By The newspaper
06 Oct 2023, 10:25 AM EDT
New York City residents with housing vouchers and even those experiencing homelessness will no longer be required to undergo credit checks when selected for affordable rentals, which would immediately expedite the process of entering new units for more than 4,000 families every year.
This was announced yesterday in a joint statement by Mayor Eric Adams, Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Adolfo Carrión Jr., and the president of the New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC). , Eric Enderlin.
Effective immediately, New Yorkers will benefit from housing vouchers, including Section 8 or CityFHEPS, eliminating “a major financial barrier and ensuring that people with lower credit scores or those facing financial hardship are not unfairly excluded from affordable housing opportunities.” . “This is a huge step forward that could reshape the way real estate and other similar landscapes work.”
“Credit checks create a huge and unnecessary hurdle, disproportionately harming low-income New Yorkers.”
“For New Yorkers with rental assistance vouchers, undergoing credit checks and providing rental history present unnecessary barriers to obtaining affordable housing, since their ability to pay rent is guaranteed either by their qualification for a subsidy rent or for the rental subsidy related to the affordable unit,” the statement highlighted.
“Credit checks create a huge and unnecessary hurdle, disproportionately harming low-income New Yorkers. For people with bad credit or no credit, eliminating credit checks could mean the difference between owning a home and being homeless,” said Commissioner Carrión.
In the midst of a housing and affordability crisis, we must use every tool at our disposal to ease the burden on working families so they can live and thrive in New York City.”
“In the midst of a housing and affordability crisis, we must use every tool at our disposal to ease the burden on working families so they can live and thrive in New York City,” said Deputy Mayor of Housing, Economic Development and Workforce María Torres Springer. “Eliminating credit checks from the housing voucher process will speed up the time it takes for families to move into new homes, providing stability and security to thousands of households each year. “This action will improve tenant access to affordable housing in a timely manner, including for those experiencing homelessness, who often have higher barriers to entry into the housing market.”
“If an individual or family has a housing voucher, they should be able to secure their new home with as simple a process as possible,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams Isom. “(Yesterday’s) announcement reduces additional bureaucracy by eliminating credit checks for voucher holders and allows them to more quickly transition into stable housing.”
“With (yesterday’s) announcement, thousands of New Yorkers will no longer have to fear that a credit check will affect their chances of accessing safe, affordable housing,” said HDC President Enderlin.
For more information about affordable housing options in NYC, see the official website.