New York Attorney General Letitia James in an advisory on Monday reminded landlords they cannot raise rents if they accept or plan to accept funding from the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

The advisory comes after state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul in the $220 billion state budget agreement augmented the program with $800 million in replenished funds. 

“The rules are clear: Landlords who accept ERAP payments cannot raise rents for 12 months," James said. "This program was created to support struggling tenants and keep New Yorkers in their homes during the pandemic. Landlords who accepted payments from the state yet are still raising rents are double dipping and breaking the law. I urge any tenant who accepted ERAP payments and received a new lease with rent increases from their landlord to contact my office."

The state so far has distributed $2.1 billion in federal funding for those who are behind on their rent, affecting 160,000 low and moderate-income households in the state. 

Landlords are also require to waive late fees due on any rental arrears that are covered by a payment from ERAP. At the same time, they cannot evict recipients of ERAP funding when their lease expires. 

The budget also included $125 million for the Landlord Rental Assistance Program for those property owners whose tenants have not applies for ERAP aid. So far, the state has paid out 15,000 payments of more than $160 million for landlords.