17clearB Final with OMB Comments 05-19-16

Department of Commerce

United States Census Bureau

OMB Information Collection Request

2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey

OMB Control Number 0607-0757

B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

1. Description of the Universe

The vast majority of the units selected for the 2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (NYCHVS) will come from the 2011 and 2014 NYCHVS samples, which originated from the 2010 Decennial Census address file for New York City. The 2011 and 2014 NYCHVS samples were also supplemented with newly constructed units and In Rem (city-owned) units. In Rem units are low-income units where the owners fail to pay taxes and the units are taken over by the City. Additional units for the 2017 NYCHVS will be selected from newly constructed units and units converted to residential use, as well as from lists of In Rem units.

The response rates for the 1993, 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2011 surveys were 98 percent. The response rates for the 1999, 2005 and 2014 were 95, 96 and 92 percent respectively. We expect the response rate for the 2017 NYCHVS to be about same as the 2014 NYCHVS (about 92 percent).

2. Procedures for Collecting Information

In 2017, we will retain most of the 2011 and 2014 samples, and we will select some additional sample from newly constructed units and units converted to residential use, as well as from lists of In Rem units. Each source is considered a sampling frame. Within these frames, we normally will select clusters of four housing units. Each housing unit will have an approximate 0.6 percent chance of selection, or about 1 in 167. The sample is designed to produce a standard error of the estimate of the "vacant available for rent" rate for the entire city of no more than one-quarter of 1 percent, if the actual vacancy rate is 3 percent or less.

The procedure employed to estimate housing unit and population characteristics will consist of three parts: (a) inflating the sample results by the reciprocal of the probability of selection, (b) adjusting the sample results to account for non-interviews, and (c) using independent estimates of housing units and population in order to control the estimates in a manner that increases precision.

3. Methods to Maximize Response

Survey interviewers will conduct interviews at all selected sample units. Since the first survey in 1962, personal interviewing has been found to be the best means of obtaining the information. An NYCHVS letter, Form H-100(L), and fact sheet, Form H-100L(A), will be mailed to each selected housing unit prior to the interview.

There also will be steps undertaken to assure the accuracy of the information we obtain. Any unit classified as vacant will be reinterviewed using the 2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey Reinterview Questionnaire, Form H-108. Additionally, 5 percent of the occupied units will be randomly selected to be reinterviewed using the 2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey Reinterview Questionnaire, Form H-108. This will be done to ensure the accuracy of the original survey data. Cases will be reinterviewed independently of the original interviewer. Further, reinterviews will be conducted by interviewers who work on other Census Bureau surveys (not the NYCHVS).

4. Testing of Procedures

There will not be any pretesting done for the English version of the survey since the questionnaire items and procedures are similar to those from previous NYCHVS surveys and other household surveys such as the American Housing Survey (AHS) and the Current Population Survey (CPS). All questions and procedures taken from other surveys (like the AHS and CPS) were tested prior to being used in those surveys. The recently translated Spanish version of the NYCHVS is currently a draft and will undergo cognitive testing between March and July of 2016. We expect to have a final Spanish version of the 2017 NYCHVS Questionnaire by September, 2016.

5. Contacts for Statistical Aspects and Data Collection

The sample selection and weighting specifications for the survey will be devised by staff of the Longitudinal Surveys Branch (LSB), Demographic Statistical Methods Division, Bureau of the Census. The Lead Scientist of LSB, Stephen Ash, can be reached on (301)763-4294.

All the information in the survey will be collected by a staff of enumerators under the auspices of the Field Division, Bureau of the Census. Medell Ford III, Chief of the Housing Surveys Branch, will coordinate this project and can be reached on (301)763-2185.

Overall coordination for the survey will be provided by Tamara Cole, Housing Surveys Director, Associate Directorate for Demographic Programs, Bureau of the Census. She can be reached on (301)763-4665.

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

A. 2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey Questionnaire, Form H-100

B. 2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey Questionnaire (Spanish), Form H-100(SP)

C. 2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey Flashcard, Form H-100A

D. 2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey Flashcard (Spanish), Form H-100A(SP)

E. 2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey Reinterview Questionnaire, Form H-108

F. 2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey Respondent Letter (English on the front and Spanish on the back), Form H-100(L)

G. 2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey Fact Sheet (English on the front and Spanish on the back), Form H-100(L)A

H. Rent Regulation Laws of New York

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