"The high cost of housing is a major driver of low-income New Yorkers' economic precarity. In each year since 2022, there have been at least 190,000 eviction filings in New York State courts. About 70 percent of all eviction cases-and about 80 percent of all eviction cases filed in New York City-were predicated upon the alleged nonpayment of rent."
"Gov. Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature enacted a pilot for the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP), a state-funded tenant-based voucher designed to help homeless and at-risk New Yorkers by paying the difference between their monthly rent and 30 percent of their household income, as part of the Fiscal Year 2026 state budget."
"However, lawmakers seeded the HAVP pilot with only $50 million in funding statewide, leaving New York City with an anticipated 900 to 1,100 vouchers, according to the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development."
Housing costs drive economic precarity for low-income New Yorkers, with over 190,000 eviction filings annually, predominantly due to nonpayment of rent. As of January 2026, approximately 111,000 New York City residents lived in shelters, with an additional 82,000 children living doubled up in other households. The Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP), enacted in the Fiscal Year 2026 state budget, provides tenant-based vouchers covering the difference between monthly rent and 30 percent of household income. However, the pilot received only $50 million statewide, yielding just 900 to 1,100 vouchers for New York City. Expanding HAVP to $250 million would significantly increase assistance availability and provide broader eligibility criteria for homeless and at-risk populations, including those facing eviction proceedings.
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