Vacant Rental Program - VRP

Please check back soon for new program updates.

How to Participate as a Property Owner

Awards have been made to not-for-profits and municipalities that will serve as local administrators and make funding available to eligible participants in the area they serve. Interested property owners should review the list below to determine if your area is served by a local administrator and contact the appropriate provider for information on how to apply. 

Overview

The Vacant Rental Program (“VRP”) is a grant program funded by the State of New York and administered by the Housing Trust Fund Corporation’s (HTFC) Office of Community Renewal (OCR), to support repairs and rehabilitation of vacant rental units and other vacant spaces to increase the supply of critically needed apartments for low- and moderate-income renters outside of New York City. The program aims to help owners of rental properties bring vacant units and spaces in small-scale properties back into productive use to create safe, quality, and affordable long-term rental units.

Eligible Applicants

Organizations incorporated under the New York State Not-For-Profit Corporation Law that have been providing relevant services to the community for at least one year prior to application. Partnerships between municipalities and not-for-profit organizations are encouraged to bolster administrative capacity. HCR may accept applications from municipalities with justification related to experience and administrative capacity.

Eligible Areas

All areas of the State outside of New York City are eligible.

Eligible Participants

An eligible participant must meet the following criteria:

• Ownership: must be the legal owner of one of the following:
  • 1-5 unit residential property
  • Mixed-use building with up to five (5) housing units
  • Other buildings that will be converted to one of the above
• Compliance Period: A 10-year Regulatory Period will be required during which the owner must be willing to execute an agreement and rental covenant on assisted units that will subject units to rent limits and other requirements.

Eligible Activities

Funding may be used to improve and rehabilitate vacant housing units and other vacant spaces, including commercial spaces, that are currently uninhabitable or unmarketable into safe, quality, and affordable rental units. These repairs and improvements may include health and safety improvements, correction of code violations and/or updating spaces to meet residential standards, accessibility modifications, environmental remediation, and other repairs determined by the local program administrator as necessary to rehabilitate vacant units. 

The Vacant Rental Program is available through Local Program Administrators across the state that run locally serving grant programs for property owners. Information on these administrators and their programs is provided below. Please note that not all programs may be actively accepting applications and programs may have unique funding priorities and selection criteria. 

Map of Service Areas and Providers

An interactive map of VRP Local Program Administrator service areas is available by clicking the link below. Interested property owners should identify the provider serving their area and contact the appropriate administrator using the contact information provided. 

Map: VRP Local Administrator Service Areas

List of Service Providers

Please click below to download the full list of VRP Local Program Administrators. 

List: NYS Vacant Rental Program Local Program Administrators

Please check back in the future for new VRP funding opportunities