The American Rescue Plan Act provides up to $9.961 billion for states to provide funding to homeowners. Each State’s program is run separately. This article is about New York State (which was allocated $539 million). For other states, check your state’s program.
NYS Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) is offering a grant of up to $50,000 per eligible household, who are either:
– 30 days past due on housing payments (mortgage, property taxes, water/sewer etc), in which case you get payment of all arrears
OR
– Have an adult member currently unemployed, in which case you get up to six months of future housing payments (in addition to arrears).
If you own your home, your household is under the income level, and one adult in the household (e.g. spouse), was on Unemployment until September 5, 2021, and is still unemployed, you may be eligible for six months of future mortgage/housing payments, even if you don’t owe any arrears.
Table of Contents
How To Apply
Note: Funding is extremely limited and will likely run out of funds quickly.
Click Here – Applications are now open! (Application opened on January 3, 2021.)
Customer Support: 1-844-776-9423 – Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM.
Eligibility
ALL of the following criteria need to be met in order to be eligible:
- Home Owner and Primary Residence
New York State residents who own a home and occupy that home as their primary residence (meaning it is where you live for the majority of every calendar year). - Income at or below 100% AMI
Household income must be at or below 100% AMI
Annual gross income means the combined total for all adult members of your household. You can use calendar year 2020 (AGI) or a projection for 2021, whichever is lower as a result of a COVID impact. - Financial Hardship
Must have experienced a Qualified Financial Hardship after January 21, 2020 due to the pandemic, which is either a reduction in income or an increase in living expenses. - Able to pay remaining delinquency
This rule is not fully clarified. However, it seems that in order to get housing payment arrears paid, you need to be able to show that you are able to pay the rest of the delinquency. So, if you owe more than $50k in arrears, you may need to show how you can pay the remaining balance before they will give you the $50k. - Behind on monthly housing payments OR Unemployed
- Behind on monthly housing payments
e.g. 30 days behind on Mortgage, Property taxes, Water and sewer bills or Co-op/Condo fees
OR - Household member current unemployed
If the applicant is currently unemployed, then the program also covers six months of future eligible housing payments (still a maximum of $50,000 per household).
One of the following criteria must be met to be eligible for future housing payments
(1) the applicant or a member of the applicant household is currently receiving unemployment benefits,
(2) the applicant or a member of the applicant’s household had their unemployment benefits expire on or after September 5, 2021.
- Behind on monthly housing payments
Here is a table showing 100% AMI for NYC (for other areas in NYS, see this link)
| Household Size | 100% AMI for NYC |
| 1 | $83,550 |
| 2 | $95,450 |
| 3 | $107,400 |
| 4 | $119,300 |
| 5 | $128,850 |
| 6 | $138,400 |
| 7 | $147,950 |
| 8 | $157,500 |
| 9 | $167,000 |
| 10 | $176,000 |
Documentation Requirements
* See ‘Document Checklist‘ for more information
- Ownership Proof
The application will ask for your permission to prove that you are the owner of your home based on your address through an automatic lookup using a system called MELISSA. You will be asked to confirm that the ownership findings are correct and, if so, no documents will be requested. - ID
The application will ask for your permission to validate your identity by date of birth and Social Security number through an automatic lookup using a system called Precise ID. If it works, no documentation should be required. - Income Eligibility
If the application cannot verify your income eligibility automatically from the Department of Labor, you will need to provide income eligibility documentation.
If you will be required to provide documentation, then you have one of the following options:- Proof that you or a permanent member of your household receives income-based benefits, including SNAP, HEAP, Public Assistance, or Section 8.
- Tax returns for all adults who file a tax return – helpful if you are eligible based on 2020 income.
- Other proof of income e.g
– W2, OR one most recent paycheck or pay stub, OR a letter from an employer stating pay and hours for all adult members of the household
– IRS 1099 form for adult members of the household
– Pension or annuity benefits statement for all adult members of the household
– Written lease or rent receipts for all rental units
- Delinquency
E.g. mortgage bill, property tax bill etc.
Deliquency documenation is only required if your are claiming arrears. If you are only applying for future payments (Unemployment eligibility) then you don’t need to provide any proof of deliquency – you are eligible even if you don’t have any deliquency. - Unemployment
*Only if applying for six months future housing payments
Applicants may provide a current Unemployment Statement or a dated termination of benefits statement. This information can also be verified by proxy using Department of Labor Data and an attestation from the applicant.
Funding
Five Year 0% Interest Loan
Funding will start as a five-year 0% interest forgivable grant (loan). The grant may be repayable if the homeowner sells, refinances, or transfers ownership of the home within five years of receiving the funds. If no resale, transfer, or refinance occurs within five years and the homeowner remains in the home, the grant will be fully forgiven.
Eligible Use of Funds
- Pay off mortgage payments that are past due
- Partially pay down the principal mortgage amount needed to make monthly mortgage payments more affordable
- Pay off property taxes or sewage and water bills that are past due
- Pay off past due coop or condo homeowner association or maintenance fees
- Pay off past due manufactured home loan debt (chattel loan or retail installment contracts) or past due monthly lot rents
Note: If the household has an adult member with current or exhausted unemployment benefits, funds can also be used for six months of future housing payments.
Priority Applications
Forty percent (40%) of NYS HAF funds will be prioritized for “Socially Disadvantaged Individuals and Vulnerable Populations”
This includes:
- racial and ethnic minorities who have been subject to housing discrimination
- applicants with limited English proficiency
- senior citizens (defined as 62 years of age or older)
- individuals with disabilities
- those who lack adequate access to web-based technology
Additionally, an individual not included in the above groups but whose ability to purchase or own a home has been impaired due to diminished access to credit on reasonable terms as compared to others in comparable economic circumstances, based on disparities in homeownership rates in the HAF participant’s jurisdiction as documented by the U.S. Census, may request to be considered a Socially Disadvantaged Individual for purposes of NYS HAF. The individual must show such an impairment stemming from circumstances beyond their control by submitting a Social Disadvantage Attestation Form provided by the program. NYS HAF will review each Social Disadvantage Attestation Form submitted by an applicant and determine whether the applicant meets the definition of a Socially Disadvantaged Individual