STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1504 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, DAVILA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Social Services AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to removing the requirement that rent arrears be repaid The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 131-w of the social services law, as added by chap- 2 ter 41 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 131-w. Limitations in the payment of rent arrears. [Districts] Local 4 social services districts shall not provide assistance to pay rent 5 arrears, property taxes or mortgage arrears for persons not eligible for 6 home relief, aid to dependent children, emergency assistance to needy 7 families with children or emergency assistance for aged, blind and disa- 8 bled persons, except to persons who are without income or resources 9 immediately available to meet the emergency need, whose gross household 10 income does not exceed one hundred twenty-five percent of the federal 11 income official poverty line [and who sign a repayment agreement agree- 12 ing to repay the assistance in a period not to exceed twelve months. 13 The districts shall enforce the repayment agreements by any legal method 14 available to a creditor, in addition to any rights it has pursuant to 15 this chapter]. Local social services districts shall not require a 16 recipient to repay assistance provided to pay rent arrears. The depart- 17 ment shall promulgate regulations to implement this section which shall, 18 among other things, [establish standards for the contents of repayment 19 agreements and] establish standards to ensure that assistance is 20 provided only in emergency circumstances. 21 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed in 22 effect on and after March 13, 2020 and shall apply to any assistance 23 provided to pay rent arrears on and after such date. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04179-01-5