Faced with stubbornly high levels of homelessness in an election year, the de Blasio administration is now offering to pay 12 months of rent up front for homeless families who find an apartment in or outside the city.

The city recently introduced the program, and this week the Department of Homeless Services sent an email to shelter providers, which listed 17 apartments they found in Newark and wanted to show to homeless families.

On Wednesday, Gregory Arrington and his wife, who’ve been homeless for a year, were waiting in front of the Department of Homeless Services for a van to take them to Newark.

“They said they have some apartments, so I was like, 'All right, I’ll go see them,' ” he said. “It beats for being in a shelter. You get your life back a little bit.”

A spokesman for the city said programs like these are a “cost-effective strategy to help New Yorkers get back on their feet.”

They’re also controversial because they can be seen as an attempt to pass the problem of homelessness to other cities. A spokeswoman for the Mayor's Office in Newark said they had no information about the program.