NYC to Open Section 8 to New Applicants

by Mindy Cohn

Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to issue thousands of federal rental assistance vouchers and accept new applications during his State of the City address last Wednesday, claiming the city will issue "1,000 vouchers a month" beginning sometime this year.

The mayor did provide a clear timeline on when the city would start accepting new applications for the federal subsidies. 

Nearly 100,000 households in New York City already use Section 8 vouchers to help pay rent, according to Gothamist, and about 7,000 applicants are left on a waiting list that had more than 100,000 households on it five years ago.

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) will contact each of the 7,000 applicants on the list and issue Section 8 vouchers based on when they applied and also on where they stand on the preference scale, which prioritizes those who are homeless or disabled or who are domestic violence victims.

Once an applicant receives Section 8, it remains his as long as financial need remains. In New York City, those who have Section 8 and wish to qualify for assistance need to earn under $50,000 a year for an individual and $70,600 for a family of four.Section 8 recipients pay 30% of their income toward rent,  with Section 8 covering the balance up to a certain fair market threshold, which is determined by the federal government. 

As to how to apply and when, so far, there is nothing conclusive coming from the mayor's office, so those who wish to apply need to just hang tight until more information is released.