In 2022, NYC Department of Social Services’ (DSS) made major changes to rental subsidy programs, CityFHEPS and FHEPS. Below is a summary of these changes, which include increasing the maximum rental amount, establishing a new method to determine the subsidy amount, and enacting a rent reasonableness test. Increased Maximum Rent AmountsThe maximum rent amounts for both [...]

NYS Homes and Community Renewal’s Residential Emergency Services to Offer Repairs to the Elderly (RESTORE) program provides financial assistance for senior homeowners to make repairs that allow them to continue living independently in their homes. Governor Hochul signed legislation in August 2022 increasing the July-August 2022 Page 6 Benefits Plus E-Newsletter amount of time to complete [...]

Earlier this year, a change to the NYS Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law took effect giving unrepresented parties (landlords or tenants) protections when agreeing to a Stipulation of Settlement (commonly known as a stipulation, or an agreement between landlords and tenants) in all housing court cases.The Law now requires that all housing court judges ask [...]