NYS Vacant Rental Program for Oneida County

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 to increase the supply of critically needed housing for low- and moderate-income renters. The program aims to help owners of rental properties bring vacant units and spaces in small-scale properties back into use to create safe, quality, and affordable rental housing.

This grant program is available for the rehabilitation of vacant rental units in 1–5-unit buildings located in Oneida County, New York. The program can provide a standard award grant of up to $250,000 ($50,000 per unit) or an enhanced award grant of up to $375,000 ($75,000 per unit) to rehab a maximum of five (5) vacant rental units. There are many program eligibility stipulations and regulatory requirements including but not limited to those listed below.

PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY

• Property must be located within Oneida County
• Unit(s) eligible for rehab must be vacant, i.e., uninhabitable and/or unmarketable (a tenant cannot be relocated or evicted to make a unit vacant)
• The property must not be in foreclosure
• Property owner (private, certain business entities, nonprofits, public entities) 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
• Property owners must meet “Responsible Owner” requirements including, but not limited to, disclosing all owned properties, no bankruptcy or foreclosures, current on mortgage, property taxes and utilities and have comprehensive property insurance.
• Applicants must be local landlords who live in Oneida, Herkimer, Madison, Fulton, Montgomery, Hamilton, Otsego, Onondaga, Oswego, or Lewis counties and own 20 or fewer rental properties.

PROGRAM DETAILS

• Property owners can choose from one of two grant awards, either the standard award of $50,000 per unit for a maximum award of $250,000 or an enhanced award of $75,000 per unit for a maximum award of $375,000.
• Award level is based on tenant household income, i.e., the standard award requires an income limit of 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and an enhanced award requires a tenant household income limit to be at or below 60% of the AMI (see table below for 2025 Oneida County AMI limits).
• Rehabilitation work will be determined by a HomeOwnershipCenter Inspector and can include health and safety, code violations, access and egress improvements, roofs, basements, foundations, environmental remediation and even some fixtures.
• Property owner must agree to a 10-year regulatory period that includes affordability restrictions to participate in this program. Affordability restrictions for this program are tenant household income limits and maximum rent limits as determined by a Rent & Income Limit Calculator.

For information about this program throughout NYS, visit https://hcr.ny.gov/vrp

APPLY NOW!

PROGRAM FAQS
APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY POLICY
APPLICATION PRIORITIZATION CRITERIA

1611 Genesee Street
Utica, NY 13501

Office (315) 724-4197
Fax (315) 724-1415
NYS TDD Relay (800) 622-1220
home@unhs.org

Hours: Monday 9AM-4:30PM

Tuesday-Thursday 8AM-4:30PM

Our Mission is to see Revitalization and Growth of Neighborhoods.

HOC envisions communities in Oneida, Herkimer, Madison, Fulton, Montgomery & Otsego counties that thrive by encouraging homeownership with education, financially responsible and empowered individuals, to create safe, stable and prosperous neighborhoods.