Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

Public Assistance and Housing 277
Documentation of the abuse may include: certified HUD certification form;
federal, state, tribal or territorial or local police/court record; a statement from a
victim service provider, attorney, medical professional who provided assistance;
or the signed, attested statement from the survivor. 130 The documentation must
specifically name the offender. When the survivor provides this information, the
PHA or the Section 8 landlord must keep this information confidential, subject
to certain exceptions. 131 The survivor seeking admission based upon priority
preference also may be asked to supply corroborating information based upon
local policies and procedures.
Jiggetts/Shelter Supplements (New York City and Selected
Counties) 132
Under Jiggetts, a long pending lawsuit, 133 a public assistance recipient’s
shelter allowance may be increased if she has children in the household, she is
served with a petition for a non-payment proceeding, and her rent is within a
specified amount. Tenants can only make Jiggetts applications through specific
providers such as the Legal Aid Society, Legal Services and the Citizen’s
Advice Bureau. The tenant’s public assistance case must remain open and
unsanctioned. Once a tenant has an increased rental allowance under Jiggetts,
she may not move, with some exceptions, including safety issues relating to
domestic violence. To be eligible to move due to domestic violence (a “Jiggetts
move”), the tenant must document the domestic violence by an order of
protection, police and medical reports, a letter from the domestic violence
shelter, or letters from advocates, and s/he must find an apartment in the same
borough that is at or near the same rent as the current apartment. There are few,
if any, exceptions to the requirement of finding an apartment in the same
borough at the same price.
Like initial applications, Jiggetts move applications may only be made through
specific providers. An advocacy letter attesting to the necessity for a move from a
social services organization or the agency that prepared the Jiggetts move
application can make approval more likely. This letter should include information
about the domestic violence, how it affects housing and how a new, confidential
apartment would help prevent new incidents of domestic violence. An approval to
move can take several days to a week; in an emergency, the request can be
expedited. It can take anywhere from two to three weeks to a few months after
approval to get the checks. Vigorous advocacy can help expedite the decision.
Under a program that will eventually replace Jiggetts, local social services
districts may provide an additional shelter supplement to families with children