July 9, 2021
Dear Governor Cuomo:
As community organizations and elected officials representing tenants across New York State, we are writing to demand immediate reforms to the implementation of the statewide Emergency Rent Relief Assistance Program (ERAP) that launched on June 1st.
From day one, the implementation of the Emergency Rent Relief Assistance Program (ERAP) has been riddled with numerous flaws that make it harder for tenants to apply for and obtain aid. This failure on the part of your agency, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, undermines New York State’s ability to ensure that $2.7 billion in federal rent relief actually reaches tenants and families hit hardest by COVID.
So far, only xxx New Yorkers have applied for rental assistance, yet an estimated 1.2 million New Yorkers owe back rent because COVID destroyed their jobs and incomes. It’s clear from what we are seeing and hearing on the ground that many New Yorkers eligible for this emergency rent relief assistance are unable to access it. The online portal for ERAP is too difficult to navigate. ERAP must be fixed quickly so that relief funds are distributed to the more than 1 million New Yorkers who are saddled with COVID rent debt and desperately need financial help.
Housing advocates and impacted tenants involved in Housing Justice for All (HJ4A) have identified the following problems related to lack of accessibility, barriers to eligibility, and poor user experience for tenants who try to navigate the ERAP online portal:
Lack of Accessibility:
- Reliance on “Google Translate” to inaccurately translate the website and landing pages; no translation of “Frequently Asked Questions” and other key parts of the site
- No paper applications are available
- Email address is required to apply
Barriers to Eligibility:
- The definition of “household” is unclear, particularly for sub-lessees and those who live with roommates
- It is not clear how tenants could utilize “self-attestation” for required documents in the application process
- Cooperators are not eligible for the program, despite the fact that there is nothing in the legislation that should bar eligibility
Poor User Experience for Tenants Applying for Rent Relief Online
- It takes about two hours to fully apply for the program and there is not ability to save the application and return to it later
- There is no “submit” button, so it is unclear to users if they have adequately applied
- The website is poorly designed and crashes frequently
In addition, OTDA has provided no direction to some of the most vulnerable tenants in our State: those who live in accessory dwelling units that are not recognized as homes. In particular, single family homeowners who are at the highest risk of foreclosure are unable to provide adequate documentation to obtain this relief.
After more than a year of struggling through the pandemic, New York’s renters deserve better. That’s why we urge you and your agencies to immediately correct the problems outlined above and make the following additional changes to ensure the ERAP program is managed and implemented effectively:
- OTDA should hold daily briefings to inform the public about ERAP and answer frequently asked questions;
- OTDA should set up working groups to address the question of roommates, sublessors, and discrepancy in rent owed between landlords and tenants. These working groups must represent tenant interests.
More than 1 million New Yorkers will not be able to recover from the COVID pandemic unless they can obtain rental assistance from ERAP. It’s up to you and your administration to ensure these New Yorkers are not left behind.
Signed,
Members of Housing Justice for All and allies, including:
- Akron Mobile Home Park Tenants Association
- Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development
- Buffalo Anti-Racism Coalition
- Broome Street Tenants Alliance
- CAAAV
- CASA: New Settlement Apartments
- Catholic Migration Services
- Citizen Action of New York
- Citywide Tenant Union – Rochester
- Chhaya CDC
- Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc.
- Churches United for Fair Housing
- Community Service Society
- Communities Resist
- Community Voices Heard
- Cooper Square Committee
- Free the People WNY
- Goddard Riverside Community Center
- Good Ole Lower East Side (GOLES)
- Housing Conservation Coordinators
- Housing Organizers for People Empowerment (HOPE)
- Housing Rights Initiative
- Hudson-Catskill Housing Coalition
- Make the Road New York
- Met Council on Housing
- Neighbors Together
- New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA)
- New York Communities for Change
- New York State Tenants & Neighbors
- Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson
- Northeast Save the Kids (Buffalo)
- Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition
- NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives
- Partnership for the Public Good
- Power, Action, & Light Social Justice Center
- PUSH Buffalo
- Ridgewood Tenant Union
- Riverside Edgecombe Neighborhood Association (RENA)
- Southwest Brooklyn Tenant Union
- Tenants Political Action Committee
- Urban Justice Center-Safety Net Project
- VOCAL-NY
- Voces Ciudadanas, Sunset Park