Freezing Rents for Older New Yorkers and New Yorkers with Disabilities

Thousands of New Yorkers are leaving State affordable housing dollars on the table. New York City’s Rent Freeze Program is heavily underutilized, with roughly 63,000 New Yorkers who are eligible but not yet enrolled. Rent Freeze, composed of the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) Program for eligible older adults and the Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) Program for eligible New Yorkers with disabilities, helps New Yorkers stay in their units by shielding them from the burden of rent increases.

We just began the second phase of an outreach initiative that we launched this winter to ensure more New Yorkers know about the crucial Rent Freeze Program. Every Tuesday, outreach teams from across PEU knock on doors in areas of the city with high rates of potentially eligible tenants. This year, the team has already knocked on over 9000 doors and spoken with nearly 1700 New Yorkers about this important program.

If we determine someone might be eligible during our canvassing, we connect them to our dedicated in-house Rent Freeze Specialists who follow up by phone to help them navigate the? application process. If we are unable to reach someone after multiple phone attempts, the Rent Freeze Specialists will even go back out and knock on their door again. Our goal at PEU is to go do everything in our power to connect New Yorkers to the resources they need and deserve.

We’re also partnering with elected officials, community-based organizations, and other agencies to connect with eligible New Yorkers. We hosted a day-long SCRIE/DRIE clinic with Brooklyn Borough President Reynoso and the Flatbush Tenant Coalition last month. Every month, we hold regular office hours for tenants in Manhattan Districts 3 and 10 with Council Members De La Rosa and Bottcher’s offices and partner with HRA’s Adult Protective Services to ensure more New Yorkers are connected to the program.

We are so proud of our team and the passion they put into their outreach work every day. We know this work, alongside the dedicated application support, makes a difference. Don’t believe us? See what one New Yorker we helped shared about her experience with working with our team.?

Do you think you might qualify for Rent Freeze? Check out the Department of Finance’s online tool to check your eligibility, or call our team! New Yorkers can call our Rent Freeze Hotline at 929-252-7242 to speak with a PEU Rent Freeze Specialist.

In the words of our Rent Freeze Outreach Manager, Chris Wagner, “If you’re ever unsure, just apply, and we’ll take the rest from there. You have a right to get this benefit if you’re eligible.”