Eviction moratorium extension just delays rental pain for tenants and property owners
We care about tenants and appreciate and understand the challenges faced by those who rent during this pandemic.
The “mom and pop” small business owners who rent out housing are also in harm’s way economically as there’s a potential they’ll be out of business due to a lack of revenue.
If our small business property owners go out of business, that negatively impacts renters as well as there won’t be enough affordable housing stock available.
Sadly, our state has failed those facing housing insecurity during the pandemic — and the Governor and Legislative leaders are admitting it with their extension yet again of another eviction moratorium that kicks the can down the road to January 15th with no end in sight.
This measure was hastily pushed through the legislature this week by the Governor and the Legislative Majorities even though the state and federal moratoriums were both recently ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court and even though the state had months to distribute $2.6 billion in direct rental relief for tenants and property owners.
I’ve been inundated with calls from constituents — both tenants and property owners — who have either been unable to access the state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) or completed their paperwork and are still waiting for their funding assistance.
As of August 27th, a pathetic $2.5 million (out of $2.6 billion) has been distributed to approximately 15,000 households (over 170,000 households have applied for rental assistance since June 1st). Another $600 million has been approved but has been languishing in state coffers and has not been disbursed yet to those who need it most.
This is beyond incompetence, it’s governmental malpractice.
As in the past, this week’s extension of the eviction moratorium until January 15th does nothing to incentivize tenants to work with property owners to get involved and do their required part under the law to expedite rent payments to protect tenants and make property owners whole.
Unfortunately, this extension bill just kicks the can down the road without solving the problem.
The answer can’t be just to “cancel rent” and leave property owners, many of whom are small business owners who have their own bills to pay, high and dry.
Clearly, New York needs a “moratorium” on elected officials who make laws to pass one group’s financial burden on to another!
The majorities in the state legislature and governor should immediately release the $2.6 billion of federal aid available for landlord and tenant relief in an easily accessible way — something this moratorium extension does not do!
I am sponsoring legislation (S.5629) to help small property owners with a rental assistance loan-togrant program to help them cover missed rental payments. These small property owners live on the margins and many are on the verge of bankruptcy. The moratorium that continues to be passed designates that renters are supposed to pay back the money they owe.
Under my loan-to-grant bill, if the tenants pay their back rent, which they’re responsible for under the present law and deferment they have, then the property owners would simply
repay the state. If the tenant never pays the rent, then the loan turns into a grant like the federal pandemic assistance program for small businesses, thus property owners would be held harmless.
The debacle of New York’s pandemic rental assistance program is just the latest example of gross mismanagement by the Cuomo/Hochul Administration and Legislative Majorities and is akin to their inability to help hundreds of thousands of scared and desperate New Yorkers who lost their jobs during the shutdown access their pandemic unemployment benefits. It’s also symptomatic of a larger disorder of the progressive majorities who control all levers of power now in New York State government. They are much better at taking tax dollars from New Yorkers then getting it to them when it’s deserved!
Our residents deserve better.
Small business property owners cannot continue to maintain their properties without any income and tenants deserve the peace of mind that they will receive the assistance they are eligible for. Kicking the can down the road does not solve the problem it just makes it worse.