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Extends the prohibition on the eviction of residential tenants who have suffered financial hardship during the COVID-19 covered period
(D, WF) 47th Senate District
| Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE | |
|---|---|
| Jan 13, 2022 | print number 7335a |
| Jan 13, 2022 | amend (t) and recommit to judiciary |
| Jan 05, 2022 | referred to judiciary |
| Aug 18, 2021 | referred to rules |
See Assembly Version of this Bill: A8240 Current Committee: Senate Judiciary Law Section: Real Property Laws Affected: Amd §1, Chap 127 of 2020 Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session: A2094
Extends the prohibition on the eviction of residential tenants who have suffered financial hardship during the COVID-19 covered period through April 15, 2022.
BILL NUMBER: S7335 SPONSOR: HOYLMAN TITLE OF BILL: An act in relation to extending the prohibition on the eviction of resi- dential tenants who have suffered financial hardship during the COVID-19 covered period PURPOSE: To extend the "safe harbor" period of the Tenant Safe Harbor Act of 2020 through January 31, 2022. SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 of the bill amends section 1 of chapter 127 of the laws of 2020 ("the Tenant Safe Harbor Act") by extending until January 31, 2022 the COVID19 covered period during which unpaid rent incurred by tenants experiencing financial hardship cannot be used as the basis for non-pay- ment evictions.
Section 2 of the bill amends subdivision 2 of section 2 of the Tenant Safe Harbor Act by establishing that there is a rebuttable presumption that a tenant or lawful occupant has suffered a financial hardship if they submitted a hardship declaration form to the court, their landlord, or an agent of either. Section 3 of the bill is the effective date. JUSTIFICATION: In 2020, the Legislature passed S.8192-B (Hoylman)/A.10290-B (Dinowitz), known as the Tenant Safe Harbor Act, which prohibited courts from issu- ing warrants of eviction or judgment of possession against residential tenants that suffered a financial hardship during the COVID-19 covered period for the non-payment of rent that accrues or becomes due during the covered period. As originally defined in the Tenant Safe Harbor Act, the COVID-19 covered period started on March 7, 2020 and ran until June 15, 2021, the date on which all COVID-related closures and restrictions on businesses and places of public accommodations pursuant to New York State Executive Order 202 and subsequent Executive Orders were lifted. The Tenant Safe Harbor Act has provided an important backstop to various federal, state and local eviction moratoria, giving tenants who suffered financial hardship during the COVID-19 covered period permanent protections from being evicted on the basis of non-payment of rent that accrued during the covered period. As the Delta variant of COVID-19 contributes to increasing infection rates across New York State and with the U.S. Supreme Court ordering an early end to Part A of New York's COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Fore- closure Prevention Act (CEEFPA), continuation of the Tenant Safe Harbor Act's protections are warranted as the federal and state government consider additional eviction protections. This legislation would extend the Tenant Safe Harbor Act's covered period retroactive to June 15, 2021 through January 31, 2022, and further provides that a hardship declara- tion filed by a tenant or lawful occupant pursuant to CEEFPA creates a rebuttable presumption that the tenant or lawful occupant experienced financial hardship during the COVID-19 covered period. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: None, new bill. FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None. EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after March 7, 2020.
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 7335 2021-2022 Regular Sessions I N S E N A T E August 18, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT in relation to extending the prohibition on the eviction of resi- dential tenants who have suffered financial hardship during the COVID-19 covered period THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Section 1 of chapter 127 of the laws of 2020, relating to prohibiting the eviction of residential tenants who have suffered finan- cial hardship during the COVID-19 covered period, is amended to read as follows: Section 1. For the purposes of this act, "COVID-19 covered period" means March 7, 2020 until [the date on which none of the provisions that closed or otherwise restricted public or private businesses or places of public accommodation, or required postponement or cancellation of all non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size for any reason in Executive Orders 202.3, 202.4, 202.5, 202.6, 202.7, 202.8, 202.10, 202.11, 202.13 or 202.14, as extended by Executive Orders 202.28 and 202.31 and as further extended by any future Executive Order, issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to apply in the county of the tenant's or lawful occupant's residence] JANUARY 31, 2022. § 2. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 2 of chapter 127 of the laws of 2020, relating to prohibiting the eviction of residential tenants who have suffered financial hardship during the COVID-19 covered period, is amended to read as follows: (b) In determining whether a tenant or lawful occupant suffered a financial hardship during the COVID-19 covered period, the court shall consider, among other relevant factors: (i) the tenant's or lawful occupant's income prior to the COVID-19 covered period; EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13048-03-1
S. 7335 2 (ii) the tenant's or lawful occupant's income during the COVID-19 covered period; (iii) the tenant's or lawful occupant's liquid assets; [and] (iv) the tenant's or lawful occupant's eligibility for and receipt of cash assistance, supplemental nutrition assistance program, supplemental security income, the New York State disability program, the home energy assistance program, [or] unemployment insurance or benefits under state or federal law, OR THE EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM; (V) WHETHER THE TENANT OR LAWFUL OCCUPANT HAS SUBMITTED A HARDSHIP DECLARATION, AS DEFINED IN PART A OF CHAPTER THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY-ONE OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOUSAND TWENTY, IN WHICH THE TENANT HAS SELECTED THE OPTION INDICATING A FINANCIAL HARDSHIP TO THE LANDLORD, AN AGENT OF THE LANDLORD, OR THE COURT. IF THE TENANT OR LAWFUL OCCUPANT HAS SUBMITTED A HARDSHIP DECLARATION INDICATING A FINANCIAL HARDSHIP, SUCH SUBMISSION SHALL CREATE A REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION THAT THE TENANT OR LAWFUL OCCUPANT SUFFERED A FINANCIAL HARDSHIP DURING THE COVID-19 COVERED PERIOD; PROVIDED THAT THE ABSENCE OF A HARDSHIP DECLARATION SHALL NOT CREATE A PRESUMPTION THAT THE TENANT OR LAWFUL OCCUPANT DID NOT SUFFER A FINAN- CIAL HARDSHIP. § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force and effect on and after March 7, 2020.
