Fewer than 2,300 NYC tenants have filed papers to delay evictions

Housing Court is located in the Queens Civil Court building. Eagle file photo by David Brand

By David Brand

Fewer than 2,300 New York City households have filed paperwork to delay eviction proceedings, with a Feb. 26 deadline looming.

That low total, first reported by Law360, has spurred housing law groups and elected officials to get the word about financial hardship forms that can allow renters and homeowners to avoid eviction or Housing Court proceedings until at least May 1. 

In late December 2020, state lawmakers enacted measures to prevent evictions through the end of February. Tenants facing eviction and homeowners at risk of foreclosure could extend the moratorium simply by filling out a newly created financial hardship form stating that they have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

But few New Yorkers have filed those forms, according to the state court system.

State Sen. Brian Kavanagh and Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz will join officials from the New York City Public Advocate’s Office and various nonprofit legal groups to urge New Yorkers to submit the forms.

"The best advice for tenants is if you're having a hardship you should fill out the form and turn it in, so I don't want to minimize that, but I also don't think this is a crisis or an indication that the statute is not working at this point," Kavanagh told Law360.