OTDA Form 5035 and SSI Living Arrangement Changes in New York

Why Living Arrangements Affect Your SSI Check in New York

New York is one of the states that supplements the federal SSI payment with a state-funded addition called the State Supplement Program (SSP), administered by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). The amount of that supplement depends on the individual's living arrangement — where they live, who they live with, and whether they receive in-kind support from others.

The 2026 combined monthly amounts for an individual SSI recipient in New York:

For couples where both receive SSI:

The difference between "living alone" and "living with others" is $64 per month for an individual — not a trivial amount when the entire monthly budget is around $1,000. And there are additional SSP categories for individuals in certified residential facilities, family care homes, and other supervised living arrangements, each with its own rate.

What OTDA Form 5035 Does

OTDA Form 5035 is the New York State form used to report changes in living arrangements for SSI recipients who receive the state supplement. When the individual's living situation changes — they move to a new apartment, start living with a family member, enter a group home, or transition from living independently to living in someone else's household — this form notifies OTDA so the state supplement amount can be adjusted.

Changes that must be reported include:

• Moving from one address to another
• Transitioning from living alone to living with a roommate, partner, or family member
• Moving into a certified residential facility, community residence, or family care home
• Moving from a parent's home into an independent apartment
• Starting or stopping receipt of in-kind support (free rent, food, or other household expenses paid by someone else)

Why Reporting Matters

Failure to report a living arrangement change creates two problems:

State supplement overpayment: If the individual moves from living alone ($87 supplement) to living with others ($23 supplement) and doesn't report the change, OTDA continues paying the higher amount. When the discrepancy is discovered — often through data matching or a scheduled SSI redetermination — the excess payments become an overpayment that OTDA will seek to recover.

Federal SSI adjustment: The federal SSI amount can also be affected by living arrangements. SSA applies a "value of the one-third reduction" (VTR) rule: if the individual lives in another person's household and receives both food and shelter from that person without paying their fair share, the federal SSI benefit is reduced by one-third. This is a separate calculation from the state supplement and is reported directly to SSA, not through OTDA Form 5035 — but the two interact. A family that reports the change to OTDA but not to SSA (or vice versa) can end up with conflicting records that trigger an overpayment review.

How to File Form 5035

OTDA Form 5035 can be obtained from the local Department of Social Services office, and in some counties it's available through the OTDA website. The form asks for:

• The SSI recipient's name, Social Security number, and current case number
• The old address and living arrangement
• The new address and living arrangement
• The date the change occurred
• The names of anyone else living in the new household
• Whether the individual is paying their share of household expenses

The completed form is submitted to the local Department of Social Services (or NYC HRA in the five boroughs). There is no filing fee.

The Transition at 18: A Common Trigger

For young adults with developmental disabilities, the most significant living arrangement change often comes around the age-18 transition. Several scenarios trigger a Form 5035 filing:

Staying in the parental home but reclassified: When a child turns 18, SSA stops deeming parental income to the individual. If the individual starts receiving SSI for the first time at 18, the living arrangement must be classified from scratch. Living with parents but not paying rent and not receiving free food is classified differently than receiving full room and board from parents.

Moving to a supported apartment or community residence: If the individual transitions from the family home to an OPWDD-certified community residence, intermediate care facility, or supported apartment, the state supplement category changes entirely. Residential facilities have their own SSP rate schedules.

Moving in with a roommate: A young adult who moves into a shared apartment with a peer is classified as "living with others" for state supplement purposes, but may not trigger the VTR reduction at the federal level if they're paying their proportional share of rent and food.

How This Connects to the Bigger Picture

Living arrangement reporting is one piece of the broader SSI compliance puzzle that families navigate during the transition to adulthood. The federal SSI rules require reporting any change within 10 days. The state supplement rules require parallel reporting through OTDA Form 5035. And the Medicaid rules have their own address-change requirements through the local DSS.

The New York SSI at 18 & Adult Disability Benefits Guide includes an SSI Redetermination Checklist that maps all reporting obligations — federal, state, and Medicaid — to a single timeline so that families don't accidentally report to one agency while forgetting another. The Agency Communication Log provides a structured format for documenting every change report, including the date submitted, the method of submission, and any confirmation received, creating the paper trail needed to defend against future overpayment claims.

See more New York guides →