CBC's new blog, 4 Fast FHEPS Facts, finds that spending on New York City's rental assistance programs is expected to reach $636 million in fiscal year 2023, nearly 40 times the $16 million spent in fiscal year 2015. Spending has grown with the expansion of eligibility, and voucher rent and time limits. These programs face a double whammy fiscal cliff of nearly $450 million in fiscal year 2024, with a $75 million drop in one-time federal COVID 19 aid and a loss of $370 million in non-recurring City funded support. City leaders will have to decide whether to continue to fund the program at its current level and if so, where the funds would be shifted from.

While there have been different rental assistance programs in recent years, in fiscal year 2022, more than 80 percent of placements were supported by City Family Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) rental assistance vouchers. 4 Fast FHEPS Facts details the key data that show:

1. After a slight decline during the pandemic, rental assistance placements are projected to return to or exceed pre-pandemic levels in fiscal year 2023;
2. Rental assistance expenditures increased from $16 million in fiscal year 2015 to a projected $636 million in fiscal year 2023;
3. Higher rent standards and other recent CityFHEPS program changes contribute to increasing costs; and
4. Rental assistance spending faces a massive, double whammy fiscal cliff: expiring federal COVID aid and City non-recurring funding.

The City Council has considered three bills that would expand eligibility for CityFHEPs, which would drive program costs higher than they are now. Budget amounts and allocation decisions, including any expansion to CityFHEPS, should be grounded in realistic utilization and cost estimates for the current program, most of which is unfunded in the future. Any proposed expansion to CityFHEPs should include a fiscal impact statement that shows how much it would increase costs and identifies recurring revenues to pay for it.