Maloney Announces Legislation to Ensure Affordable Housing Tenants Are Re-Housed in Event of Emergencies

Press Release

After a fire at the Rip Van Winkle affordable housing complex in Poughkeepsie left hundreds of residents without provisional housing, Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) announced legislation to ensure low income tenants are re-housed if they're unable to return home. The Affordable Housing Protection Act would direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to require the establishment of pass-through leases in the event that tenants are displaced from their federally-subsidized housing.

"We're lucky that the community rallied around the Rip Van Winkle residents after the fire, but neither HUD nor PK Management were under any legal obligation to help -- and that has to change," said Rep. Maloney. "We've already got "guidance" on this, but housing should be a guarantee not a gamble -- families shouldn't be left out in the cold because of a disaster."

"The fear of the unknown certainly is stressful enough when you have a roof over your head, but when you know that you've got to leave your apartment with your children and not really knowing where you may go, it's definitely worse, and we we're lucky that many of the people from the Rip Van Winkle houses went and stayed with relatives," said Poughkeepsie Mayor Rob Rolison. "This is something that should be prepared for them. People should know that they'll have a place to go -- that they are going to be taken care of and they don't have to worry about the financial constraints."

After the Rip Van Winkle fire, tenants were initially told they may have to wait up to two months before they could return to the complex while repairs were made to electrical, heating, and water systems. In the meantime, neither HUD nor the management company were required to find or fund provisional housing for tenants, and tenants were re-housed on an ad hoc basis. The Midhudson Civic Center established a temporary shelter with assistance from the Red Cross for seven days. Mayor Rolison and Rep. Maloney then collaborated with PK Management to ensure that tenants received hotel vouchers. During the fire, PK Management did not receive its normal payments from HUD, as no tenants were housed at the complex.

The HUD handbook contains a "guidance" which recommends the establishment of pass-through leases if tenants are not able to return to their normal housing. However, this guidance is not a mandate and is not observed universally throughout the country. Some HUD regions require the establishment of such provisions in its contracts with private landlords, but HUD Region 1, which includes New York, does not.

The Affordable Housing Protection Act would simply codify that guidance and ensure that all future contracts contain a pass-through provision. The bill would require the secretary of HUD to determine who should be responsible for establishing the lease arrangements, the timeframe for seeking temporary housing, and best practices to follow in the event that temporary housing is unavailable. Tenants would continue to pay the same level of rent they had paid prior to being displaced, and would be protected from rate hikes. The bill is unlikely to create new costs to taxpayers, as it relies on funds that have already been appropriated to HUD. Landlords do not receive these funds when their section 8 project units are uninhabited, including in situations like the Poughkeepsie fire, so the funding already available would be redirected. The bill would also guarantee that there is a mechanism in place to rapidly re-house affordable housing residents in the event of natural disasters like hurricanes.

Rep. Maloney's office has worked with the Mayor's office and other officials since the fire at Rip Van Winkle displaced more than 300 residents of the affordable housing complex. Working with Mayor Rolison, Maloney announced that all tenants had returned to their homes within three weeks of the fire. Rep. Maloney's office also facilitated a call with representatives from HUD to discuss next steps regarding heating issues.

In January, after heating issues at the complex persisted, Rep. Maloney asked HUD to conduct a comprehensive inspection and audit to determine the facility's compliance with HUD regulations.

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