The Library Lions outside of the New York Public Library are outfitted with face masks and holiday Christmas wreaths in New York City on December 10. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Dec. 29 (UPI) -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed into law legislation that places a moratorium on evictions and foreclosure proceedings throughout the state in an effort to stop thousands of residents from losing their homes due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Cuomo signed the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020 on Monday soon after it passed the New York Senate 40 to 21 and the New York Assembly 99 to 47.
"As we fight our way through the marathon this pandemic has become, we need to make sure New Yorkers still have homes to provide that protection," Cuomo said in a statement. "This law adds to previous executive orders by protecting the needy and vulnerable to who, through no fault of their own, face eviction during an incredibly difficult period for New York."
The law places a moratorium on residential evictions for tenants who have "endured COVID-related hardship" until May 1, 2021. The Tenants must submit a declaration or document that states the hardship they have experienced to prevent eviction.
It also prohibits forecloses until May 1, 2021, on homeowners and small landlords who own 10 or fewer residential dwellings. They are also required to file a hardship declaration with their mortgage lender or other foreclosing party or court.
It also prohibits negative credit reporting and discrimination in extending credit for those who have fallen behind on mortgage payments for properties where they reside.
The law, however, does not absolve the financial obligations of renters or homeowners but provides a four-month pause, state Sen. Pete Harckham said in a statement.
"Ensuring that our friends and neighbors can remain in their homes during this extensive and unforeseen economic downturn was a necessary action," he said. "Allowing people to be put out into the streets during a pandemic is inhumane and will exacerbate the public health crisis."
The legislation was signed a day after President Donald Trump signed a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill, which included $1.3 billion in rent and eviction relief for the state that Sen. Chuck Schumer described as "historic and unprecedented."
New York has been one of the hardest-hit states to the pandemic, suffering more than 932,000 infections, including nearly 30,000 deaths.
Cuomo on Monday announced the state had received an 259,000 additional vaccine doses, 139,400 from Pfizer and 119,600 from Moderna.
New York Lawmakers Poised to Pass Nation's Strongest Eviction Ban as Millions Face Housing Insecurity
"It is not just unconscionable to evict people during a pandemic winter, it is deadly."
"It is not just unconscionable to evict people during a pandemic winter, it is deadly."
by Julia Conley, staff writer
Published on Monday, December 28, 2020
Common Dreams
Tenants and housing activists gathered at Maria Hernandez Park for a rally and march in the streets of Bushwick, demanding the New York City administration cancel rent immediately as many New Yorkers remain strapped for cash and out of work. (Photo: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Shortly after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an extension of his eviction moratorium via executive order, the state legislature offered additional protection to renters on Monday, passing a bill that Democratic lawmakers called the strongest in the country.
The legislation passed in a vote of 40 to 21 in the state Senate and at the time of this writing was poised to pass in the state Assembly.
Proud to preside over the passage of this important bill! New York now has the strongest COVID-19 eviction protections in the United States. pic.twitter.com/XNsqY7a1Zd
— Senator Brian Benjamin (@NYSenBenjamin) December 28, 2020
Both the state Senate and state Assembly convened remotely Monday for special sessions to pass the legislation, a day after President Donald Trump signed the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill which he had delayed approving for several days. As Common Dreams reported Monday, the president's delay could cost millions of people a full week in unemployment benefits, intensifying fears that families will struggle to make ends meet in the new year.
Under New York's Covid-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act, tenants who are struggling to pay rent due to the coronavirus pandemic will be able to declare that they're facing a financial hardship due to lost income, increased medical or family care expenses, or inability to find employment due to the crisis.
Tenants will not have to prove their financial hardship and will not be subjected to income limits.
"By enacting this comprehensive residential eviction and foreclosure moratorium, we are delivering real protection for countless renters and homeowners who would otherwise be at risk of losing their homes, adding to the unprecedented hardship that so many are facing," state Sen. Brian Kavanagh, a Democrat who sponsored the legislation, said Sunday as the special session was announced.
Cuomo's eviction moratorium is set to expire on January 1, and currently blocks landlords from evicting tenants only if the renter can prove financial hardship.
After courts in the state "have been remarkably unsympathetic to tenants' situations," Ellen Davidson, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society, told the New York Times, the new legislation is "going to save a lot of people's homes. It's going to save lives."
Under the legislation, which the Democratic governor is expected to sign, landlords will be barred from evicting tenants for the next 60 days in cases that are already underway in the court system. For renters who submit a new "Standardized Hardship Declaration Form" explaining their circumstances related to the pandemic, landlords will not be able to begin eviction proceedings until May 1.
The bill will also protect landlords against foreclosure and tax liens if they own 10 or fewer properties and will prohibit negative credit reporting and credit discrimination against owners who fall behind on mortgage payments due to the pandemic.
Ahead of the special sessions, Marcela Mitaynes and Jabari Brisport, who were recently elected to the state Assembly and the state Senate, respectively, wrote at New York Focus that a long-term eviction moratorium is "a matter of life and death" during a pandemic that has killed more than 37,000 New Yorkers.
"The most basic task of legislators in a deadly pandemic is to keep as many people alive as possible," Mitaynes and Brisport wrote. "If we take that task seriously, we must stop all evictions immediately. What greater hypocrisy could there be than to urge people to socially distance and stay at home—and then stand by as they're forced out of those homes?"
On Twitter, New York City Council member Brad Lander added, "It is not just unconscionable to evict people during a pandemic winter, it is deadly."
It is not just unconscionable to evict people during a pandemic winter, it is deadly. https://t.co/0tlPLUftZl
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) December 21, 2020
Judith Goldiner, attorney in charge of the Civil Law Reform Unit at the Legal Aid Society, said in a statement ahead of the special sessions that the legislation "will establish a bulwark against eviction that is one of the, if not the, strongest moratoriums in the country."
Goldiner warned, though, that lawmakers must remain committed to helping struggling New Yorkers for the duration of the pandemic and the economic recession—however long it lasts.
"House lawmakers must remain open to enhancing this legislation if we find ourselves still severely mired in the pandemic come May," she said.
Published on Monday, December 28, 2020
Common Dreams
Tenants and housing activists gathered at Maria Hernandez Park for a rally and march in the streets of Bushwick, demanding the New York City administration cancel rent immediately as many New Yorkers remain strapped for cash and out of work. (Photo: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Shortly after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an extension of his eviction moratorium via executive order, the state legislature offered additional protection to renters on Monday, passing a bill that Democratic lawmakers called the strongest in the country.
The legislation passed in a vote of 40 to 21 in the state Senate and at the time of this writing was poised to pass in the state Assembly.
Proud to preside over the passage of this important bill! New York now has the strongest COVID-19 eviction protections in the United States. pic.twitter.com/XNsqY7a1Zd
— Senator Brian Benjamin (@NYSenBenjamin) December 28, 2020
Both the state Senate and state Assembly convened remotely Monday for special sessions to pass the legislation, a day after President Donald Trump signed the $900 billion coronavirus relief bill which he had delayed approving for several days. As Common Dreams reported Monday, the president's delay could cost millions of people a full week in unemployment benefits, intensifying fears that families will struggle to make ends meet in the new year.
Under New York's Covid-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act, tenants who are struggling to pay rent due to the coronavirus pandemic will be able to declare that they're facing a financial hardship due to lost income, increased medical or family care expenses, or inability to find employment due to the crisis.
Tenants will not have to prove their financial hardship and will not be subjected to income limits.
"By enacting this comprehensive residential eviction and foreclosure moratorium, we are delivering real protection for countless renters and homeowners who would otherwise be at risk of losing their homes, adding to the unprecedented hardship that so many are facing," state Sen. Brian Kavanagh, a Democrat who sponsored the legislation, said Sunday as the special session was announced.
Cuomo's eviction moratorium is set to expire on January 1, and currently blocks landlords from evicting tenants only if the renter can prove financial hardship.
After courts in the state "have been remarkably unsympathetic to tenants' situations," Ellen Davidson, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society, told the New York Times, the new legislation is "going to save a lot of people's homes. It's going to save lives."
Under the legislation, which the Democratic governor is expected to sign, landlords will be barred from evicting tenants for the next 60 days in cases that are already underway in the court system. For renters who submit a new "Standardized Hardship Declaration Form" explaining their circumstances related to the pandemic, landlords will not be able to begin eviction proceedings until May 1.
The bill will also protect landlords against foreclosure and tax liens if they own 10 or fewer properties and will prohibit negative credit reporting and credit discrimination against owners who fall behind on mortgage payments due to the pandemic.
Ahead of the special sessions, Marcela Mitaynes and Jabari Brisport, who were recently elected to the state Assembly and the state Senate, respectively, wrote at New York Focus that a long-term eviction moratorium is "a matter of life and death" during a pandemic that has killed more than 37,000 New Yorkers.
"The most basic task of legislators in a deadly pandemic is to keep as many people alive as possible," Mitaynes and Brisport wrote. "If we take that task seriously, we must stop all evictions immediately. What greater hypocrisy could there be than to urge people to socially distance and stay at home—and then stand by as they're forced out of those homes?"
On Twitter, New York City Council member Brad Lander added, "It is not just unconscionable to evict people during a pandemic winter, it is deadly."
It is not just unconscionable to evict people during a pandemic winter, it is deadly. https://t.co/0tlPLUftZl
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) December 21, 2020
Judith Goldiner, attorney in charge of the Civil Law Reform Unit at the Legal Aid Society, said in a statement ahead of the special sessions that the legislation "will establish a bulwark against eviction that is one of the, if not the, strongest moratoriums in the country."
Goldiner warned, though, that lawmakers must remain committed to helping struggling New Yorkers for the duration of the pandemic and the economic recession—however long it lasts.
"House lawmakers must remain open to enhancing this legislation if we find ourselves still severely mired in the pandemic come May," she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment