdivision 3 of Section 350-j of the
Social Service Law to specify that a reason for granting emergency
assistance to needy families with children includes preventing such
families from losing their homes due to non-payment of rent.

Section 4 of the bill sets forth a severability clause.

Section 5 of the bill establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

NYS Social Services Law Section 131-w includes several provisions that
create unnecessary and unreasonable limitations and restrictions that
make it more difficult for social service districts to provide emergency
rental assistance when individuals and families are unable to pay their
rent and face evictions. On some matters on which the statute is silent,
social services rules and local practice s have resulted in additional
limitations and restrictions. This bill is intended to diminish the
limitations and restrictions to improve access to emergency rental
assistance and ensure that individuals and families have the resources
they need to avoid eviction and stay in their homes when emergency
financial difficulties strike.  Allowing rent arrears to be paid in
these circumstances will also benefit property owners who otherwise may
not be able to recoup the income from missed rent payments, making it
more difficult for them to pay the expenses of maintaining their proper-
ty.

The bill increases the maximum income that a household may receive and
still qualify for emergency assistance, recognizing that many working
people who are not technically in "poverty" as federal law defines that
term, still may be in need of assistance in emergencies to stay in their
homes. For example, using 2024 figures, the current law provides that
households are ineligible for emergency assistance if their annual
income exceeds $25,550 for a family of 2 or $39,000 for a family of 4.
The bill would increase these figures to $40,880 and $62,200 respective-
ly, recognizing that emergencies may cause households with those higher
incomes to fall behind in their rent and emergency assistance should
still be available to prevent eviction.

The current law also requires that applicants demonstrate the ability to
pay their rent in the future before they can receive emergency rental
assistance. Some local social services districts have interpreted this
provision more strictly than others, and many families understandably
have difficulty meeting this burden of proof as they face an emergency
that has caused them to fall behind in their rent. In addition, the
current law requires that emergency rental assistance must be repaid to
the State by the recipient and that local social services must use
aggressive means to seek to collect repayment. These provisions, in
combination, often serve as significant obstacles to addressing the
current emergency that threatens people's homes and their financial
stability, and prolongs the family's financial emergency into the future
as the government seeks to recoup the assistance. By removing these
obstacles, this bill will help ensure that families and individuals can
receive the immediate urgent help that they need to stabilize their
housing and financial circumstances.

Though there is no law or regulation that requires it, to qualify for
emergency rental assistance, some social service districts have made it
a rule that individuals must be able to show that an eviction proceeding
has already been initiated against them. Even in cases where an eviction
is imminent and a person will soon become homeless, individuals are not
eligible until the court proceeding has been initiated. This process is
not only traumatic for the tenant, it creates an unnecessary burden for
all parties involved when the social services district could simply
determine that the household is in need of assistance to avoid eviction
before the eviction process has formally begun. Such court proceedings,
where the outcome will be that emergency rental assistance will be
provided and the eviction will not occur, are also an unnecessary burden
on the courts, many of which are straining to expeditiously resolve a
high volume of cases. To remedy this, the bill provides that such court
proceedings will no longer be a condition for receiving emergency rental
assistance.
The current statute is silent on how much rental assistance may be paid
in emergencies, but some regulations set short periods that make
programs less effective at preventing evictions. General emergency
assistance regulation 18 NYCRR Section 352.7(g)(3) restricts the use of
emergency rental assistance to paying no more than six months of shelter
arrears. Under 18 NYCRR Section 297.7(1)(3) for Emergency Assistance for
Adults, rent arrears payment is limited to the four months prior to when
a person applies for EAA. Emergency Assistance for Families and Emergen-
cy Safety Net Assistance regulations are silent on how many months of
arrears the assistance may cover, though social service districts may
point to the general emergency assistance regulation to make this
provision apply for both EAF and ESNA. Many households fall further
behind on their rent before their landlords inform them that they may
face eviction and they seek emergency rental assistance. Moreover, for a
household with rental arrears over the limit, some social service
districts refuse to grant any emergency assistance unless funding from
local nonprofits, faith-based organizations, or or some other charitable
source
 can be secured to cover a household's arrears in excess of the limit.
Increasing the number of months of arrears that may be paid in emergen-
cies is another important way that this bill will make these programs
more effective at preventing evictions.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2024: New bill. Some provisions similar to those of this bill were
included in 52944 of 2023 (Kavanagh) and S6181A of 2023 (Kavanagh), and
were incorporated into Part DDD of the Senate's proposed budget bill
58306B of 2024, but not adopted in the final Fiscal 2024-2025 budget.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined. Increased costs for emergency rental assistance
payments may be substantially offset by direct costs of shelter and
services when evicted households experience homelessness and other indi-
rect costs that result from housing instability and evictions

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.