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Bill

Bill

S 10486

Relates to housing opportunities and supports

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Leroy Comrie

Establishes the HOMES program with state housing portals to expand eligibility, coordinate support services, protect during review, and boost long-term housing stability.

REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES
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Bill Summary · S 10486

Summary of Bill: HOMES stability and community access act (S 10486, 2025-2026, New York)

Purpose and intent

  • Establishes the Housing Opportunity and Maintenance through Empowerment and Supports (HOMES) program within the New York social services framework.
  • Aims to increase housing stability for homeless or housing-insecure households by expanding eligibility, broadening community-based assistance, and integrating supportive services.
  • Creates state-level housing portals to improve coordination among landlords, tenants, and not-for-profit organizations.

Key provisions and changes

  • Title and definitions (added to Social Services Law, Article 2-A, Title III):

    • Defines the HOMES program as the program created under Section 47-b.
    • Defines “Homeless” as an undomiciled household unable to secure permanent housing without special assistance, including those in emergency shelters, transitional facilities, hotels/motels, or substandard conditions, as determined by the commissioner.
    • Clarifies terms: not-for-profit corporation, charitable organization, and “household” (including individuals or families eligible for public assistance).

  • HOMES program (Section 47-b):

    • The commissioner, within appropriated funds, must: 1) Use a competitive RFP process to select local social services districts and not-for-profit organizations to serve homeless and at-risk households, expanding eligibility of existing programs. 2) Increase the number of community-based organizations that assist tenants with applications. 3) Establish state housing portals for landlords and tenants. 4) Ensure temporary eviction protections while applications are reviewed. 5) Integrate supportive services designed to promote long-term housing stability.

  • Housing portals (Section 47-c):

    • Within 90 days of effective date, the commissioner must establish: 1) Landlord portal for:
      • Viewing voucher payment status
      • Submitting required documentation
      • Resolving payment issues directly with the state 2) Tenant portal for:
      • Tracking application status
      • Uploading documents
      • Monitoring rent payments
      • Receiving case updates 3) A centralized portal for landlords, tenants, and certified not-for-profit organizations to submit questions, complaints, requests for review, and appeals

Who is affected

  • Housing-insecure and homeless individuals or households eligible for public assistance.
  • Local social services districts and not-for-profit organizations serving homeless or at-risk households (who would be selected through competitive RFPs to participate in HOMES).
  • Landlords and tenants, who would gain access to dedicated portals for communications, documentation, and payment tracking.
  • Charitable organizations and not-for-profit entities involved in housing stability efforts.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Effective date: The act would take effect 180 days after becoming law.
  • Implementation timeline:
    • Within 90 days of the effective date: establish landlord, tenant, and centralized portals (47-c).
    • Ongoing: implementation of HOMES program elements, competitive selections, expanded eligibility, and integrated services (47-b).
  • Rulemaking: The act anticipates necessary rule or regulation changes to implement the provisions, which may be completed on or before the effective date.

Potential impacts and considerations

  • Positive impacts:

    • Improved access to housing resources and faster processing for applicants through expanded eligibility and more application assistance.
    • Greater housing stability via integrated supportive services.
    • Enhanced transparency and communication between landlords, tenants, and service providers through dedicated portals.
    • Temporary eviction protections during review of applications, reducing displacement risk.

  • Potential considerations:

    • Availability of sufficient funding to support expanded eligibility, portal development, and administrative capacity.
    • Effectiveness of competitive RFP process in selecting qualified local nonprofits and districts.
    • Data privacy and security measures for portals housing sensitive tenant and landlord information.

Overall, the bill seeks to create a coordinated, tech-enabled framework to expand housing opportunities, streamline applications, and support long-term stability for housing-insecure New Yorkers through the HOMES program and associated portals.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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