State Legislature extends eviction moratorium
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, S BTR EPT. 9-16, 2021 39
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Lost amid all the fl ash fl ooding
news, Gov. Kathy Hochul
signed the newest eviction moratorium
extension into law in the
early morning hours of Thursday,
Sept. 2 — giving debt-riddled
tenants a 4 1/2 month reprieve.
“The pandemic has created
unimaginable anxiety for
families and business owners
who have lost income and are
struggling to pay the rent every
month,” Hochul said in a statement.
“To help remedy the Supreme
Court’s heartless decisions
striking down the New York and
the Biden administration’s moratoriums
on evictions, we are enacting
a new moratorium on residential
and commercial evictions
and extending the protections of
New York’s Safe Harbor Act to
Jan. 15. These steps will alleviate
the crisis facing vulnerable
New Yorkers who are suffering
through no fault of their own.”
The moratorium, which fi rst
began at the height of the COVID
19 pandemic in March 2020,
expired on Aug. 31, and Hochul
called the state Legislature back
into session on Sept. 1 to pass legislation
extending the eviction
ban once more.
The decision comes as the
state government has taken
much criticism over its slow distribution
of $2.6 billion in federal
funds through the COVID-19
Emergency Rental Assistance
Program (ERAP). Just $156 million
of the proceeds has been allocated
since June 1, even though
more than 160,000 New York residents
have applied for aid.
The governor’s offi ce reported
that, as of Aug. 31, more than $1.2
billion in funding “has either
been obligated or distributed”
through the ERAP program. That
includes more than $300 million
in direct payments to 23,000 landlords
across New York state.
Under the new moratorium
extension, Hochul said, ERAP
applicants will be automatically
protected from eviction while
their application is pending; they
will receive a year of eviction protections
should they qualify for fi -
nancial aid.
The new moratorium also
includes new requirements designed
to address legal challenges
raised in the Supreme Court’s
ruling last month that put an end
to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention’s national eviction
ban.
New York tenants must make
a hardship declaration in asking
to be spared eviction under
the moratorium, explaining the
source of their current hardship.
Landlords will be able to contest
such declarations with a court
hearing.
Additionally, the moratorium
still empowers landlords to seek
the removal of tenants who fail
to submit the written declaration,
damage property, or create
conditions that become “safety or
health hazards for other tenants.
New York also created a new
$250 million Supplemental Emergency
Rental Assistance, half
of which would be provided to
households whose income exceeds
80% of the area median income;
and the other half going to
landlords whose tenants refuse
to participate in the program, or
who have vacated the residence
while in arrears.
The legislation which extended
the eviction ban also
places a moratorium on residential
foreclosure proceedings
homeowners and small landlords
with 10 or fewer dwellings;
and extended the moratorium on
commercial evictions and foreclosures
for small businesses with
100 or fewer employees. Those
who seek relief under these moratoriums
must also demonstrate fi -
nancial hardship.
Lawmakers supporting the
eviction moratorium hailed the
decision as a boon for renters and
smaller landlords alike.
“We’ve worked hard to ensure
that the fi nancial burden on
tenants and landlords is lifted,
through generously funded, effective
relief programs, and to
protect small businesses,” said
state Sen. Brian Kavanagh. “Today,
as COVID-19 continues to be
a threat to the health and wellbeing
of New Yorkers throughout
the state, we are taking decisive,
comprehensive steps to extend
and strengthen the pillars of our
legislative strategy to keep all
New Yorkers safe.”
“This legislation is as much
health policy as it is economic
policy, and we must do everything
we possibly can to keep
New Yorkers safe amidst a surge
in the Delta variant,” added state
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz.
“This law will help thousands
of families keep a roof over their
heads and doors open for small
businesses as the state works
to improve and streamline the
ERAP program and we all work
together on a recovery from this
deadly pandemic.”
This story appears courtesy of
our sister publication amNewYork.
Governor Kathy Hochul signs legislation extending the Emergency Rental
Assistance Program at the Executive Mansion in Albany.
Photo by Mike Groll/Offi ce of Governor Kathy Hochul