New York, NY — Senate Housing Committee Chair Brian Kavanagh, Assembly Housing Committee Chair Linda Rosenthal, elected leaders, and advocates today celebrated the official launch of the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP), New York State’s first statewide rental assistance program designed to prevent homelessness and provide housing stability and called for increasing the program’s annual funding level to $250 million in the upcoming State budget, which is due by April 1st.

Modeled after the federal Section 8 program, HAVP fills a longstanding gap in New York’s housing safety net. The program, designed to help New Yorkers who are homeless or facing imminent loss of their housing, to secure and maintain stable homes. The program guarantees that participating households pay no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent.

Last year’s FY 2025-2026 budget included enactment of HAVP and $50 million in funding for the first year of the program, with the program officially beginning March 1, 2026. Over 125 vouchers have already been issued, marking the start of the program and a significant milestone for housing stability in New York. 

Lawmakers and advocates emphasized that HAVP is more important than ever at a time of uncertainty around federal housing resources. By helping cover the gap between what families can afford and rising market rents, HAVP enables households to move directly into permanent housing or remain in their homes, reducing reliance on emergency shelters and preventing costly cycles of displacement.

The launch marks the culmination of years of advocacy led by Senator Kavanagh and Assemblymember Rosenthal, working alongside elected colleagues, housing advocates, service providers, tenants, and homeless individuals. These vouchers will now begin delivering long-awaited housing stability to New Yorkers across the state, allowing families and individuals to remain and thrive in the communities where they live and work.

Lawmakers and advocates also emphasized the need to renew and increase annual funding for the program to $250 million in this year’s state budget to ensure more eligible households across New York can access assistance.

“As the prime sponsor of the Housing Access Voucher Program, I have worked for years alongside colleagues, advocates, providers, and people directly impacted by housing instability to make HAVP a reality,” said Senator Brian Kavanagh, Chair of the Senate Housing Committee. “The launch of HAVP is a milestone moment for New York – this program reflects a shared commitment to addressing homelessness at its root by helping people secure and maintain stable housing. Especially in the face of federal cuts to housing programs, New York must lead. From the beginning we have called for $250 million in annual funding for HAVP. The need now is greater than ever before, and I am committed to continuing our fight for $250 million in this year’s state budget. I thank Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, our colleagues in the legislature, the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, the City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and all of the tireless advocates for all of their work making this program a reality and ensuring that New Yorkers have access to safe, stable, affordable housing.”

“We just launched the Housing Access Voucher Program at a particularly critical time, as the Trump administration decimates federal rental assistance and other safety net programs, pushing people to the verge of homelessness,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Housing. “The $50 million investment in last year's state budget was a great first step, enabling us to set up a program to help New Yorkers facing homelessness or eviction to remain stably housed. With the program now and up and running, we must double down on our efforts to increase its funding to $250 million in our upcoming state budget, ensuring that New Yorkers in every corner of our state will have access to the assistance they need.” 

“The launch of the Housing Access Voucher Program marks a major step forward in ensuring more New Yorkers have a stable place to call home. By helping families experiencing or at risk of homelessness afford rent, HAVP strengthens our housing safety net and moves us closer to a state where stability and dignity are not out of reach. This is the kind of investment that keeps families housed and communities strong,” said Senator Nathalia Fernandez.

“After years of determined advocacy, the Housing Access Voucher Program is now officially live. I was proud to stand alongside Senator Kavanagh, Assemblymember Rosenthal, tenants, and advocates to secure this critical investment in our housing safety net. By ensuring households experiencing homelessness or at risk of eviction pay no more than 30 percent of their income toward rent, HAVP delivers meaningful, long-term relief. This is more than a policy achievement — it is a commitment to stability, dignity, and opportunity for families across our state, and I remain dedicated to advancing solutions that keep New Yorkers housed,” said Senator Roxanne J. Persaud.

“Win is proud to join Senator Kavanagh, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal and our advocacy partners from Housing Access New York as we celebrate the launch of New York’s historic Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) with the state beginning to issue these life changing vouchers for the first time this month. We would not be here without the support of Governor Hochul, Speaker Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, and the legislature who enacted this critical program in the budget last year,” said Christine C. Quinn, President & CEO of Win. “Last year's initial investment of $50 million for the HAVP pilot program was a critical step in providing housing stability for our most vulnerable New Yorkers. Unfortunately, the scale of the homelessness crisis requires a much larger investment. Win continues to advocate for the program to be made permanent and for an expansion to $250 million —a critical step to ensuring all New Yorkers have a place to call home.” 

“We've all been fighting for this for a long time and it feels good to know that people all over the state will finally receive vouchers through the program. Rental assistance changes lives. Unfortunately,  the $50 million Governor Hochul allocated isn't enough to accommodate our housing crisis across the state. It's a great start, but we'll continue to fight for a budget increase in the 2027 budget to service even more people in need,” said Althea Matthews, VOCAL-NY Homelessness Union Leader.

“Enterprise is thrilled to mark the official launch of the Housing Access Voucher Program alongside Senator Kavanagh and Assembly Member Rosenthal. We are excited to see the first statewide rental assistance program in NY start to issue critical vouchers for families to secure housing stability,” said Baaba Halm, Senior Vice President of Programs at Enterprise Community Partners. “We are grateful to Governor Hochul, Speaker Heastie, Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins, and the legislature for ensuring HAVP was piloted in the budget last year. Although the $50 million investment will provide initial vital support for New Yorkers, the reality is it's not enough to meet the scale of need. Enterprise continues to advocate for the full funding of the program to $250 million and to establish its permanency, in partnership with Housing Access New York and our shared commitment to ensure families have a safe, stable, and affordable home.”

“New York State has taken a monumental step to end homelessness. As New Yorkers are struggling through an affordability crisis, facing a lack of available affordable housing stock, and are at risk of their federal benefits being taken away, the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) is the best way to keep more New Yorkers from entering homelessness. But this is just the first step. HAVP has the potential to help more than 30,000 reach or maintain housing stability. Now is the time to move not just for a full investment of $250 million but making it a permanent program in this year's state budget,” said Kristin Miller, Executive Director of Homeless Services United. 

“Homelessness far longer. We know that vouchers work, when youth had voucher access, AFC’s waitlist fell below 100 for the first time in our history. NY must fund the Housing Access Voucher Program at $250 million and ensure youth can access them through OCFS/DYCD programs is essential. Youth need clear pathways to independence and healthy futures,” said Galloway, Advocacy Manager at the Ali Forney Center.

“The launch of the Housing Access Voucher Program is an important step forward in providing assistance to hundreds of families across the State to find a place to call home this year,” said Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition. “But thousands of unhoused New Yorkers will be left behind unless Albany takes action by fully funding this program at $250 million and making the program permanent. Safe and secure housing is fundamental to the well-being of all New Yorkers, providing essential physical and emotional sociability that allows them to contribute to their communities and thrive.”

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