"As City Limits has reported extensively, the CityFHEPS program's current eligibility rules make it nearly impossible to obtain a voucher without first residing in a homeless shelter-in direct opposition to one of the original goals of the program, which was to help prevent evictions. In 2023, the City Council voted to remove the shelter requirement, as well as to raise the income cap from $31,300 to $56,700 for an individual, or from $64,300 to $81,000 for a family of four."
"Former Councilmember Erik Bottcher (who recently left the Council to join the State Senate), is cosponsoring the bill with Councilmember Lincoln Restler, and argue that it will provide tenant protections to the many New Yorkers who are already living in shared apartments, and offer " dignified alternatives to shelter " to those who are homeless or at risk of losing their housing."
CityFHEPS eligibility currently requires prior residence in a homeless shelter, making vouchers nearly inaccessible and undermining eviction-prevention goals. In 2023, the City Council voted to remove the shelter requirement and to raise individual income caps from $31,300 to $56,700 and family-of-four caps from $64,300 to $81,000. Mayor Eric Adams blocked that legislation in court through the end of his term. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has stalled implementation of the CityFHEPS expansion, citing the prior administration's poor budgeting, leaving many low-income and unsheltered New Yorkers in limbo. The City Council is also considering Int. 1475 to legalize and regulate shared living arrangements as alternative housing.
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