Cuomo extends eviction ban through
August, bans late fees for missed rent
BY MARK HALLUM
Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended
the state’s eviction ban
through August and barred
late fees in an effort to relieve
cash-strapped renters during
the COVID-19 crisis.
Under the new orders,
landlords are prohibited from
evicting tenants and cannot
charge late fees for failure
to pay rent through Aug.
20, Cuomo announced at his
COVID-19 briefi ng on May 7.
“We’re going to take additional
steps to ban any late
payment fees because a person
could not pay rent during
this time, also allowing people
to use their security deposit as
a payment and they can repay
it over a period of time,” the
governor said. “I hope it gives
families a deep breath.”
Cuomo stressed the importance
of protecting tenants,
but said he was keeping property
owners in mind.
“I get it, there’s a tradeoff,”
he said. “We’re working on
relief from the banks for the
COURIER L 16 IFE, MAY 15-21, 2020
landlords also, and there are
programs that the federal government
and the state is doing
to make sure those banks get
relief so they don’t have to do
any foreclosures.”
To raise awareness about
the need for rent forgiveness,
two New York lawmakers are
advocating that the government
bail out landlords whose
tenants cannot pay rent.
Congresswomen Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez and Grace
Meng have called for the creation
of a Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) fund that
would reimburse landlords
for the cost of cancelling rent,
which would be included in
the next stimulus package as
the pandemic progresses and
prevents many from going to
work.
“For families with little to
no savings to fall back on, this
has been, and will continue
be, catastrophic as they try to
keep food on the table, cover
the cost of prescription drugs,
or meet other expenses,” read
the lawmakers’ letter to House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and
Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell. “Further, as state
unemployment systems face
an unprecedented and overwhelming
demand, millions
more are expected to lose their
sources of income.”
The congresswomen’s proposal
would also halt foreclosures
by establishing mortgage
forgiveness during the
COVID-19 crisis, the letter explains.
On April 16, state Senate
Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris
urged the governor to
cancel rent entirely in addition
to banning evictions.
“It has been clear for weeks
now that rents cannot be paid
with money that doesn’t exist
and therefore, rent will be cancelled
whether or not we authorize
it by law,” Gianaris said in
a statement. “I urge Governor
Cuomo to implement an executive
order to cancel rent obligations
and bring stability to the
housing market before it devolves
into a full blown crisis.”
Cuomo acknowledged that
he did not yet know whether
renters would be forced to pay
back many months of unpaid
rent once the moratorium expires
on Aug. 20, but that the
administration would address
that question when the time
comes.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo gives an update on the novel coronavirus during a
briefi ng in the Red Room at the Sate Capitol.
Mike Groll/Offi ce of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
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