New York's eviction moratorium set to expire without rent relief in place

Advocates are calling on state lawmakers to extend New York’s existing eviction moratorium until a new rent relief program is up and running. PHOTO BY NELSON MEJIA JR./FLICKR

By David Brand

A statewide eviction moratorium is set to expire May 1, with New York yet to allocate crucial rent relief through a new $2.4 billion assistance program funded by the federal government.

The end of the eviction freeze has advocates worried that thousands of tenants could lose their homes without a fair shot at paying back their arrears

“It would be a tragedy if people were evicted who qualify for the rent relief program because it isn’t authorized and the eviction moratorium is lifted,” said Legal Aid staff attorney Ellen Davidson. 

State lawmakers instituted the latest moratorium in December 2020 for tenants who submit a “hardship declaration form” freezing evictions until at least May 1. About 36,000 tenants have submitted the forms, according to the Office of Court Administration. 

The state created the new COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program, or CE-RAP, in the recent budget, with the bulk of the money coming from Washington.

The program has yet to disperse cash to landlords on behalf of tenants, however. 

Davidson said she assumed the state would extend the eviction moratorium until CE-RAP was up and running, but there has been seemingly little movement in that direction so soon after contentious budget negotiations.

“My thinking was of course they’re going to extend it, but at this point I have no reason to believe they are,” she said.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins recently told a group of Westchester advocates that she supported extending the eviction moratorium, according to a person familiar with the virtual meeting. She did not respond to a request for comment.

One New York City lawmaker concerned about the expiring eviction moratorium said some legislators are pushing for an extension, but Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie are “playing it close to the vest” when it comes to bringing that extension up for a vote.

Heastie did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did Gov. Cuomo’s office, which oversees the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, the agency administering the CE-RAP.

Under the new program the state will pay for up to a year of overdue rent for tenants who earn no more than 80 percent of area median income — that’s a little less than $82,000 in New York City — and can prove they experienced financial hardship.

Implementation is still underway with the moratorium clock ticking.

“Without an eviction moratorium extension, they need to open it tomorrow,” Davidson said.