The rental assistance program that New York State created back in July is back with a second round of funding.

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In a press release, NYS Homes and Community Renewal announced the COVID-19 Rent Relief Extension Program, which is a continuation of the original program from the summer.

The original program had almost $100 Million allocated to it, but due to the application requirements and the restricted timeline to apply, the State was only able to approve about 40% of the applications. This leaves a nice chunk of money available for this newest round of funding. This time around, the program has expanded the eligibility rules and criteria in an effort to help more people qualify and be approved for assistance.

HCR is acutely aware that this pandemic has put more pressure on New Yorkers who were already housing insecure, and these improvements to the Legislature’s original program will expand access to rent relief while building on Governor Cuomo’s eviction protections
-NYS Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas

If you submitted an application for this rental assistance in the previous round, you do not need to reapply. Your application will automatically be reviewed again.

Residents that previously applied for COVID Rent Relief will not have to reapply to be reconsidered. HCR will re-evaluate all applications that were denied according to the new criteria and issue revised determination letters to applicants.
-NYS HCR

To qualify for rental assistance under this program, you must meet all of the following:

  • Must be a renter and have a primary residence in New York State;
  • Applicants must have lost income during the period of April 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020;
  • Before March 7, 2020, household income must have been at or below 80% of the Area Median Income, adjusted for household size; and
  • Households must be “rent burdened” during the months they are applying for assistance between April 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020.

Today is the first day applications can be submitted and will be accepted until February 1, 2021.

This is such good news because COVID-19 has really had a negative financial impact on so many people. If you need assistance, please do not wait until the last minute to apply for this program.

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