Nearly 6,300 New York City households may finally have a chance to replace their federal housing vouchers and stay in their current apartments after the Trump administration’s earlier decision to let their existing aid expire triggered confusion and fear among tenants and landlords.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, has now issued new guidance informing housing agencies that it will replace expiring vouchers with a long-term aid program.

In a written statement, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat who helped secure money for the new plan, said the guidance means housing agencies, tenants and landlords can “finally close this chapter” of confusion.

Still, some tenants, landlords and housing advocates say they will remain wary of the final outcome until the new assistance is in place.

The move could mark the end of a long saga of uncertainty that began almost two years ago, when HUD announced that a Biden-era program that provided rental assistance for tens of thousands of Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic was about to run out of money, almost five years earlier than expected.

Congress established the Emergency Housing Voucher program in 2021 to help families and individuals hit hard by the pandemic-related economic crisis. New York City received the single largest allotment of new vouchers in the country, and lawmakers expected the $5 billion program would cover rent payments through at least 2030.

But in March 2025, HUD said the fund was nearly out of cash and had no plans to replace the expiring vouchers. The abrupt announcement sent housing agencies in New York City and elsewhere in the country struggling to come up with replacement aid for tenants unable to cover their monthly rent without government help.

In January, a bipartisan appropriations bill from Congress attempted to force HUD to issue replacement vouchers, but, as previously reported by Gothamist, Trump administration officials said the language didn’t clearly instruct them to do so.

Another Congressional bill last month featured more explicit instructions. HUD has now issued new guidance informing housing agencies that it would replace expiring “Emergency Housing Vouchers” with a long-term aid program called Tenant Protection Vouchers.

City Hall spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach called HUD’s replacement aid instructions “welcome news” following months of uncertainty.

“The notice provides important guidance that we have been waiting on for many months as the city tries to ensure housing stability for the thousands of EHV households in New York City,” he said in a written statement.

The HUD guidance, first reported by The City Reporter, states that the replacement aid program will start in December, after Emergency Housing Voucher funding runs out. But it is not yet clear exactly how much money the city will receive out of a $600.6 million nationwide allotment earmarked by Congress.

HUD did not respond to questions about how much funding New York City agencies will receive, but in an unsigned email from its press office, HUD said it will provide new vouchers “for all families under lease in the Emergency Housing Voucher program as of September 30, 2026.” The guidance signed by HUD Assistance Secretary Benjamin Hobbs states that HUD will calculate funding for local housing agencies based on average rents for their Emergency Housing Voucher recipients.

Rauschenbach said the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the New York City Housing Authority have not yet received additional information.

The two agencies each administer the federal assistance program for New York City households. Tenants with the vouchers pay no more than 30% of the income toward rent, while the program pays the remainder directly to landlords.

Gillibrand, the top Democrat on the housing appropriations committee, told Gothamist the guidance will have a major impact for New Yorkers.

“Thousands of families across New York who rely on the Emergency Housing Voucher program to keep a roof over their head can now finally have some peace of mind,” she said.

Two agencies, a search for stopgaps

The program’s pending expiration left the two city agencies scrambling to find replacement funding sources to help tenants make their monthly rent payments and avoid eviction and homelessness.

HPD announced earlier this year that it would use another federal funding stream to establish a two-year program for some current voucher recipients. NYCHA said it could use the same source of aid, but only for about a quarter of its recipients. The agency also began offering some tenants empty apartments in its public housing portfolio.

City data shows NYCHA has moved 540 Emergency Housing Voucher recipients into other types of housing, while HPD transferred 69 recipients on to new aid programs. But 6,273 households continue to receive the soon-to-expire assistance program.

New York City prioritized some of its most vulnerable residents, including victims of domestic violence and homeless young people, when it received its allotment of Emergency Housing Vouchers in 2021.

Tenants and landlords participating in the program say they are optimistic about the new HUD funding arrangement, but they are still waiting for official guidance from the city.

Renter Nicole Balestire used her Emergency Housing Voucher to flee an abusive partner and lease an apartment in her native Staten Island, making her one of 251 program participants in the borough.

Balestire, who has several chronic health conditions that prevent her from working, said there was no way she would be able to pay her rent without assistance once the program expired.

Now, she told Gothamist, she thinks she can keep her apartment with a new form of rental assistance.

“I won’t have to worry about the program running out, or moving places, or wondering if I’ll have to put my stuff in storage and go into a shelter,” Balestire said.

Confusion about the program’s future has also affected property owners who count on monthly rent to cover their own costs.

Many domestic violence victims who used an Emergency Housing Voucher to find housing worked with the organization New Destiny Housing, or moved into one of the organization’s buildings.

New Destiny Vice President Gabriela Sandoval Requena said the group is still waiting to find out whether the city received enough funding for every household.

“The one item we want to confirm is that HUD is not going to come out with some lower number,” she said. “Our interpretation is that everyone who has an active EHV will be covered and we are just waiting for HUD to provide that information.”

Daniel Bates said he has rented his Flatbush condo to a family with an Emergency Housing Voucher for the past three years. He said he is hopeful his tenant will receive help under the new program. But he said he is still awaiting further information from the New York City Housing Authority in light of the recent federal guidance

“It sounds like good news, but the whole process has been chaotic and very messy,” Bates said. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”