Small landlords say they need relief, too, as
calls for rent, mortgage forgiveness continue
Photo via Getty Images
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MAY 15-21, 2020 3
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
As hundreds of tenants
across New York City go on
rent strike to push elected officials
to provide economic
relief for those in need, small
landlords say they, too, will
need assistance.
While calls to cancel rent
have been ongoing for well
over two months by tenant,
housing advocates and elected
officials, there are still little
concrete results. But small
landlords worry that the rent
strikes may cause more harm
than good.
New York City Small Home
Owners Association’s Director
Richard St. Paul said most of
their members are home owners
with one to five units that
aren’t typically rent regulated
— and many of them depend
heavily on rent to maintain
their properties.
St. Paul believes small
landlords aren’t represented
as well as larger landlords,
who often times have an easier
way of managing cost and
expenses. He said very little
has been done on the state and
federal level to offer relief for
small landlords.
“I don’t want people to believe
they don’t have hearts,”
St. Paul said. “But ultimately,
it comes down to the fact that
this is also a business.”
But many argue more has
been done for property owners,
given Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s
mortgage and eviction moratorium
in March — which was
set to end in June but was extended
to Aug. 20. Cuomo said
tenants cannot be evicted and
late fees cannot be incurred
from non-payment of rent until
the moratorium is lifted.
Richard Khuzami, president
of the Old Astoria Neighborhood
Association, is a small
landlord with a three-family
building and a commercial
tenant in Astoria. He said his
tenants have been able to pay
their rent since the pandemic
began.
“I completely understand
there’s an issue and there are
people in situations that can’t
pay rent, especially with issues
collecting unemployment
and the government checks
that operationally turned into
a fiasco,” he said. “But rent relief
shouldn’t be on the backs
of landlords.”
Khuzami added that he
has no problem deferring
payment, but that he’d only
support canceling rent all together
if landlords would have
their mortgage, taxes, utilities
and insurance forgiven as
well. “It should be reciprocal,”
Khuzami said.
“There should be a tax holiday
for property taxes,” Khuzami
said. “The taxes, insurance,
utilities, all these items
might be much easier postponed
if everyone knew rent
would be recoverable.”
What about the mortgage
moratorium?
Khuzami said it only accounts
for state-controlled
moratoriums while the majority
of mortgages come from
federal agencies like Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac.
In March, the Federal
House Finance Agency directed
Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac to suspend all foreclosures
and evictions for 60 days
due to the COVID-19 national
emergency. The agencies also
announced they would give
borrowers affected by the virus
forbearance options that
would allow them to suspend
mortgage payments for up to
12 months.
Khuzami said his bank told
him that while he doesn’t have
to pay his mortgage and won’t
penalize him, they “can’t guarantee
there won’t be a balloon
payment” once the moratoriums
are lifted.
“But I don’t think it’s in
their best interest to close
homes,” he said.
Echoing St. Paul’s comment,
Khuzami said small
landlords should qualify for
the federal Paycheck Protection
Program, being that they
are a small business as well.
“I’m retired, and like a lot
of small landlords, this is our
only source of income,” Khuzami
said.
Cuomo said the state is
working on relief from the
banks for landlords, and that
the federal government and
state are working on plans to
“make sure those banks get relief
so they don’t have to do any
foreclosures.”
Meanwhile, two Queens
representatives are leading
New York’s Congressional
delegation in calling for the
House and Senate to include
rent and mortgage forgiveness
in the next COVID-19 stimulus
package.
Congresswomen Grace
Meng and Alexandria Ocasio
Cortez argue the rent
crisis extends far beyond
New York as nearly half of
all renters spend more than a
third of their income on rent,
while one-quarter of renters
spend more than half of their
monthly earnings.
They also called for the creation
of a Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) fund that
would reimburse landlords for
the cost of cancelling rent for
the duration of the crisis, and
for an additional six months
after the pandemic ends. This
fund would be extended to
small private landlords, public
housing authorities, nonprofit
organizations or housing cooperatives.
“Not only does HUD have
the capacity to administer a
program of this scale, but it
would serve as a direct stimulus
for the countless families
that are facing unprecedented
economic hardship,” the representatives
wrote in the letter
to Congressional leadership.
“We need a universal program
that will cover all renters without
introducing costly bureaucratic
measures that will slow
the receipt of aid and preserve
the already limited stock of affordable
housing.“
The letter was co-signed
by Representatives Nydia Velázquez,
Carolyn Maloney,
José Serrano, Adriano Espaillat,
Yvette Clarke, Eliot Engel,
Hakeem Jeffries and Jerry
Nadler.
I don’t want people to believe they
don’t have hearts. But ultimately, it
comes down to the fact that this is also
a business.
Richard St. Paul
New York City Small Home Owners Association Director
/QNS.COM
