New York State shelter rules allow DHS to deny shelter to you for 30 or more days if you fail to comply with shelter system rules. The City calls this a “sanction.”

As of now, DHS will only issue sanctions at a limited number of single adult and adult family sites.

You can be sanctioned if you violate shelter rules or do not comply with your Independent Living Plan (ILP). An ILP is the written document about the steps you will take to help you move out of shelter. Every shelter resident has an ILP. Your case worker should meet with you every two weeks to discuss your ILP. You can be sanctioned if: 

You Do Not Apply for and/or Keep Open an Active Public Assistance Case
You must apply for public assistance if you are in DHS shelter. If you are eligible, you must keep your case active. If you need help applying, your case worker must assist you. You will not be sanctioned if you can’t get public assistance, but you may still need to apply for it.

You Fail to Look for and/or Accept Suitable Housing
While you are in shelter you have to look for housing and to accept any suitable apartments. You should regularly fill out “housing logs” to show the steps you have taken to look for housing.

Whenever you view a unit, you must complete a Client Housing Viewing Form (DHS-6) to accept or reject the unit. If you refuse a housing option or refuse to view an option because you do not think it is suitable, it is very important to document your reasoning in writing.

You can refuse housing offered to you if it does not accommodate your disabilities or medical needs, or if moving in would create a danger to you or a family member. You can also turn down an apartment if the rent is too high for you to afford, there isn’t enough space for your family, or you wouldn’t have access to transportation to employment, school, and/or necessary medical care if you lived there. Explain to shelter staff why a housing option is unsafe, unsuitable, or does not accommodate your disabilities. Make sure these reasons are documented in writing.

You Engage in Gross Misconduct
DHS can sanction you for “gross misconduct” if you: a) act in a way that endangers the health or safety of yourself or others; or b) you repeatedly violate shelter rules. Gross misconduct includes violence against others, possession or sale of drugs or weapons, stealing or destroying property, reckless behavior that causes a danger to others, sexual assault, or smoking inside a shelter.

DHS may not sanction you if your failure to follow shelter rules is due to your disability or medical condition. Contact shelter staff immediately if you believe you cannot follow shelter rules due to your disability or symptoms of your disability.

For most sanction cases, you have the right to a series of notices and even conferences or hearings prior to losing your shelter. However, if you are single in adult shelter, DHS can suspend your bed for up to 7 days without following the sanction process. The list of potential serious violations that are considered “serious” range from assault to smoking inside shelter.

If the shelter staff believe you should be sanctioned, they must offer you a case conference before giving you written notices. If you request a case conference, the conference must be scheduled within 48 hours. At the conference, you have a right to explain your behavior and why you don’t believe you should be sanctioned.

If you don’t go to the scheduled case conference without good cause (such as you had to go to work or a medical appointment at that time), shelter staff may proceed to the next step.

Shelter staff have to give you a “Notice of First Independent Living Plan Violation” the first time you violate the rules or do not comply with your ILP. After receiving this notice, you have a right to ask for an Agency Conference with DHS staff and/or a Fair Hearing if you think they are wrong.

If you ask for an Agency Conference, DHS must schedule it within 72 hours. DHS must withdraw the Violation if you win at the Agency Conference.

*If you engage in gross misconduct that puts yourself or others in the shelter in danger, you are NOT entitled to a case conference or Notice of First ILP Violation, and DHS can sanction you immediately.*

If you have already received a Notice of First ILP Violation and continue to engage in conduct that violates shelter rules or don’t comply with your ILP, DHS may issue you an NOD. A NOD may lead to a sanction.

Shelter staff must give you a copy of the NOD and ask you to sign it or write down that you refused to sign.

Shelter staff will also give you a release form you can use to give permission to an advocate to see your case file and help you with your case. The form has check boxes for Coalition for the Homeless, the Legal Aid Society, or another group you can choose. If you don’t check one of these boxes the organization will not get your case file.

You have a right to a Fair Hearing to contest the NOD. You should request a Fair Hearing within 10 days of receiving the notice and ask for “aid to continue.” “Aid to continue” means you can remain in shelter until a decision is issued in the Fair Hearing. You have a right to “aid to continue” if you request it within 10 days of receiving the NOD.

Call The Legal Aid Society’s Homeless Rights Project or Coalition for the Homeless for further guidance:

• You can call The Legal Aid Society’s Homeless Rights Project helpline at 800-649-9125 Monday – Friday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
• You can reach Coalition for the Homeless by calling 888-358-2384 on business days from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

If you ask for a Fair Hearing and DHS wins, or if you never request a Fair Hearing, DHS can then issue the NOE and remove you from shelter. The NOE will state you must leave shelter by a certain date. You will have to leave for 30 days. Shelter staff may not give you a NOE on Fridays, weekends or City holidays. If DHS gives you a NOE before 6:00 PM, you must leave shelter that same day. If you are given an NOE after 6:00 PM, you must leave the following day.

DHS must provide notices to you in your preferred language, and you are entitled to oral interpretation in your preferred language during any meetings with shelter staff. 

No, and you have a right to request an Agency Conference in addition to a Fair Hearing to contest the notice. However, if the violation is upheld and you violate the rules a second time, DHS may issue you an NOD and you may be sanctioned.

Yes, there are several ways to “cure” a sanction before it is enforced.

If you are being sanctioned for failing to seek or accept housing, DHS may withdraw the Sanction if you agree to accept a housing option they offered you. If the housing option is still available, the Sanction will be withdrawn when you sign the lease. If the housing is no longer available, but you attempted to accept it within 10 days of receiving your NOD, then the sanction must be withdrawn if this is your first NOD for failure to seek or accept housing. If this is not your first violation for failing to seek or accept housing, you may still be sanctioned.

If you are being sanctioned for failing to apply for or maintain public assistance, the sanction may be withdrawn if you apply for public assistance.

You can ask for a Fair Hearing by mail, phone, fax, walk-in, or online. Information about how to do so should be in notices given to you by DHS. For more information or to request a Fair Hearing click here.

To prepare for the Fair Hearing, you should ask for a copy of the evidence packet by emailing: dhsfhevidencepacket@dss.nyc.gov  

You can also request a copy of your case file by emailing: RECORDSACCESS@dhs.nyc.gov 

If you have nowhere else to go, you can go to a DHS drop-in center. At a drop-in center, you can get meals, showers, laundry, and counseling. Centers are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays.

Find your nearest drop-in center by clicking here.

You may also be able to return to shelter in cases of extreme weather, such as extreme heat, cold, or if the air quality outside becomes dangerous. When the extreme weather alert ends, DHS will ask you to leave shelter again for the remaining time of your sanction. The days you are in shelter due to extreme weather do not change the end date of your sanction; you won’t extend your sanction period by coming into shelter during extreme weather.

If you are incarcerated because of the incident that leads to your sanction, the time you are in jail will count as days you are not in shelter for your sanction.

Yes. However, you will be asked to sign forms agreeing to comply with shelter rules and regulations. Failure to do so may result in an extension of the sanction period.

The information in this document has been prepared by The Legal Aid Society for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. You should not act upon any information without retaining professional legal counsel.