The New York State Senate and Assembly will vote Wednesday on whether to extend the COVID-19 emergency moratorium on residential and commercial evictions which would allow New Yorkers four more months to access the $2.4 billion housing relief fund established in the state budget.
William Niebel is an adjunct law professor at Cornell Law School and expert on New York landlord-tenant law. He says the extension of the New York eviction moratorium is critical and the only way to ensure tenants are protected and landlords get paid.
Niebel says:
“The extension of the New York eviction moratorium is vital because it will allow time for the allocated rent relief funds to be distributed. This will no doubt prevent eviction of the majority of tenants who have suffered financial hardship during COVID, and it will get the money to the landlords who are entitled to it and need financial assistance as well.
“If the moratorium is not extended, evictions will start in earnest next week. Though it is true that the federal (CDC) moratorium has been extended through June, it is much narrower in scope, and its validity and applicability in New York are legitimately in question. Thus, extension of the New York moratorium is the only way to ensure that New York tenants are protected, and their landlords get paid.”
