Housing More New Yorkers

Housing vouchers in New York City are pivotal in mitigating homelessness, increasing housing stability, and improving long-term health, social, and economic outcomes for adults and children. However, New York City’s current housing voucher programs are flawed, and voucher holders regularly find their housing opportunities limited.

The policy conversation around vouchers covers a wide array of stakeholders in addition to voucher holders themselves, including social service providers and real estate industry professionals. Win and REBNY co-authored this report to leverage our collective insights and experiences with the challenges facing the City’s voucher programs. We all share a common goal: improving the voucher process and helping voucher holders find stable housing.

To that end, our organizations agree that policy changes must be made to:

• Reduce delays that prevent voucher holders from securing housing.

• Eliminate confusion and inconsistencies regarding voucher programs.

• Move past outdated processes and utilize a digital portal to improve the process.

• Enhance outreach and coordination to prevent source-of-income discrimination.

• Streamline the City’s affordable housing lottery to get voucher holders into new units faster.