The City’s housing stock includes nearly 1 million rent-regulated housing units, 175,000 public housing apartments, and many market-rate units that house millions of low- and middle-income New Yorkers. It is crucial that current and future tenants in New York City have access to stable and secure housing.
PROTECT TENANTS FROM DISPLACEMENT
The City is continuing efforts to protect tenants from harassment, unsafe living conditions, and displacement by unscrupulous landlords. In 2019, the City launched a new Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants that will lead the City’s anti-harassment and outreach initiatives across multiple agencies, utilize data to focus efforts, and coordinate with advocates. We are also expanding efforts to protect tenants through the
Tenant Anti-Harassment Unit housed at the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and the launch of data-driven tools such as the Speculation Watch List and Certification of No Harassment program. Another program,
Partners in Preservation, is rolling out in East Harlem, Inwood, and Jerome Avenue in the Bronx to work with community-based organizations to jointly coordinate anti-displacement initiatives — such as code enforcement, tenant organizing and education, legal representation, affirmative litigation, and other strategies.
PROVIDE TENANT LEGAL AID TO ALL NEW YORKERS BY 2022
For decades, tenants who found themselves facing eviction often lacked legal representation and were therefore at a severe disadvantage. New York City is the first city in the nation to commit to providing every tenant facing eviction in housing court or NYCHA termination of tenancy proceedings with free legal services — a plan which at full implementation is expected to provide services to 400,000 individuals annually. The City is funding and implementing its Universal Access to Counsel initiative in phases and, since 2014, City-funded legal services for tenants have provided assistance to a quarter-million New Yorkers facing the threat of eviction and displacement.
SEEK REFORM TO STATE RENT REGULATION LEGISLATION
The rent-stabilized housing stock is an irreplaceable source of low-cost housing that is affordable to low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. Median household income for rent-stabilized units is 33 percent lower than that of private, renter-occupied units. Under the current system, the City is at risk of losing lower-cost rent-regulated units, which are critical to our ability to meet the housing needs of low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. The City’s guiding principles for reforming the rent regulation system are:
1. Retaining rent stabilized stock
2. Preserving affordability and stabilizing rent levels
3. Ensuring current tenants are secure in their homes and
neighborhoods
4. Protecting benefits of rent stabilization for future tenants
5. Maintaining the quality of the stock
IMPLEMENT NYCHA 2.0 TO SUPPORT THE SUCCESS OF THE LARGEST PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY
In late 2018, the City announced NYCHA 2.0, a comprehensive plan to preserve public housing. This plan will ensure residents have the safe, decent, and affordable homes they deserve by making critical fixes, improving operations, and creating new funding sources. The Fix to Preserve program addresses health and safety issues including heating, mold, pests, and lead. It will also improve services and maintenance through organizational changes and improved service-delivery models. To create new funding sources, PACT to Preserve will use Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Section 8 funding, including Rental Assistance Demonstration, to fund renovations
and convert 62,000 apartments to permanently affordable housing. Build to Preserve will address roughly $2 billion in capital repairs through new development on NYCHA land. Transfer to Preserve will deliver approximately $1 billion in capital repairs through the sale of unused development rights, also known as air rights.
HELP LOW-INCOME HOMEOWNERS STAY IN THEIR HOMES
Many low-income homeowners are not able to afford home repairs, especially families struggling to make mortgage payments. These repairs are essential to maintaining the health and safety of a home. The City recently launched HomeFix to help low- and moderate-income homeowners in one-, two-, three-, or four-family properties fund home repairs, while also leveraging the services of community and nonprofit partners.
It is estimated that HomeFix will serve approximately 100 households per year over the next eight years. The City will explore expansion based on initial program results.
