Understanding Long Island Emergency Rental Assistance Programs

The federal government allocated funds to local governments to help people struggling with rental or utility arrears as a result of the pandemic. There are separate ERA programs for residents of Hempstead, Oyster Bay, and Islip. Residents of other Long Island communities apply to the New York State ERA program.

While all of the programs are governed by guidelines from the U.S. Treasury, there are a number of distinctions between the programs advocates should be aware of:

New York State: Visit the OTDA website to apply

New York State began accepting applications June 1, 2021. Tenants with incomes below 50% of the area median income and other high-need groups are entitled to prioritization if they apply through the end of June. After that, applications will be accepted on a first come first served basis as long as funds remain available.

• Maximum income is 80% of the area median income determined by HUD:
• 1 person, $66,450
• 2 people, $75,950
• 3 people, $85,450
• 4 people, $94,900
• Rental permits or inspections are not required.
• Tenants must be experiencing rental arrears to apply. Applications for only utility assistance or only prospective rent will not be considered.
• Landlords may not bring a no-fault eviction proceeding or increase the rent for 12 months after receiving ERA funds. Landlords can still evict for reasons like failure to pay rent that becomes due after ERA support ends.

Islip Residents: Visit the Islip CDA website to apply

• Islip began accepting applications in spring 2021 and is expected to continue to accept applications throughout 2021 (based on the current application rates).
• Maximum tenant income is based on “uncapped” HUD area median income. This is higher than the income limits for the New York State program:
• 1 person, $ 72,750
• 2 people, $ 83,150
• 3 people, $ 93,550
• 4 people, $103,900
• Rental permits are required. A tenant or landlord can apply even if the unit currently lacks a permit. But the landlord will need to obtain a permit before funds will be awarded.
• Applications for only utility arrears or only prospective rent will be considered (even if the tenant does not have rental arrears) in some circumstances.
• Landlords may not bring eviction proceedings for 90 days after payments of rental arrears.

Hempstead Residents: While the initial application window for the Hempstead ERA program closed on June 23, we expect a second application window to open after the initial applications are processed. Hempstead tenants can pre-register to be notified when the program reopens here.

Oyster Bay Residents: We expect to learn more about the Oyster Bay program in early July. Oyster Bay Tenants can pre-register for the program here.