Tenants suing NYC Dept. of Social Services for cutting them off from rental vouchers
Eight tenants in New York City have filed a class action lawsuit against the city’s Department of Social Services for terminating their inclusion in rental voucher programs aimed at keeping people out of homeless shelters.
The lawsuit claims the agency failed to renew or terminated rent subsidies that the tenants had received through two voucher programs — CityFHEPS, which is funded through the city, and FHEPS, which is funded through the state and administered by the city.
A lawyer for the Legal Aid Society, which is representing the tenants, said the central issue comes down to due process — and that the tenants were essentially denied theirs under city policies and procedures.
“They’re losing their benefits after the recertification process with no notice,” said Emily Lundgren, a lawyer with Legal Aid’s litigation team. “When the city terminates them, they’re violating their own policies and procedures.”
The lawsuit, which was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday, became public on the same day the Daily News exclusively revealed that the city’s Human Resources Administration, which falls under the Department of Social Services and administers the vouchers, received nearly 5,000 complaints or inquiries last year regarding “issues” with renewing CityFHEPS vouchers or landlords not receiving the voucher payments.
The Human Resources Administration is also facing staffing shortages, which the city is trying to address through hiring events, but tenants and advocates contend the shortages are now leading to delays on voucher renewals, which translates into tenants’ rents not being paid, arrears notices and eviction proceedings.
In the lawsuit against the city, the tenants claim that DSS failed “to provide FHEPS families with clear, adequate, and timely notices that their rent supplements have been terminated, or directions for seeking restoration of those supplements.”
“Families who cannot secure restoration or modification of their CityFHEPS or FHEPS benefits and are therefore unable to pay their rent risk eviction and homelessness,” the lawsuit continues.
Neha Sharma, a DSS spokesperson, said the agency’s “teams respond to all concerns raised by voucher recipients.”
“Voucher holders are required to complete an annual recertification and we have systems in place to ensure that they receive timely reminders,” she added. “Whenever DSS-HRA learns of any issues with annual recertifications, we promptly investigate the unique circumstances of each case and work to address them.”
