Hochul proposes $260 billion budget with funds for homeowner help, senior rent freezes
- Governor calls for $250 million investment in new low-income housing
- Budget raises income cutoff for senior rent freeze from $50,000 to $75,000
- Tax abatements for upgrades in affordable buildings, co-ops to be extended
In her State of the State Address in Albany, Governor Hochul said she would cut through regulatory red tape to build housing faster.
Darren McGee/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul
Last week, Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a state budget of $260 billion that includes new spending on low-income housing, an expansion of the J-51 tax break program for affordable building owners and harsher penalties for landlords who harass rent-regulated tenants.
This is the fifth and final year of Hochul’s $25 billion plan to build 100,000 homes across New York State. So far, 70,000 affordable homes have been created or preserved. Under Hochul’s budget, the state would invest $250 million to speed up the building of more low-income housing.
In her State of the State address, Hochul also said she would limit the use of the State Environmental Quality Review Act as part of her “Let Them Build” agenda to cut through regulatory red tape and create housing faster across the state.
“When a town or city decides to move forward they shouldn’t get stuck in regulatory hell,” Hochul said in her address.
New York City is facing an estimated budget shortfall of $2.2 billion in the current fiscal year and another $10.4 billion next year, according to a city comptroller’s report
Hochul’s proposal continues $1 billion in state funding for City of Yes, an effort to add 80,000 new homes to NYC over 15 years.
Here’s a closer look at what else is in the budget for next year.
Funding for struggling homeowners
Foreclosures are up for NYC homeowners, with foreclosure filings nearly doubling in the first half of 2025 compared to the last half of 2024 according to a report from the Center for NYC Neighborhoods. Brooklyn saw more foreclosure filings than any other borough, according to the report.
Housing counselors—including Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s former employer Chhaya CDC—and legal service providers help individual homeowners figure out how to stay in their homes despite financial obstacles.
In her budget Hochul proposed spending $40 million on the Homeowner Protection Program, which provides funds for housing counseling and legal assistance for owners at risk of losing their homes.
Kevin Wolfe, deputy director of advocacy and public affairs at the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, said this is the second time Hochul has funded the program. CNYCN wants legislators to include it as a permanent part of the budget.
“New York actually has a lot of protections for people to keep their homes,” Wolfe said, and the nonprofits that provide legal assistance to homeowners help enforce those protections. He said the funding is especially crucial at a time when the federal government has “defanged” agencies that regulate housing.
Reforms to J-51
Hochul’s budget proposal includes reforms to the J-51 tax break program, which grants an abatement to affordable property owners making major improvements who keep apartments rent stabilized.
The tweaks would extend the incentive program for 10 years, account for 100 percent of certified costs and expand eligibility for co-ops, including those with apartments of assessed values of up to $60,000.
“If this passes in the budget, it helps address the affordability crisis and the climate crisis,” said Priya Mulgaonkar, director of the Green Co-op Council. Mulgaonkar added that passing reforms to J-51 by April 1st would allow co-ops to make renovations to comply with city emissions targets for 2030.
Rent freezes for seniors
Hochul’s budget proposal included some specific help for NYC renters in the form of harsher punishments for harassing landlords and an expansion of a rent freeze program for older or disabled New Yorkers.
The budget includes legislation that would charge landlords with a felony for the "systematic" harassment of tenants across multiple rent-regulated buildings or repeatedly for repeatedly violating anti-harassment laws.
Hochul’s proposed budget would expand rent-freeze programs for seniors and people with disabilities by raising the household income limit from $50,000 to $75,000.
Currently, seniors in rent-regulated housing and people with disabilities can qualify for a Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption or the Disability Rent Increase Exemption if they are facing rent increases. The programs allow the city to freeze your rent at a third of your monthly income or the rent you paid prior to your last rent increase, whichever is higher.
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