A broadly popular program that freezes rents for senior and disabled tenants by providing property tax credits to landlords is likely to cover more applicants, after the City Council voiced broad support for bills that would raise renters’ income limits to $75,000.
At a Friday hearing lawmakers discussed proposed changes to Senior Citizen and Disability Rent Increase Exemptions, two programs they framed as a mutual benefit that more tenants and owners should be utilizing. The expansion of the program, part of a larger package of housing bills, is likely to pass at an upcoming stated meeting of City Council, though no date has been set to vote on them yet.
Officials from the Mamdani administration’s Finance Department testified in support of most legislation tied to rolling out the higher ceiling at an oversight hearing held by a joint panel of lawmakers on committees for finance, disabilities and aging. At the hearing lawmakers also questioned officials about how to get more eligible New Yorkers to use the programs.
Higher limits on income eligibility for SCRIE and DRIE, along with the Senior Citizen and Disabled Homeowners’ Exemptions, received state approval in May, leaving New York City lawmakers to approve their implementation. The legislation introduced by Council member Farah Louis would raise the income eligibility threshold for the first time in more than a decade, applying retroactively to July 1 for SCRIE and DRIE benefits.
The changes are largely supported by rent-stabilized landlords. “Many of our members serve senior citizens and people with disabilities who rely on SCRIE and DRIE to remain stably housed,” Irak Chehonski-Rivas, city policy director at the New York State Association for Affordable Housing, said. “We also urge that the reforms be paired with adequate agency staffing and resources so eligible New Yorkers aren’t left waiting for relief they already qualify for.”
Kenny Burgos of the New York Apartment Association, which represents rent-stabilized landlords, also expressed support for expanding SCRIE and DRIE when Gov. Kathy Hochul announced her intention to increase income eligibility in January.
Casting a wider net
Outreach and education on SCRIE and DRIE comprised the bulk of the questions from the Council panel. Specifically, they asked DOF Deputy Commissioner Jeffrey Shear to explain what the agency is doing to make sure the expanded universe of eligible tenants and homeowners take advantage of the benefits.
SCRIE was first established by the City Council in 1970 and was later broadened to include additional housing types, while DRIE was created in a 2005 expansion. The last time the income limit increased in 2015, it was set at $50,000, where it currently sits until City Council implements the state’s expansion. But 57 percent of New Yorkers already eligible for SCRIE and DRIE still aren’t enrolled, Jean Stevens, director of the Benefits Law Project at Volunteers of Legal Service, said during her testimony.
Shear told the panel that SCRIE and DRIE rent freeze programs, previously capped at an income eligibility threshold of $50,000, provided benefits to 67,677 households in 2024 through SCRIE and DRIE programs administered by DOF, as well as Mitchell-Lama household programs administered by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
Lee noted that the cost of raising the eligibility thresholds in the state budget was $44 million to be spent over several years, which Shear broke down as 82 percent attributable to SCRIE and 18 percent to DRIE.
Enrollment efforts
Relatively low enrollment in the disability rent freeze program compared to senior benefits indicates that the program isn’t reaching the people it was built for, said Council member Shahana Hanif, chair of the committee on disabilities.
“A working-age tenant with a disability is unlikely to see themselves in outreach built around older adult centers and mailings to seniors,” Hanif said. “When a benefit is bundled under a heading that doesn’t describe you, you don’t apply for it.”
The need for separate applications depending on the type of housing was also a common concern among lawmakers. Council member Chris Marte, for example, cited potential confusion for tenants and the need for a centralized portal that allows them to apply and renew benefits easily.
Lawmakers also pushed for auto-renewal, pointing to difficulties recipients may have recertifying their benefits after their lease expires.
Merging the two applications into a universal form and online system for all households across types would require substantial technical and operational upgrades, plus coordination between DOF and HPD, Shear said in his testimony.
Read more
The Daily Dirt: Landlords, tenants missing benefits
Policy Pro: City rejects buyer protections for pied-à-terre tax, Council seeks rental benefit boost
Hochul wants to exempt housing projects from environmental review, punish bad landlords
Recent Comments