§ 5-03 Eligibility and Payments.
RCNY § 5-03
(a)To be eligible for SOTA, a household must meet the following requirements: (1) The shelter household must reside in DHS shelter and have a qualifying shelter stay, except as provided in subdivision (d) of this section.
(2)If any member of the household has been determined to be eligible for HRA shelter under Section 452.9 of Title 18 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations, the household must not include the perpetrator of the domestic violence that resulted in such determination.
(3)If the shelter household is currently in a DHS family shelter, the household must be eligible for shelter as determined by DHS pursuant to Parts 351 and 352 of Title 18 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.
(4)The household must have a lease or an agreement to rent for at least one year a residence they have selected that meets the requirements set forth in 31 RCNY § 5-04, including the requirement that the total rent for the unit or the household's proportionate share, as applicable, not exceed forty percent of the household's income.
(5)The household must not have previously had SOTA payments paid on its behalf, except as provided in subdivision (d) of this section.
(6)The household must: (A) provide accurate, complete and current information on income and household composition; (B) provide supporting documentation as necessary to verify eligibility; (C) agree to have its SOTA grant paid directly to the landlord; and (D) agree to the household requirements set forth in section 5-05 of this chapter.
(7)The household's income must not exceed eighty percent of the New York City area median income for the household's size as established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(b)Qualifying Shelter Stay and Limitations.
(1)Qualifying Shelter Stay. A shelter household in a DHS family shelter will have a qualifying shelter stay for purposes of 31 RCNY § 5-03(a)(1) of this chapter if the shelter household has resided in a DHS shelter for at least 90 days prior to approval, excluding gaps of up to ten calendar days. An individual in a DHS single adult shelter will have a qualifying shelter stay for purposes of 31 RCNY § 5-03(a)(1) if the individual has resided in a DHS shelter for at least 90 of the last 365 days. Once a household has a qualifying shelter stay, it will not lose its qualifying shelter stay by moving from one type of shelter to another.
(c)Households must submit an application on a form and in a format established by DHS. Subject to the availability of funding, if the household meets the requirements of this section and the landlord and residence selected by the household satisfy the requirements of this chapter, DHS shall approve the household's application and refer the case to HRA to establish an account from which monthly payments will be made directly to the landlord for a period of one year, provided the household continues to reside in the SOTA unit and subject to the withholding procedures set forth in 31 RCNY § 5-07. If the total monthly rent for the SOTA unit does not exceed forty percent of the household's income, the monthly payments will be equal to the total monthly rent for the SOTA unit minus any contributions from third parties. If the requirements of 31 RCNY § 5-04(b) are satisfied and the total monthly rent for the SOTA unit exceeds forty percent of the household's income, the monthly payments will be equal to the household's proportionate share as described in that subdivision.
(d)In extraordinary circumstances, DHS may, in its discretion, approve a second SOTA grant on behalf of a household where, for reasons outside the household's control, the household has already returned to, or is at risk of returning to, DHS shelter within six months of payment of the first SOTA grant. (Added City Record 8/6/2021, eff. 9/7/2021)
