What it means for you
Since December 2021, FHEPS has let eligible New York City families rent homes priced up to HUD's fair market rent, instead of 85% of that level. It serves families on cash assistance facing eviction or homelessness.
Who benefits: New York City households with a child or pregnant person that qualify for cash assistance and face eviction or homelessness; Assembly sponsor Linda Rosenthal estimated 2,300 more families could use FHEPS.
FHEPS is a rent supplement for New York City households with a child or pregnant person that qualify for cash assistance. It serves families facing eviction, families that have been evicted, and families that lost housing because of domestic violence or health and safety problems. Before this law, the maximum rent for a home rented with FHEPS was 85% of HUD’s fair market rent. The law raised that cap to 100%. A family may still owe its required share of the rent, but the higher cap opens more apartments to FHEPS and can help families stay out of shelter.
The law did not create a separate application. Families seeking FHEPS to stay in their home can apply through ACCESS HRA or an HRA Benefits Access Center. Families that need to move can contact a Homebase provider. The law also requires the state to reimburse the city for FHEPS payments under state social-services funding rules.
Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal and Sen. Brian Kavanagh sponsored the bill. Sen. Roxanne Persaud, the Senate Social Services Committee chair and a co-sponsor, was also credited with leadership and strong support. More than 100 organizations in the city’s Eviction Prevention Roundtable pushed for the change, and landlord groups supported it. The Senate passed it 45–18 in June 2021, with every Democrat and two Republicans voting yes. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed it on December 10, 2021, and it took effect that day. Rosenthal estimated that 2,300 more families could use FHEPS.
HousingLower costs
Sources
- Assembly Bill A8009 (2021-2022), Chapter 666 of 2021New York State Senate, December 10, 2021
- Senate Bill S6573 (2021-2022), floor voteNew York State Senate, June 10, 2021
- Social Services Law § 131-bb, Family homelessness and eviction prevention supplement programNew York State Senate
- Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Combat Homelessness and Expand Housing Affordability in New York CityOffice of the Governor of New York, December 10, 2021
- Senator Kavanagh and Assemblymember Rosenthal Announce Passage of Bill Expanding FHEPS Homelessness Prevention ProgramOffice of Sen. Brian Kavanagh, June 10, 2021
- To boost access to affordable housing, new law increases amount of FHEPS rental vouchersBrick Underground, December 16, 2021
- Family Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (FHEPS)NYC Human Resources Administration
How we checked this
Drafted by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) on November 11, 2026. Checked against its sources by GPT-5.6-sol (OpenAI) on November 11, 2026, which corrected it. Confirmed the law, enactment date, Senate vote, sponsors, funding structure, and current operation. Corrected how the rent cap and 2,300-family estimate were described, expanded the eligibility details, and added a documented legislative champion.
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