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Affordable housing · vouchers

CityFHEPS: from shopping letter to signed lease

CityFHEPS explained for tenants, caseworkers and landlords: who qualifies, the shopping letter, 2026 rent limits, the landlord package (DSS-8f), the unit hold and broker fee, and how payment works.

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CityFHEPSPhoto: Paul Lowry, CC BY 4.0

At a glance

Run by
HRA / DSS
Who
Households in shelter or at risk, with income under program limits
Rent limits
Indexed to the Section 8 standard; see the 2026 table
Landlord gets
Up to three months’ supplement up front, a unit hold incentive, broker fee up to 15% of annual rent
Renewal
Yearly, for up to five years and beyond for good cause

The city’s largest rental assistance program.

How a move runs

  1. Shopping letter

    The household receives a letter with the bedroom size and the maximum rent per unit type. It expires; renewals are requested through the caseworker.

  2. Unit and preclearance

    The unit is registered on the DSS offer portal and checked against a violation list, then physically walked through.

  3. Landlord package

    DSS-8f for apartments (DSS-8g for rooms and SROs): unit, utilities, owner, payee and payment details, plus deed, lease, HPD registration, W-9 and the security voucher.

  4. Approval and key exchange

    DSS reviews the packet; at the key and check exchange the landlord receives the first payments and the household moves in.

Rent limits

The 2026 payment standards, the utility allowances that reduce them and the room cap are on CityFHEPS rent limits 2026.

For landlords

  • Payments come from DSS directly, by check or EFT, and count as timely if issued by the end of the month.
  • HRA issues a security voucher in place of a cash deposit; refusing it is source-of-income discrimination.
  • The owner name on the form must match the deed exactly, including LLC or Inc.; that is the most common reason packets come back.
  • Bulwark fills the DSS-8f from your documents, pre-walks the unit and submits a complete packet.

For caseworkers

  • Send us the shopping letter and the household size; we match units within the standard in the boroughs the client will accept.
  • We copy you on every landlord contact and share a live progress page.
  • The enhanced broker fee for shelter exits is requested on HRA-121; no fee is ever charged to the client.

Questions

Common questions about CityFHEPS

Letters carry an expiry date, typically several months, and can be renewed through the caseworker while the household remains eligible.

Yes, anywhere in New York State for apartments; rooms and SROs only within the five boroughs. Statewide rent limits differ.

Official sources

Program rules change; the agency page is the authority. Checked October 2026.

Other programs

NYCHA public housingNYCHA Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher)HPD Section 8Housing Connect lotteriesFHEPSHASA housingAll programs

Brooklyn, NY

Placing a CityFHEPS household, or a unit that could take one?

Caseworkers refer clients at no cost to the tenant. Landlords send the vacancy and we bring a program-ready tenant with the agency’s packet done.

Refer a clientSend a vacancy(888) 756-RUSH (7874)
Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0
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