Hochul says state budget to include $50M for housing vouchers

After years of garnering support from both landlord and tenant groups, a state-based housing voucher program is expected to be included in the state budget. 

During a press conference on Tuesday announcing a “general agreement” on the state’s fiscal year 2026 budget, Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has resisted supporting the program, told reporters that she and the legislature are considering allocating $50 million for housing vouchers. Though a conceptual budget deal was announced Monday — nearly a month late — the governor and lawmakers are still hashing out details.  

“As Governor Hochul said, $50 million is the potential investment currently being looked at for possible inclusion during the final days of budget negotiations,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Further details will be available when budget bills are printed in the coming days.”

That’s $200 million short of the amount sought by the Democratic majorities in the Senate and Assembly for the Housing Access Voucher Program, or HAVP, which would serve families or individuals who are homeless or in imminent danger of losing their homes. But inclusion of the funding represents a significant shift for Hochul, who previously dismissed the program as too expensive. 

The proposed program was rare common ground between landlord and tenant groups. The Real Estate Board of New York was part of a coalition led by Win, a nonprofit that provides emergency shelter and supportive housing in the city, that advocated for the program. 

Christine Quinn, president and CEO of Win, called the funding a “monumental step forward in the fight to end homelessness.”

The New York Apartment Association’s Jay Martin thanked the governor and legislature for including the voucher program, but said he was disappointed that the budget didn’t include more funding for it. He said the money allocated would likely only help a few thousand renters. 

A 2024 report by Win projected that HAVP, if funded at $250 million, could serve 12,457 households. The group estimates that the vouchers will support 5,749 people per year under the current funding.   

“As we frequently point out, lawmakers must work with the actual owners and operators of housing when crafting policy,” Martin said in a statement. “We hope they will consult us in the implementation of HAVP to make sure this is a success from which we can build.” 

It is unclear what ultimately swayed Hochul on HAVP. 

Sen. Brian Kavanaugh, who sponsored the bill creating the voucher program, told TRD in January that he was hopeful that the program would be approved this year. At the time, he pointed to the governor’s commitment to fighting child poverty and the fact that the state’s Child Poverty Reduction Council issued recommendations in December that included creating a state voucher program. Looming federal funding cuts to housing programs may have also played a role. 

During Tuesday’s speech, Hochul touted last year’s budget for including “the most significant housing policy for New York in half a century.” This year’s $254 billion spending plan was markedly meager in the housing policy department. The budget includes $1 billion to support building and preserving housing in New York City over the next five years. The funding was pledged in order to secure City Council approval for zoning changes under City of Yes for Housing for Housing Opportunity.  

The governor said the budget also includes a measure that bars institutional investors from bidding on single- and two-family homes for the first 90 days on the market. That follows the Assembly’s proposal, which raised the waiting period from the 75 days originally pitched by the governor.