In an audit of the program released Friday, the comptroller’s office found that the city had approved units with pests and other serious concerns to participate in the program. And some tenants have used their vouchers to pay landlords on the city’s “Worst Landlords” list.
As such, the comptroller recommended that the program establish a “landlord disqualification” list.
The audit is the latest public criticism of the rental assistance program, which mainly serves formerly homeless New Yorkers and is a source of income for private landlords. Disqualifying specific landlords from the program would cut them off from that revenue stream.
The state comptroller’s office reviewed 45 CityFHEPS cases across the five boroughs. Of those, three had open housing code violations classified as “immediately dangerous,” including teasing.
Not only is that not a great situation for renters, it’s also expensive, the report said. For audited voucher recipients who eventually had to move, the program had to pay nearly $119,000 in new agent fees and landlord incentives.
In one case, the city’s Department of Social Services approved a tenant to move into a unit with 20 open violations, including mouse and cockroach infestations. DSS paid more than $7,000 to the agent and landlord to secure the apartment before the tenant moved in. Another CityFHEPS tenant had already been cleared to leave that unit due to similar concerns.
“Landlords continue to participate in CityFHEPS without having to rectify poor housing situations,” the report said.
Further investigation by the comptroller’s office revealed that DSS also allowed at least 57 CityFHEPS households to use their vouchers for units owned by landlords on the public advocacy group’s “Worst Landlords” list.
DSS said it would establish an “escalation list” for landlords, “to enable more intensive assessments of specific landlords.” DSS disputed several of the report’s conclusions, saying it contained several inaccuracies and failed to highlight the program’s successes.
In a statement to GothamistDSS head of responsibility Bedros Boodanian blamed the habitability problems on New York’s low vacancy rate.
“Renters, especially low-income households with vouchers like CityFHEPS, have very few available units to choose from,” Boodanian wrote. “Limiting the use of vouchers to only blameless landlords would shrink an already microscopic pool of available units, further delaying housing for people who need it most.”
DSS told the control office that the list of the “Worst Landlords” is not legally enforceable.
The audit revealed other issues with the oversight of CityFHEPS. For example, in thirty of the 75 cases statewide, there was no record of income verification. The comptroller’s office has recommended that DSS follow its income verification policy.
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