Since former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the initial New York eviction moratorium on March 20, 2021, landlords in New York state have received little to no assistance from the state government. Landlords, many of whom rely on their income-producing properties to pay their own mortgage, have been saddled with tenants who are more than 18 […]
Since former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the initial New York eviction moratorium on March 20, 2021, landlords in New York state have received little to no assistance from the state government. Landlords, many of whom rely on their income-producing properties to pay their own mortgage, have been saddled with tenants who are more than 18 months behind on rent, presumably most of whom have little to no intention to pay.
While New York State has gone above and beyond to extend already very generous protections afforded to tenants across the state, landlords have been mostly left out in the cold.
During the initial eviction moratorium enacted by Cuomo, one of the most controversial changes was the COVID-19 tenant-hardship declaration form. The form gave people facing eviction an automatic stay on their case until Aug. 31, 2021. This has now been extended to Jan. 15, 2022, so long as they alleged that they experienced some level of financial hardship because of the pandemic. These protections have largely been interpreted by judges to extend to all tenants, occupants, and licensees, much to the chagrin of the landlord community in New York state.
The inherent flaw with the hardship-declaration form is the lack of enforcement or accountability on the part of the person facing eviction or removal. In theory, a squatter, unlawful occupant, or someone who simply did not want to pay his rent even though he continued to work full-time during the pandemic would be extended these same generous protections and be entitled to the same stay on his case.
Under the new extension of the moratorium, landlords now have the right to request a hearing to determine the veracity of each individual claim of financial hardship experienced during the pandemic. Additionally, the extension of the moratorium provides more-generous protections and avenues of removal for landlords who are experiencing disruptive or destructive tenants.
This is presumed to be short-term fix while the New York Legislature attempts to begin rolling about $2.7 billion in emergency relief for both tenants and landlords under the Emergency Rental Relief Program (ERAP). These funds could potentially be a compromise, giving landlords some financial assistance for their income production, something which has been absent over the past year and a half.
Additionally, eviction moratoriums across the country have been heavily scrutinized and overturned by the United States Supreme Court for violating a landlord’s right to due process. The New York Legislature is presuming that these new carve-out protections, such as the right to request a hearing to determine whether someone experienced hardship during the pandemic, may be enough to withstand a challenge by the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s something that is almost guaranteed to be on the U.S. Supreme Court calendar by the end of the year.
Ryan J. McCall is an associate attorney at the law firm of Tully Rinckey PLLC. He focuses his practice on family law, real estate, business formation, and cryptocurrency matters. McCall specializes in representing landlords who have to reclaim their property as well as defending landlords against code violations. Contact McCall at (518) 218-7100 or email: info@tullylegal.com
