Coronavirus (COVID-19) Alert
If you are experiencing sudden changes to your household budget or income due to COVID-19, financial counselors can help you:
- Manage your money and set up a spending plan
- Contact creditors about existing loans, including student loans
- Draft letters to creditors to lower payments or temporarily suspend payments due to hardship
- Develop a strategy to minimize debt
- Access local, state, and federal emergency resources
Many Financial Empowerment Centers are not providing in-person assistance at this time, but you can still schedule an appointment to speak with a financial counselor by phone. You'll need to sign up for a Financial Empowerment Portal account first.
Sign up and book an appointment online.
The Ready to Rent program is run by the NYC Departments of Consumer Affairs (DCA) and Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) in partnership with Ariva. You can schedule a financial counseling appointment to help you submit a stronger affordable housing application.
While financial counseling does not impact your placement in any affordable housing lottery, it can put you in a better financial position to obtain affordable housing.
Through HPD’s Housing Ambassador Program you can contact a community-based service provider who can assist you in finding and applying for affordable housing through HPD’s Housing Connect website. Both services are free and confidential, and assistance is available in multiple languages.
Learn more about the Ready to Rent program.
