Starting on May 3, 2021, HPD’s Division of Tenant Resources’ Client Services office at 100 Gold Street is open by appointment only.
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, appointments will be scheduled only when business may not be handled in other ways. Our intent is to minimize risk of virus transmission to program participants, staff and to minimize travel. The safety of our applicants, participants and staff is our greatest concern.

Email is the fastest way to reach HPD employees.
Our staff will respond as soon as possible. View a list of HPD staff email addresses.

All emails will be encrypted to protect your privacy.
Encryption means that when you communicate with HPD by email, your information is kept safe and private. When requesting documents, HPD will send you an introduction email with instructions on how to view or send encrypted emails.

You can also contact Client Services at 917-286-4300.
HPD program participants, owners, and applicants can call Client Services. If you are prompted to leave a message, please do, and an HPD employee will return your call.

Did you receive a call from an unfamiliar number?
We are calling our participants to confirm their contact information. Our staff may call you from an unfamiliar phone number. If you do not answers, our staff will leave a voicemail with a number for you to call back.

You can now submit documents online.
HPD now has a portal (the DTR Portal) where you can securely upload your documents. If you have questions, please review the portal instructions before calling Client Services for support.

HPD now accepts digital signatures.
It may be difficult for you to print and scan documents at this time. As an accommodation, we will accept your digital signature on HPD documents (except program applications). This means that you may:

1. Print the document
2. Sign it with a pen
3. Take a photo of the complete document or scan it to your computer
4. Email the signed document to HPD

OR

1. Use the "Fill & Sign' option to electronically add your signature to a form that you receive from us. View instructions on how to use the "Fill & Sign" option.

Move requests may be impacted due to New York City and State guidance on social distancing.
We are continuing to process any move requests already in progress.

We are also continuing to process requests to “port,” or move, outside of New York City. However, your port may be impacted by the receiving Public Housing Agency’s policies and ability to operate during this crisis.

At this time, HPD is only accepting new move requests for emergency situations, including individuals who are victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking as well as individuals who believe they may experience a threat of imminent harm by remaining in the unit.

To make a request for an emergency move, please complete the Emergency Move Request form and upload it to the DTR Portal or email it to: Portability@hpd.nyc.gov.

If you are in immediate danger, please call 911. You may also reach the City's 24-hour Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-621-HOPE (4673) for immediate safety planning, shelter assistance, and other resources.

For more information regarding the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Accommodations, please visit Section 8 rights and responsibilities.

HPD has extended voucher terms:

• Applicants and participant movers with vouchers that expired during the pandemic have been mailed notice of their extensions. Any Section 8 voucher holders with questions or concerns about their voucher status should reach out to DTR at DTRInitials@hpd.nyc.gov.
• Clients that need more time should submit a request for an extension within 30 days of their voucher expiration date. Requests will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
  • The Extension Request form may be uploaded to the DTR Portal or emailed to DTRInitials@hpd.nyc.gov for applicants or Portability@hpd.nyc.gov for participants that are moving or porting with their voucher.

If your household experienced a loss of income, please notify us as soon as possible so we can adjust your tenant share of rent.

Your tenant share will change only after we processes your request and issues your new Rent Breakdown Letter.

Until you receive your new tenant share, the property owner may hold you responsible for your old tenant share of rent.

• If complete documentation is provided within 90 days: your tenant share of rent will be processed retroactive to the first of the month after complete documentation is provided.
• If complete documentation is not provided within 90 days: your tenant share of rent will be processed to the first of the month after complete documentation is provided.

Report your income loss by completing a Decreased Income Form (Formulario para informar una disminución de ingresos) and uploading it to the Portal.

Note: Many HPD households have received a $1,200 stimulus payment and a $600 stimulus payment from the federal government, and/or a weekly enhancement to their unemployment benefit. HPD will NOT consider these payments as part of your income, for the purpose of determining your eligibility or your tenant share of rent. You must continue to report this and all income at your next annual recertification. *The weekly enhancement to unemployment benefits does not count toward income, but the weekly unemployment benefit does count toward income. All income must be reported at your annual recertification.

Until further notice, participants with an Annual Recertification due date that occurs during the State of Emergency will NOT be penalized for failure to submit required documents to HPD by that due date.

Please choose the safest option for returning your completed doucments to HPD:

• For all documents: upload your documents through the DTR Portal
• For the HCV annual recertification package: email your documents to DRTPRODUNIT@hpd.nyc.gov or fax them to 212-863-5776
• For other HCV documents and general questions: email your documents to DTRAI@hpd.nyc.gov or fax them to 212-863-5299
• If your rental subsidy program is listed in the top-right-corner of the first page of your recertification package as PBV, CoC-SPC, Mod SRO, Mod Rehab, NYC15/15, SRO, VASH, Mainstream, and FUP Programs: email your documents to PBV@hpd.nyc.gov or fax to 212-863-8828

If you cannot upload, email, or fax documents, and are safely able to mail them, please send your documents to:

HPD Division of Tenant Resources
100 Gold Street, Room 1-M
New York, NY 10038

Note: Recertifications are sent to the below address in New Jersey. Please only send Recertification packages to this address:

PO Box 3132
Union, NJ 07083

Pre-termination and pre-denial conferences will be handled by phone or video conference (Zoom or Webex).
If a phone or video conference is not possible, HPD will schedule in-person conferences when our operations at 100 Gold Street are able to safely resume.

Housing Quality Standards (HQS) inspections have resumed.
HPD has resumed all Section 8 Housing Quality Standard (HQS) inspections. However, there may be delays in the scheduling of HQS inspections.

HPD is reaching out to owners to encourage them to make required repairs. If a unit is in failure, owners must correct the violations and notify HPD that the failure was corrected. Owners may visit the DTR Portal to learn more.

If you live in a unit that has failed the HQS inspection and the housing assistance payment (HAP) is under HAP abatement (stopped payment) for 180 days or more, HPD will not require you to start the move process, or have the issue resolved, before June 30, 2021.

If there is a life-threatening condition in your unit, call 311.

As of December 1, 2020, HPD may terminate assistance to participants for the following reasons:

• death of a sole household member
• criminal or fradulent activity
• no rent hardship
• tenant requests to end subsidy
• portability absorptions
• relinquishing, abandoning, or being evicted from the unit

HPD is continuing to delay subsidy terminations under the following situations:

• Failure to comply with program requirements. Tenants can disregard pre-termination notices issued prior to March 2020. If you have failed to comply with program requirements, you will receive an updated pre-termination notice from HPD when these termination proceedings will resume. (Policy as of December 1, 2020)
• Households that are overcrowded, in situations of no rent hardship, or who are absent from the unit will not have their assistance terminated. These terminations and the required move process will not be enforced before June 30, 2021.
• Households that have been identified as absent from the assisted unit for more than 180 days must return to the unit by June 30, 2021. (Policy as of December 1, 2020 for HCV, PBV, Enhanced, Mod Rehab, FUP, Mainstream, VASH, PBV VASH, or NYC 15/15 households). Note: HPD will begin terminating Continuum of Care (Shelter Plus Care, Mod SRO) households that have been absent from the unit for 90 or more days. Exceptions will be made for households who are out of their unit for COVID-19 related reasons and plan to return by June 30, 2021.

HPD is moving forward with denials for program eligibility according to standard federal policy for:

• Sex offender status
• Over-income status
• Ineligible immigration status
• No Rent Hardship
• Dual subsidy
• Fraud
• Deceased sole household member
• Voluntary withdraws of applications

The HPD Appeals Unit is currently operating at a limited capacity.
As a result, your informal hearing or informal review date may be delayed or rescheduled. Your written informal hearing or informal review decision may be delayed.

The HPD Appeals Unit will notify you by mail regarding a new date, or will mail your written decision to you once the Unit has reopened.

If you want to appeal an HPD enforcement action, you may submit your request for an informal hearing or informal review to the HPD Appeals Unit at: Appeals@hpd.nyc.gov.

You are protected by federal and New York State law from eviction at this time if you cannot pay your rent as a result of COVID-19. If your income has changed, please follow the guidance in the “Can't afford rent?” Section above on how to have your tenant share of rent adjusted.

If you have been forcibly removed or unlawfully locked out of your apartment without a court order, please call 911 if you need immediate assistance, and 311 for other legal assistance.

For more information about evictions and tenants’ rights during the COVID-19 crisis, visit HPD's COVID-19 Updates webpage or the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants' Information and Resources for NYC Tenants Impacted by COVID-19 webpage.

If you receive Housing Choice Voucher Assistance (Section 8) and you have lost significant portions of your income, or your job entirely, the Family Self-Sufficiency Program (FSS) is available to support your employment and training related goals and help you build substantial savings.

The FSS program provides education, job training, job placement, and financial counseling services to participants. When household income increases from employment earnings, any resulting increase in the tenant share of the rent is matched in a savings account that becomes available to the household upon successful completion of the program.

If you are interested in joining, please send an email expressing interest to FSS@hpd.nyc.gov. You can also visit HPD’s website to learn more about the program and complete an interest form at nyc.gov/hpd/fss.