Notifications regarding applications in New York City’s housing portal and designation of a representative to receive notifications.

This bill would require the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s (HPD) housing portal, also known as Housing Connect, to provide users with notification by e-mail and text of any update to their applications. The bill would also eliminate notifications concerning units newly available on the portal for which the applicant is not eligible. Additionally, the bill would require the housing portal to permit a user to designate a representative who would receive notifications whenever the applicant would receive a notification, such as when the user must submit additional documentation to advance an application, when a unit for which the user is eligible that fits the user’s criteria becomes available, and when an application for a unit is rejected. Finally, this bill would direct HPD to conduct a study relating to the best means of serving users who require the assistance of representatives and to submit a report with recommendations to the Speaker of the Council and the Mayor.