The New York legislature plans to meet in a special session Monday to block eviction proceedings amid the coronavirus pandemic, as low-income families across the country have to pay billions in unpaid rent.
The legislature will pass a two-month moratorium on evictions to give tenants the opportunity to explain financial problems caused by the pandemic and the associated economic slowdown. The bill covers all deportation processes that will begin in the coming month.
“From the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have understood that security of housing must be an essential part of our efforts to protect the health and wellbeing of all New Yorkers,” said Senator Brian Kavanagh (D), author of the bill. “We provide real protection to countless tenants and homeowners who would otherwise be at risk of losing their homes.”
Kavanagh’s bill will create a standardized form for residents facing financial difficulties to fill out. Tenants would file the forms when faced with loss of income or increased costs, particularly because of the pandemic.
It also postpones foreclosure sales and the sale of tax claims for home owners, an effort to protect smaller landlords – those who own fewer than ten rental units – and homeowners.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Andrew CuomoGottlieb: New strain of coronavirus ‘likely here in the United States’ Why special advice is guaranteed if Biden chooses Yates, Cuomo or Jones as AG Cuomo grants clemency to 21 people showing ‘remorse, rehabilitation’ MORE (D) said Monday he would approve the measure.
“We have an agreement with them on a bill for moratorium on housing,” Cuomo said at a news conference. “Once that bill is passed, I’ll sign it.”
The pandemic has led to a growing rent arrears, one that investment consulting firm Moody’s Analytics estimates at $ 70 billion nationwide. The federal government has banned deportations, a ban that the latest coronavirus aid package will now extend until the end of January.
According to a weekly survey by the Census Bureau, an estimated 11 million renters are in rent arrears or will not be able to pay next month.
Several states have established their own deportation bans. California prevented evictions until the end of January; Connecticut, Delaware, Colorado and Hawaii extended bans more deeply in February; and Washington, Oregon and Nevada will block deportations until later in the crisis.
Maryland, New Jersey and the District of Columbia have imposed bans that will last until the end of the crisis, without a specific date.