New York S 4446: Enacts the "shelter arrears eviction forestallment act"

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S04446 Summary:

BILL NOS04446A

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SAME ASNo Same As

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SPONSORKAVANAGH

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COSPNSRRYAN S, BASKIN, BYNOE, CLEARE, COONEY, FAHY

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MLTSPNSR

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Add §131-cc, Soc Serv L

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Enacts the "shelter arrears eviction forestallment act" to provide emergency assistance for rent or mortgage arrears or other fees for the prevention of eviction.

Go to top S04446 Actions:

BILL NOS04446A

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02/05/2025REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES

03/24/2025AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO SOCIAL SERVICES

03/24/2025PRINT NUMBER 4446A

01/07/2026REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES

Go to topS04446 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS04446 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS04446 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 4446--A

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 February 5, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sens. KAVANAGH, S. RYAN, BASKIN, CLEARE, COONEY, FAHY --
 read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
 the Committee on Social Services -- committee discharged, bill
 amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
 tee

 AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to enacting the
 "shelter arrears eviction forestallment act" to provide emergency
 assistance for rent or mortgage arrears or other fees for the
 prevention of eviction

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 2 the "shelter arrears eviction forestallment act".
 3 § 2. The social services law is amended by adding a new section 131-cc
 4 to read as follows:
 5 § 131-cc. Shelter arrears eviction forestallment program. 1. (a) With-
 6 in amounts appropriated therefor, the office of temporary and disability
 7 assistance shall establish the shelter arrears eviction forestallment
 8 program to provide emergency assistance for rent arrears for the
 9 prevention of eviction due to nonpayment of rent or mortgage arrears,
 10 homeowners' association fees, legal fees, or late fees if an applicant
 11 can establish that such expenses are necessary to retain their housing.
 12 Funds shall be allocated to social services districts with a population
 13 of five million or fewer, for services and expenses related to the
 14 payment of rent arrears necessary to retain housing and to households
 15 that are in receipt of or who would be eligible for ongoing or emergency
 16 public assistance pursuant to section one hundred thirty-one-a of this
 17 title but have exhausted the allowable frequency of such payments
 18 through the emergency safety net assistance or emergency assistance to
 19 families programs. Each social services district to which funds are
 20 allocated pursuant to this section shall use best efforts to make such

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD08817-03-5

 S. 4446--A 2

 1 funds available to households for the purposes set forth in this
 2 section.
 3 (b) The office of temporary and disability assistance shall allocate
 4 funding to social services districts with a population of five million
 5 or fewer, with a methodology that shall consider the rate of eviction
 6 filings and other indicators of need as determined by the office of
 7 temporary and disability assistance.
 8 (c) The office shall establish rules for the administration of the
 9 program, including but not limited to:
 10 (i) requiring payments shall not exceed a total of six months of
 11 arrears in addition to payments previously made through the emergency
 12 safety net assistance or emergency assistance to families programs;
 13 (ii) providing that such payments shall not be limited by the shelter
 14 allowance amount set forth in section one hundred thirty-one-a of this
 15 title and shall not be part of the standard of need pursuant to such
 16 section;
 17 (iii) providing that funding allocated to social services districts
 18 pursuant to this section shall not replace or reduce any other emergency
 19 assistance allocations such districts would otherwise receive;
 20 (iv) requiring program payments be made directly to the landlord or
 21 property owner on beh