On August 1, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) made administrative changes to the emergency rental assistance program Residential Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT).
DHCD now requires a notice to quit or eviction notice/court summons for households applying for assistance with rent arrears. This new requirement is made at the discretion of DHCD. Under changes to the program implemented during the COVID emergency, RAFT no longer required a court summons to apply for the emergency assistance, allowing households to access help earlier, avoid a formal court process and potential eviction record. Owners also did not have to start a formal eviction process for their residents to access RAFT.
There is also a new RAFT benefit cap of $10,000, in effect from August 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, as required by the FY2023 state budget.
The chart below from DHCD shows how this policy will be implemented based on application submission and processing dates:
| Application Submission Date | Application Processed Date | Benefit Limit | Notice to Quit (NTQ) or Eviction Notice/Court Summons Required for Payment of Rent Arrears? |
| Before August 1, 2022 | Before August 1, 2022 | Up to $7,000 | NO |
| Before August 1, 2022 | On or After August 1, 2022 | Up to $10,000 | NO |
| On or After August 1, 2022 | On or After August 1, 2022 | Up to $10,000 | YES |
There will be webinar trainings for community-based partners on August 18, 2022, regarding FY23 RAFT and these changes. Attendees must register in advance.
August 18, 2022 from 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM EST
Register in advance for this webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.