New Bronx program is linking local landlords with homeless New Yorkers

A new program in the Bronx is helping to link homeless New Yorkers who need apartments with small property owners eager to rent out their units.

The Landlord Engagement Program, run by the nonprofit BronxWorks, will make connections between prospective tenants with rental assistance vouchers and local landlords with empty units, according to the organization’s CEO Eileen Torres.

“A shortage of safe, stable and affordable housing is at the core of so many barriers that our Bronx neighbors face,” Torres said in a statement. “This innovative pilot enables us to engage landlords who want to provide affordable homes for their community but require support.”

The program, which kicked off this month with landlord workshops, aims to assist around 100 households over the next three years.

Roughly 11,000 households in Department of Homeless Services shelters currently have CityFHEPS vouchers — city-funded subsidies that pay the bulk of the rent for low-income New Yorkers — and are looking for apartments, according to agency data. But options are limited. Just 1.4% of rentable units were vacant last year, according to the city’s latest housing survey.

The new program could help unlock apartments currently being held off the market, or off limits to voucher holders, said Marco Villegas, a vice president for global philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase, which is funding the project with $450,000.

Bronxworks will assist property owners with administrative requirements and help them secure grants for repairs that bring the apartments up to city standards. That way landlords will be able to rent to formerly homeless New Yorkers with CityFHEPS, Villegas said.

“Oftentimes, they find that small repairs that can be between $3,000 and $5,000, [they’re] just not being able to have access to that funding or that labor very quickly and that disqualifies them from passing inspection,” Villegas said.

Low-income New Yorkers face persistent “source of income” discrimination from landlords and brokers who won’t rent to people who use government assistance programs. That’s illegal, but common citywide.

Property owners and would-be tenants also complain about the various bureaucratic hurdles they face before the city approves an apartment and the new renter can move in.

Villegas said he’s a landlord and understands the “apprehensions” that many property owners have about accepting voucher tenants, but he pointed out that the subsidies provide a steady income stream and help people in need secure permanent housing.

“What we're trying to do is trying to just figure out what are the barriers that exist and how can we address them,” he said.