CityFHEPS is New York City’s main rental assistance program, and Bronx residents can qualify for CityFHEPS rental assistance if their household income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level and they either live in a city shelter, face eviction, include a veteran at risk of homelessness, or are referred by a qualifying city agency. The program, run by the Department of Social Services through HRA and DHS, pays part of your rent for up to five years anywhere in New York State.1NYC Department of Social Services. CityFHEPS Frequently Asked Questions
Who Qualifies
Every household applying for CityFHEPS must have gross income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. One exception matters: a single adult working at least 35 hours a week at minimum wage can earn above that cap and still qualify. If you are eligible for Cash Assistance, you have to be receiving it. And you cannot qualify for any other rental assistance program, including State FHEPS.1NYC Department of Social Services. CityFHEPS Frequently Asked Questions
Income alone is not enough. You also need to fit one of the qualifying categories:
- You are currently living in a DHS or HRA shelter, and you have not lived in the apartment you plan to move into at any point in the past year.1NYC Department of Social Services. CityFHEPS Frequently Asked Questions
- You are in the community and are the subject of an eviction proceeding, or were evicted in the past twelve months, and you also have an active Adult Protective Services case, previously lived in a DHS shelter, or will use the voucher to preserve a rent-controlled apartment.2New York City Legal Library. NYC Rules 68 RCNY 10-03 – Initial Eligibility, Application and Approval for City Residents
- Your household includes a veteran whom the Commissioner has determined to be at risk of homelessness.2New York City Legal Library. NYC Rules 68 RCNY 10-03 – Initial Eligibility, Application and Approval for City Residents
- You were referred through a CityFHEPS qualifying program and the Commissioner determines the assistance is needed to prevent shelter entry.2New York City Legal Library. NYC Rules 68 RCNY 10-03 – Initial Eligibility, Application and Approval for City Residents
The community path is narrower than the shelter path. If you are applying because of an eviction, have your court papers or APS documentation ready before you start.
Documents to Gather First
Have your paperwork together before you walk into an office or open the application online. You will need government-issued identification for every household member, Social Security numbers and birth certificates for all dependents, and income verification: pay stubs covering the last 30 days or benefit letters from the Social Security Administration or any other source of income.
HRA posts every form the program uses on its CityFHEPS documents page, including the application itself, the apartment review checklist, and the program participant agreement.3Human Resources Administration. CityFHEPS Documents If you already have a landlord willing to rent to you, they will need to complete sections of the apartment application that cover the address, ownership, and rent. Shelter applicants do not always need a landlord at the first stage, but community applicants usually do.
How to Apply in the Bronx
Your starting point depends on where you are living right now.
If you are in a DHS or HRA shelter, go to your shelter case manager. They complete the application with you and submit it to HRA. If you are in the community and facing eviction, the process runs through your local Homebase office, which you can find using the Homebase locator on the HRA website.4Human Resources Administration. Homebase
You can also submit documents in person at an HRA Benefits Access Center. The two main Bronx locations:
- HRA Benefits Access Center Rider, 300 Canal Place, Bronx, NY 10451
- HRA Benefits Access Center Crotona, 1910 Monterey Avenue, Bronx, NY 10457
Ask for a stamped receipt or confirmation number so you can track your file later.5NYC Human Resources Administration. Benefits Access Centers
ACCESS HRA, the city’s benefits website and mobile app, lets you upload photos of your identification and income documents and check your case status without going to an office. For anyone balancing work and childcare, it avoids the long in-person waits.
What Happens After You Apply
Within about 30 days of receiving your application, an HRA worker usually contacts you to interview you or request more documents. HRA then reviews your lease, arranges an apartment inspection, and issues a final commitment letter to you and the landlord once everything checks out.
If you are approved before you have an apartment, HRA sends a shopping letter that states the maximum rent allowed for your household size. The shopping letter is valid for 120 days, giving you roughly four months to find and secure a unit.6NYC Human Resources Administration. CityFHEPS Frequently Asked Questions for Clients in the Community
Every apartment must pass an HRA inspection before payments begin. Common failure points include peeling paint, pest evidence, leaks, windows that do not open or lock, missing smoke detectors, blocked fire exits, and missing window guards where children age 10 or under will live.7New York City Human Resources Administration. Apartment Review Checklist Walk through any unit yourself first. Ask the landlord to fix obvious issues before the inspector shows up, because rescheduling after a failed inspection adds weeks.
Rent Limits and Your Share
The 2026 CityFHEPS payment standards, effective April 1, 2026, cap what a landlord can charge when all utilities are included in the lease:8NYC Human Resources Administration. DSS CityFHEPS Payment Standards
- SRO: $1,953
- Studio: $2,604
- 1 bedroom: $2,734
- 2 bedrooms: $2,997
- 3 bedrooms: $3,753
- 4 bedrooms: $4,077
- 5 bedrooms: $4,689
If utilities are not included in the lease, HRA subtracts a utility allowance from the maximum rent the landlord can charge. For a one-bedroom where the tenant pays cooking gas and electric but not an electric stove, the allowance is $141, so the landlord’s maximum rent drops from $2,734 to $2,593. Add tenant-paid gas heat and hot water and the deduction grows by another $112. If a listing’s rent plus the utilities you would pay exceeds the standard for your household size, the apartment will not work.8NYC Human Resources Administration. DSS CityFHEPS Payment Standards
If you have income, you pay a share of the rent and HRA pays the rest up to the standard. For most households, your share is 30 percent of income. After the fifth year in the program, households with earned income pay 40 percent.9NYC Rules. CityFHEPS and Pathway Home Rule Amendments
Fees, Deposits, and Broker Charges
A rental application fee cannot exceed $20 under New York State law. That cap applies whether or not you have a voucher.
HRA does not hand you a cash security deposit. It issues a security voucher that guarantees HRA will pay the landlord up to one month’s rent if you fail to pay or damage the apartment. A landlord who refuses the security voucher in place of cash may be committing source of income discrimination.10NYC Human Resources Administration. Security Voucher
Brokers who place voucher holders can collect a fee of up to 15 percent of the annual rent from the program.11NYC Human Resources Administration. CityFHEPS Frequently Asked Questions for Landlords and Brokers You should not be paying a broker out of pocket on top of that. If a broker claims you owe a separate fee, push back and call your caseworker.
Keeping the Voucher Once You Have It
CityFHEPS is not permanent. The subsidy runs up to five years, and you have to recertify every year. HRA mails a renewal application five months before the end of each subsidy year. You confirm you still live in the apartment, verify your household size, and submit updated income documents.12NYC Human Resources Administration. CityFHEPS Renewal Frequently Asked Questions
Miss the deadline and HRA sends a warning notice. Miss that too and you and your landlord both get a final termination notice, which can put you in housing court. A late renewal filed within one year past the end of the subsidy year may still be restored if you can show good cause, but do not rely on it.12NYC Human Resources Administration. CityFHEPS Renewal Frequently Asked Questions
Report any income change during the year, up or down, to your local Homebase office and ask for a modification using the DSS-7s form.13New York City Human Resources Administration. Request for a Modification to Your CityFHEPS Rental Assistance Supplement Amount A reported decrease can raise your subsidy. An unreported increase can blow up at renewal.
If a Landlord Refuses Your Voucher
Under the NYC Human Rights Law, it is illegal for a landlord, building manager, or broker to refuse to rent to you because you pay with CityFHEPS or any other voucher. The law also bars “no vouchers” or “no programs” language in listings.14NYC Commission on Human Rights. Source of Income Discrimination The statute defines lawful source of income broadly to cover any federal, state, or local public assistance or housing assistance, whether paid directly to the landlord or not.15NYC Commission on Human Rights. NYC Administrative Code Title 8 – Civil Rights Your shopping letter has to be treated the same as a pay stub.
To report a refusal, call 311 and ask for the NYC Commission on Human Rights. The Commission has a dedicated Source of Income Unit that reaches out to landlords and brokers directly, which sometimes resolves the problem without a formal case. You can also submit an anonymous tip if you do not want to file your own complaint.14NYC Commission on Human Rights. Source of Income Discrimination
Document everything. Save texts, emails, and voicemails. If a broker tells you by phone that the landlord “doesn’t take programs,” write down the date, time, and exact words right away. That is what turns a complaint into a case you can win.