Help Non-Paying Tenant Transition Into Section 8 Eligibility?

[Isadore Nelson]

I recently acquired a property with an existing tenant who has been living there for about four years. The tenant was paying rent to the previous owner but hasn't been paying rent for a while since the property was foreclosed and sold to the bank. She’s currently not paying rent, and while she has some health issues and no stable income, she’s been communicative and open to general talks, with a possible option to vacate through a cash-for-keys arrangement, though this might take around six weeks and some hard work.

I plan to rehab the property and eventually rent it out, potentially to a Section 8 tenant. My question is: could the current tenant (age 59) remain in the property if she becomes eligible for Section 8 assistance? How feasible would it be to transition her to Section 8, and how long could this process take in Brooklyn, NY?