What's happening
This bill prohibits homeless shelters from charging rent or requiring work as a condition for temporary housing assistance in New York.
Why it matters
Removes financial and work barriers. By repealing the law that allowed shelters to collect rent or require work, the bill ensures that people experiencing homelessness can access emergency housing without being turned away for inability to pay or participate in work programs.
Strengthens accountability for shelters. The bill introduces penalties for providers who violate these rules, including fines, requirements to return improperly collected funds, and possible disqualification from public funding for repeated offenses. This increases oversight and helps protect vulnerable residents from exploitation.
Expands protections across shelter types. The changes apply broadly to a wide range of shelter and temporary housing settings (including family shelters, youth shelters, domestic violence shelters, hotels, and others), ensuring consistent standards statewide and closing potential loopholes.
Targets systemic barriers to shelter entry. By specifying that no earned or unearned income, benefits, or resources can be required as a condition for shelter, the bill addresses a common reason people may avoid or be denied emergency housing, potentially reducing unsheltered homelessness.
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Who cares
Homeless individuals and families
The bill would bar requiring them to pay room and board or contribute income, benefits or resources as a condition of receiving temporary housing assistance or to eliminate their need for it.
Publicly funded temporary housing providers
The bill would prohibit them from conditioning temporary housing assistance on participation in work activities.
Shelters and other temporary housing providers
Providers collecting prohibited contributions would have to refund them and could face civil penalties of up to $500 per violation and loss of public funding for repeated violations.
Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
The bill would direct the office to prohibit work requirements imposed by publicly funded temporary housing providers.
Headline styles
End Shelter Rent Charges
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
16 Co-sponsors
2 Multi-sponsors
History
- Reported referred to codes
- Print number 7612a
- Amend (t) and recommit to social services
- Referred to social services
- Referred to social services
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
End Shelter Rent for Homeless
In Senate Committee · Social Services · Sponsor Zellnor Myrie
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7612--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 14, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Social Services -- recommitted to the Committee on Social Services in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to eliminating rent for homeless shelters; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 36-c of the social services law is REPEALED.
§ 2. Section 131 of the social services law is amended by adding two new subdivisions 21 and 22 to read as follows:
21. The office of temporary and disability assistance shall prohibit any publicly funded provider of temporary housing assistance, including but not limited to those defined in subdivision sixteen of section one hundred thirty-one-a of this title from requiring recipients of such assistance to participate in work activities, including but not limited to those defined in section three hundred thirty-six of this chapter, as a condition to receive temporary housing assistance from such provider.
22. a. Any temporary housing assistance provider found to be collecting income, room and board or any other type of contribution in violation of subdivision sixteen of section one hundred thirty-one-a of this title, shall, after notice and an opportunity to be heard by the department, be required to return any funds collected in violation of this section to such recipient and may be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars for each violation. The department shall adopt procedures in accordance with the state administrative procedure act for assessment of penalties pursuant to this section. Such procedure shall include the opportunity for an administrative appeal. Any provider found to have violated this section and who is subsequently found to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06131-02-0
A. 7612--A 2
have violated this section five or more times within one year of the initial finding may be determined, at the discretion of the department and taking into consideration the geographic availability of similar services, to be ineligible to receive public funding for a period not to exceed five years.
b. Any provider which has been deemed ineligible to receive public funding pursuant to this section may apply to the department for an order discontinuing such disqualification. The application shall set forth the grounds, including that the provider has taken sufficient actions to remove from responsibility officers and employees who engaged in the actions that formed the basis of the violation, that the provider has taken appropriate and sufficient actions to ensure that the actions that formed the basis of the violation are unlikely to recur, and that it will not be in the public interest to continue the disqualification.
§ 3. Section 131-a of the social services law is amended by adding a new subdivision 16 to read as follows:
16. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, a homeless individual or family applying for or receiving temporary housing assistance shall not be required to pay room and board or contribute any earned or unearned income, available benefits or resources to eliminate their need for temporary housing assistance or as a condition to receive temporary housing assistance from such provider. For the purposes of this subdivision, any provider of temporary housing assistance or short-term housing shall include, but not be limited to, a family shelter, a cluster site apartment, a shelter for adults, a United States Department of Housing and Urban Development assisted transitional housing shelter, a public home, a hotel, an emergency apartment, a domestic violence shelter, a runaway and homeless youth shelter, a room and board shelter, a safe haven shelter, a veterans short-term housing shelter, a criminal justice short-term housing shelter, or a safe house for refugees, asylees, or trafficking victims operating in New York state.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
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