Emergency Housing Voucher NYC: What Happens Now That the Program Is Ending

In March 2025, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that funding for the Emergency Housing Voucher program would be exhausted by 2026, nearly four years earlier than originally planned when the program was created in 2021. This announcement sent ripples through the affordable housing community in New York City, where NYCHA had issued approximately 5,500 EHV vouchers to some of the city's most vulnerable residents, including people experiencing homelessness, domestic violence survivors, and those at high risk of housing instability. The early end of EHV has triggered a major transition that affects not only current EHV holders but also everyone on the regular Section 8 waitlist and landlords who rent to voucher tenants throughout the city.

What Was the Emergency Housing Voucher Program

The Emergency Housing Voucher program was created through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 as a response to housing instability exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. HUD allocated approximately $5 billion to fund vouchers specifically for populations that traditional Section 8 had difficulty reaching quickly, including people who were literally homeless, those fleeing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking, and people who were recently homeless and at high risk of returning to homelessness.

Unlike the regular Housing Choice Voucher program where applicants typically wait years on a lottery-based waitlist, EHV used a referral system through Continuum of Care agencies, homeless services providers, and domestic violence organizations. This allowed housing authorities to rapidly connect extremely vulnerable individuals and families with rental assistance. In New York City, both NYCHA and HPD administered EHV programs, and as of September 2022, they stopped accepting new referrals after their allocated vouchers were exhausted.

The program included enhanced incentives for landlords beyond what regular Section 8 offers. These included signing bonuses, security deposit assistance, and repair funds to help units pass Housing Quality Standards inspections. These incentives helped overcome landlord reluctance to rent to populations that present higher perceived risk, such as people with no rental history due to prior homelessness.

Why the Program Is Ending Early

The original appropriation was expected to last through 2030, but the combination of unprecedented rent growth during and after the pandemic plus the higher program costs of serving unhoused populations depleted the funds far faster than projected. When rents rise faster than anticipated, the housing authority pays more per voucher, which means the total number of voucher-months that can be funded from a fixed appropriation decreases. By early 2025, HUD determined the funds would run out by mid-2026 or possibly earlier.

This early depletion affects over 56,000 households nationwide who currently receive EHV assistance, including the approximately 5,500 in New York City served by NYCHA alone, plus additional households served by HPD and by New York State HCR in areas outside the city. Without intervention, these families would lose their rental assistance when funds run out, potentially returning to homelessness or dangerous living situations.

The Transition to Housing Choice Vouchers

Recognizing the catastrophic impact of simply ending assistance to EHV households, HUD published guidance in June 2025 allowing public housing authorities to transition current EHV participants to the regular Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program. This means that EHV holders who are in good standing will not lose their rental assistance. Instead, their EHV will convert to a standard tenant-based HCV voucher that continues indefinitely as long as they remain eligible.

NYCHA has received HUD approval to add EHV families to the HCV waitlist with preference status, which places them ahead of general waitlist applicants. The actual conversion will begin in September 2025 and run through the end of 2026, with NYCHA processing the transitions in batches. EHV participants will be notified when their voucher is converted, and they should expect to receive information from NYCHA about any steps they need to take.

For current EHV holders, the key message is that your rental assistance will continue if you remain in compliance with program requirements. You must continue to pass income recertifications, maintain your unit in compliance with Housing Quality Standards, and meet all other program obligations. As long as you are in good standing when your EHV converts to HCV, you will retain your housing subsidy without interruption.

What EHV Holders Need to Know

If you currently have an Emergency Housing Voucher through NYCHA or HPD, here is what you should understand about the transition:

Your voucher will not simply disappear when EHV funding ends. NYCHA and HPD are transitioning EHV holders to regular Section 8 vouchers to ensure continuity of assistance. You do not need to take any immediate action, but you should ensure your contact information is current so you receive all communications about the transition. Update your information through the NYCHA Self-Service Portal at selfserve.nycha.info or by contacting the Customer Contact Center.

The rules of the HCV program are essentially the same as EHV. Your rent calculation method, your share of rent (typically 30% of adjusted income), inspection requirements, and recertification obligations do not change. The primary difference is that HCV is a permanent program rather than a time-limited one, so once converted, you will have ongoing eligibility rather than a voucher that was always scheduled to end.

If you are currently searching for housing with an EHV voucher and have not yet leased up, you should continue your search. The transition applies to all EHV participants regardless of whether they are currently housed or still searching. However, housing search assistance services that were specific to EHV may change, and you should contact your administering agency for current guidance on available support.

If you were thinking of moving or transferring your voucher, be aware that the transition may affect timing. NYCHA is processing transitions in batches, and requesting a transfer during the conversion period may complicate your case. Unless you have an urgent need to move, it may be simpler to wait until after your EHV has been converted to HCV before initiating a transfer request.

What Landlords Need to Know

If you currently rent to a tenant with an Emergency Housing Voucher, the transition to HCV should be largely transparent to you. Your tenant's voucher will convert from EHV to HCV, but the Housing Assistance Payment contract structure remains the same. You will continue to receive your monthly HAP payment from NYCHA or HPD, and the amount will be calculated the same way. The transition does not change the tenant's share of rent or your contract rent.

The most significant change for landlords is the end of certain EHV-specific incentive programs. The Owner Incentive Program, which provided landlords with bonus payments for leasing to EHV holders, ends on October 1, 2025. The VASH Rental Bonus program for veterans is also ending. If you were counting on these incentives for a current or prospective tenancy, be aware that they will not be available after their end dates.

For landlords concerned about the stability of EHV tenants transitioning to HCV, the fundamental protections of the Section 8 program remain in place. The housing authority continues to pay its portion of rent directly to you each month as long as the tenant remains eligible. The conversion from EHV to HCV does not change the tenant's income calculation or their ability to pay their share, and tenants who were in good standing under EHV will be in good standing under HCV.

If your EHV tenant falls out of compliance during the transition period, the same rules apply as would under regular Section 8. The housing authority will work with the tenant to address issues before terminating assistance. If assistance is terminated, standard eviction procedures apply. The transition itself does not provide any special grounds for eviction or lease termination.

Impact on the General Section 8 Waitlist

To accommodate the influx of EHV households being added to the HCV program, NYCHA has temporarily paused voucher issuance to applicants on the general HCV waitlist. This pause took effect on August 1, 2025, and NYCHA estimates it will last approximately eighteen months while EHV transitions are processed.

If you are on the general Section 8 waitlist, you have not been removed. Your position on the waitlist remains unchanged, and you do not need to take any action. When the pause ends and NYCHA resumes issuing vouchers to general waitlist applicants, you will be contacted in order of your application date and priority status. NYCHA will periodically request that waitlist applicants update their information and confirm continued interest in the program, so make sure your contact information is current.

Applicants who were in the middle of the application process when the pause began, meaning they had received a voucher but had not yet leased up, had their vouchers withdrawn and were returned to their original waitlist position. This is frustrating for affected applicants, but it preserves their place for when issuance resumes rather than leaving them with an expired voucher and no assistance.

NYCHA continues to process vouchers for certain priority categories despite the general pause. These include current Section 8 participants requesting transfers, public housing residents required to move, and EHV holders at risk of homelessness due to the funding shortfall. Special admission programs including HUD-VASH, Family Unification Program, Foster Youth to Independence, and Mainstream vouchers also continue.

Looking Ahead

The early end of the Emergency Housing Voucher program highlights the fragility of rental assistance funding and the ongoing gap between housing need and available resources in New York City. While the transition to HCV protects current EHV participants from losing their housing, it comes at the cost of reduced capacity to serve new applicants from the general waitlist.

Advocacy for increased HCV funding remains critical. The transition is only possible because NYCHA is absorbing EHV households into its existing HCV allocation, which means fewer new vouchers for families who have been waiting years for assistance. Without additional federal funding for Section 8, the waitlist pause could extend beyond the projected eighteen months, and future funding shortfalls could force even more difficult choices.

For those currently searching for affordable housing, the VoucherMatch listings include properties from landlords who accept all voucher types including Section 8 and CityFHEPS. Landlords interested in participating in the voucher program can list their properties to connect with voucher holders actively searching for housing.

Key Dates and Contacts

The EHV to HCV transition runs from September 2025 through the end of 2026. The general HCV waitlist pause began August 1, 2025 and is expected to last approximately eighteen months. The Owner Incentive Program ends October 1, 2025.

For questions about your EHV status or the transition, contact the NYCHA Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For HPD-administered vouchers, contact HPD Client Services at 917-286-4300. The NYCHA Section 8 Program Updates FAQ has detailed answers to common questions about the transition.

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The end of EHV represents a significant disruption to NYC's housing assistance landscape, but the transition to HCV ensures that the most vulnerable households served by the program will retain their housing stability.