The Compliance Crisis in New York City's Project-Based Rental Assistance Program

"Jose Tolentino, 56, was having a hell of a time reaching his property manager. He needed to get in touch with them to submit his annual income recertification packet for 2022. Under the federally-subsidized Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) program, he paid 30 percent of his income in rent for his Morningside Heights apartment-but he needed to cooperate with his property manager, Wavecrest, in order to submit proof of income."

"Under the program, management is required to provide three notices of recertification deadlines to tenants, with clear instructions about how to reach management staff. Wavecrest provided no evidence that they served those notices properly, Tolentino's lawyer would later allege, and simply told him to "go to the rental office." When his recertification wasn't processed in time, Wavecrest terminated Tolentino's PBRA subsidy, unbeknownst to him-and back rent was piling up at a rate of $2,860 per month."

Private managers of federally subsidized Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) buildings in New York City frequently fail to properly screen tenants, producing rent miscalculations and eviction filings. Tenants must cooperate with management for annual income recertification, and management must provide multiple deadline notices and clear contact instructions. Failures to serve notices or provide reasonable accommodations can lead to subsidy termination and rapidly accumulating back rent. One resident, Jose Tolentino, experienced repeated unanswered requests, loss of subsidy, and $2,860 per month in back rent. Approximately 100,000 New Yorkers rely on PBRA and tenants often have limited recourse.

Read at City Limits