Westchester County is putting up $10 million to help landlords repair aging affordable apartment buildings, but there's a catch: anyone who takes the money has to keep those units affordable for the next 50 years. County Executive Ken Jenkins and the County Department of Planning announced the Affordable Housing Preservation and Rehabilitation Initiative on Monday, opening applications to nonprofit and for-profit owners of established multifamily rental properties across the county.
The new program is meant to help property owners fix up existing affordable housing while locking in long-term affordability for tenants, according to Westfair Online. It will fund critical capital improvements at properties that primarily serve households earning at or below 80% of the area median income. Eligible work includes HVAC systems, plumbing, electrical upgrades, roofing, windows, elevators, building exteriors and common areas, the outlet reports.
Jenkins proposed the initiative, and the Westchester County Board of Legislators approved it as part of the 2026 County Capital Budget, according to Yonkers Times. The county says it will give priority to projects that address health and safety concerns, improve energy efficiency, and extend the useful life of existing affordable housing stock.
How the Application Process Works
Property owners can submit applications for up to three capital improvement projects, and each proposed improvement will be evaluated independently, per the Westfair Online report. A nonrefundable $250 application fee is required for each submission.
Applications must be submitted electronically to [email protected] by Dec. 1 at 5 p.m., the station's report states. That timeline marks a shift from an earlier planning report from CitizenPortal.ai, which indicated applications were likely to close by the end of November. The same CitizenPortal.ai report noted that bonding and approvals tied to the program were targeted for the first quarter of 2027.
Fifty Years of Locked-In Affordability
Any owner who receives funding will be required to extend affordable pricing at their property for 50 years, per the same account from Westfair Online. That requirement echoes the terms of the county's existing Housing Flex Fund, which according to a notice from Westchester County also requires a 50-year affordability term for developments it finances. Housing Flex Fund II, a separate capital and production tool, was established by the county in 2026, according to the county's housing program page.
The new preservation initiative is intended to protect and extend the affordability of housing that already exists in the county, rather than focusing solely on new construction, as described in the CitizenPortal.ai report. For Westchester, where waitlists for income-restricted apartments can run long, keeping current affordable units habitable and in service matters as much as adding new ones to the pipeline.
The program opens applications to owners throughout Westchester County, giving both nonprofit and for-profit landlords a shot at capital for repairs that might otherwise go unfunded. With the Dec. 1 deadline now set, property owners have roughly six weeks to pull together applications for improvements the county says are meant to keep existing affordable housing safe, efficient and livable for decades to come.
