New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli has criticized Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), the state”™s affordable housing agency, for not doing enough help low-income residents find housing by making full use of available federal funds for vouchers.
DiNapoli”™s office conducted an audit of HCR spanning 2017 to 2021. During that time, HCR administered about $9.4 billion in federal housing funds, including $6.8 billion for the Section 8 Performance-Based Contract Administration Program (PBCA) and $2.6 billion for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV), along with an additional $31.7 million from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) for the HCV and roughly $47.2 million in CARES funding to administer the COVID Rent Relief Program.
However, DiNapoli stated improvements were needed in HCR”™s administration of available vouchers and its management of reserves. The comptroller accused HCR of not taking full advantage of the available U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) authorized HCV vouchers ”“ in all five years of the audit, DiNapoli found HCR did not meet HUD”™s standard that states should use at least 95% of vouchers it funds.
The audit also found that the number of areas with low rates of voucher use has increased significantly since 2018. During State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2017-18, 30% of the state”™s 53 areas receiving HCV funding through HCR used less than 95% of available vouchers. That percentage increased to over 76% in SFY 2021-22.
“New York is in the midst of a housing crisis and Homes and Community Renewal”™s management of its programs is critical to New York”™s efforts to help individuals and families access affordable housing across the state,” DiNapoli said. “This audit found that HCR has not made full use of the federal funds that support vouchers and needs to maximize participation in the programs it oversees. Too many New Yorkers are struggling with housing costs to allow available resources to go unused.”
