Albany, N.Y. — People with higher incomes can now apply for a new round of $125 million in rental aid from New York state.
Lawmakers approved the new round of aid during a special session of the Legislature earlier in September. The money will help people pay rent if they fell behind because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new relief is open to households earning between 80% and 120% of the median income in their areas. Households also must have been negatively affected by the pandemic.
Anyone interested in applying can do so online at otda.ny.gov/erap.
Median household incomes vary widely across New York. In Onondaga County, it’s just over $61,000, according to the Census Bureau.
That means the new round of rent aid will help those in the county making about $49,000 to about $73,000 a year.
People with incomes in that range were not eligible to apply for early rounds of rent help, which were aimed at people making less than 80% of the median income in their areas.
Getting aid to renters has moved slowly. The state approved over $2 billion in assistance, but as of early September, it had only paid $230 million to 15,000 households.
The pace has picked up since then, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office. The totals are now up to $399 million paid to over 30,000 households.
Hochul and the Legislature also extended New York’s eviction and foreclosure moratorium during this month’s special session. The ban now lasts until Jan. 15 and applies to commercial and residential tenants who fell behind on rent because of the pandemic.
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