NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Illegal immigrants will now be allowed to apply to New York City’s highly competitive affordable housing lotteries City Hall announced on Wednesday.
Currently, there are about 700 units available and some of them have received up to 70,000 applicants.
Credit checks and documents such as social security or tax ID numbers will no longer be a requirement for affordable housing eligibility.
"Checking whether somebody pays their credit cards on time every month I don't believe is a good indicator of whether or not someone pays their rent of time. says Ana Nunez, who is a part of Churches United for Better Housing.
Potential tenants will have to provide proof that they pay their rent on time instead of a credit check.
“For too long, families without access to credit have faced barriers to the affordable housing they need,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio in a statement. “By allowing New Yorkers to submit rental history instead of credit checks, we are creating a fairer system for all New Yorkers.”The city’s housing agencies will also drop the fee for a credit check to $20 to in order to comply with the state’s new rent laws.
City Hall is also looking to loosen the rules on household size, which would allow more people to cram into smaller apartments.
Howard Hussick with the Conservative Think Tank of Manhattan Institute believes that credit checks are an equalizer for landlords attempting to figure out whether tenants pays their rent. " Those who work hard and play by the rules get the best credit scores," Hussick says. " We should want those people to be rewarded.