BILL NUMBER: S4446A Revised 3/25/25
SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:
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
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to provide emergency relief funds for New
Yorkers in need of assistance in eliminating their back rent, avoiding
eviction, and stabilizing their finances so that they can remain in
their homes.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill establishes the short title, "Shelter Arrears
Eviction Forestallment Act."
Section 2 of the bill amends the social services law by adding a new
section 131-cc. Subdivision 1(a) of the new section 131-cc directs OTDA
to establish the shelter arrears eviction forestallment program and to
allocate the funding amount appropriated for the program to social
service districts with a population of five million or fewer.
Subdivision 1(b) of the new section 131-cc requires OTDA to consider the
rate of eviction filings and other district indicators of need as deter-
mined by OTDA for the allocation of funding.
Subdivision 1(c) of the new section 131-cc requires OTDA to establish
rules for administering the program, which must include that payments
not to exceed six months of arrears in addition to payments previously
made, that payments not be limited by the shelter allowance amount, that
SAEF funds shall not replace or reduce any other emergency assistance
allocations to districts, that payments be made directly to the landlord
or property owner on the tenant's behalf, and that payments may be
issued without the requirement to reasonably demonstrate an ability to
repay. Districts may establish local criteria regarding the use of their
allocations and may elect to delegate the administration of the program
to another public agency, contractor, or nonprofit organization.
Subdivision 2 of the new section 131-cc sets out reporting requirements
for participating districts to OTDA for the program.
Subdivision 3 of the new section 131-cc directs OTDA to submit a report
for the program to the Governor, the temporary president of the senate,
and the speaker of the assembly by the thirty-first of December of each
year.
Section 3 of the bill sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The FY 2024-2025 Enacted Budget allocated $10 million for a program to
provide emergency assistance for rental arrears to help households avoid
eviction and remain in their homes. Administered by the Office of Tempo-
rary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), the Shelter Arrears Eviction
Forestallment (SAEF) program was launched in October 2024, and eligible
social service districts across the state are at various stages of
implementing it and expect to use the funds allocated to them for FY
2024-2025.
By codifying SAEF, the State would express an ongoing commitment to the
important purpose of this program.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill. Similar provisions were included in S8303D of 2024
(Ch. 53 of 2024) as part of the FY 2024-2025 $10 million allocation for
a pilot program in the enacted budget.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Subject to allocation levels.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.