Cuomo extends ban on evictions

KINGSTON, N.Y. » Landlords in New York state now are prevented until Jan. 1 from evicting tenants who are having COVID-related financial hardships, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.

An executive order signed by Cuomo extends the state’s Tenant Safe Harbor Act, which was to expire at the end of September.

Cuomo’s office said the governor’s order also provides protection to tenants who were served with eviction warrants prior to the start of the pandemic.

“As New York continues to fight the pandemic, we want to make sure New Yorkers who are still struggling financially will not be forced from their homes as a result of CO

VID,” Cuomo said in a prepared statement. “We are extending the protections of the Safe Harbor Act through January 1 because we want tenants to have fundamental stability in their lives as we recover from this crisis.”

Cuomo first announced a state moratorium on residential and commercial evictions on March 20 to ensure no tenant was evicted during the height of the health emergency. The governor then signed the Tenant Safe Harbor Act on June 30, along with legislation providing financial assistance to residential renters and landlords.

Previous executive orders prohibit charging tenants or fees for late rent payments, and allow tenants facing financial hardship to use their security deposit as payment, then repay the deposit over time.

State Assemblyman Kevin Cahill lauded the extension of the eviction ban.

“This extension comes as a great relief to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who have lost jobs and opportunities to the coronavirus,” Cahill, D-Kingston, said in a prepared statement. “Public health experts agree that stable housing is vital to maintaining a low level of [CO

VID] cases in the state. So long as COVID-19 is a present danger to New York, no one should be thrown out on the street.”

In September, the state’s moratorium on COVID-related commercial evictions and foreclosures was extended by Cuomo until Oct. 20.