Today, the NYS Legislature voted to extend the current COVID-19 eviction and foreclosure moratorium that was enacted in 2020 to expire on August 30, 2021. The original law was set to expire May 1st and there are a few reasons why I voted in favor of extending the moratorium that I will outline below along with my concerns with the extension.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) previously extended the federal eviction moratorium from March 31 to June 30, 2021. For the sake of consistency, it made sense for the state of New York to extend the moratorium to be on par with the federal moratorium, to do otherwise would lead to unnecessary confusion. Unfortunately, my efforts to align with the federal government did not prove to be successful.

That being said, the eviction and foreclosure extension bill passed today includes additional funding to assist our small landlords with unpaid rent as outlined below we recognize that there are many small landlords who are struggling as well. The details of that funding are listed below:

  • $2.3 billion in combined federal and state funding to pay back rent and three months of prospective rent with funding available to help pay for utilities and internet services; funds will be delivered directly to landlords
  • $100 million to help landlords become whole on unpaid rent from tenants who otherwise could pay rent but simply refused to do so
  • $540 million in federal funding to help homeowners with $60 million set aside for foreclosure assistance over three years and $480 million to directly assist with paying mortgages and utilities
  • The legislation also includes an extension of the provisions staying tax lien sales and tax foreclosure actions which is a significant help to landlords.

This program, which will be administered by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), will be ready to go live on or about May 24th which is also part of the discussion of extending the eviction moratorium.  It is best to provide tenants and landlords financial support to address the rent arrears instead of each side bringing legal resources into the picture which as we know can be costly.  Additionally, it should be noted that the courts are still slow to open up in many but not all areas of the state, and it is best to minimize the actual evictions if at all possible.

I fully understand that there are many who have lost their jobs during the pandemic and are struggling to pay rent and household expenses, experience food insecurity, or are on the brink of homelessness due to no fault of their own. This is the reason why I voted in favor of the original moratorium and for this extension of the moratorium. I want to note that I have worked with countless constituents over the past year to work through their issues with accessing unemployment benefits and have contacted the NYS Department of Labor as problems have arisen from difficulties reaching NYS DOL by phone, fraudulent claims delaying legitimate claims, and re-certification delays. We must make sure that to the extent possible, we can keep these people in their homes and provide the stability they need to get back on their feet as our economy is poised to rebound.

An unpleasant reality that some may not be aware of is that there are some individuals, whom I call the bad actors, who are taking advantage of the moratorium to avoid paying rent even though they are still fully employed and are not experiencing any financial hardship.  I hear about this often and there are firsthand accounts reported in the press. I also hear from small landlords about how they have had to pay problematic tenants  (who may be causing damage or creating nuisance conditions) during this time just to get them out of the rental and how the landlords just want to sell their properties due to the difficulty of these situations. This also applies to Housing Authorities who have had to take similar actions.

This is why I am a cosponsor on the bill A.7280 (Paulin) which will pass today that would address the landlord arrears issue by allowing the landlord to apply directly for COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (CERAP) funding in cases where the tenant has left without paying back rent.  Additionally, this bill raises the household income above the federal program guidelines for the $100 million fund eligibility.  This will expand assistance eligibility to additional tenants and landlords.

Another factor is that in the most recent state budget for FY 2021-2022, $3.5 million in funding was dedicated to Upstate civil legal service agencies. The funding for Upstate agencies makes up 85 percent of the new $4.13 million committed to civil legal service providers in the state budget. These are the people who help those who are navigating the eviction system and will be able to ensure that the ones who need help receive it.

This funding will help support local agencies that provide legal services or public safety programs to help low-income families and individuals. In the Albany area and surrounding region, the funding will support the work of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, Rural Law Center of New York, The Legal Project, and The Justice Center at Albany Law School.

Eviction proceedings are costly and time-consuming and we want to avoid them at all costs. By implementing the extension of this moratorium we avoid these proceedings and that is a benefit to all. This extension gives both landlord and tenant some time to get back to a situation where both can move forward in a positive way.

Something important to keep in mind is that we want these small landlords to stay in business. Actually, we need them to stay in business in many cases as they provide a reasonable rent for many individuals in the low to moderate-income range.  I am not arguing that every small landlord is perfect or does the right thing, but I would argue that it is better to have someone who lives in the community owning the rental property and being held accountable for maintaining the property and for being a good landlord. Accountability is a task that is far more difficult when you are dealing with an out-of-state landlord and as a former Mayor, I understand that reality very well.

It may be schmaltzy but I am going to reference one of my favorite movies, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” a movie about a man named George Bailey who sacrifices his own dreams to run his family’s Building and Loan to ensure that people have access to housing. George does this to keep the local housing stock from being bought up by a ruthless wealthy man named Henry Potter. George knew that if Henry Potter took over the properties in Bedford Falls that Potter would be a far worse landlord than any alternative. We want to keep these responsible small landlords around so we do not further exacerbate the already existing housing issues that people face. We do not want to move these properties into the hands of irresponsible landlords especially at a time when the housing market is extremely competitive which means that the working class is far more reliant on the accessibility of affordable and safe rental properties.