NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8702
SPONSOR: Rosenthal TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend subpart A of part BB of chapter 56 of the laws of 2021
relating to establishing a COVID-19 emergency rental assistance program
and amending the state finance law relating to establishing a COVID-19
emergency rental municipal corporation allocation fund, in relation to
extending the effectiveness of certain provisions thereof
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:
This bill would extend a provision of the COVID-19 Emergency Rental
Assistance Program (ERAP) that prohibits landlords from initiating a
monetary action or proceeding for the collection of rent covered by an
ERAP payment that a landlord refused to accept.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill would extend section two and section nine of the
COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) in order to extend a
provision that prohibits landlords from initiating a monetary action or
proceeding for the collection of rent covered by an ERAP payment that a
landlord refused to accept.
Section two of the bill relates to the effective date. JUSTIFICATION:
The SFY 2021-22 budget enacted a rent relief program (the COVID-19 Emer-
gency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)) using federal funds to assist
renters with incomes below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) by paying
up to 12 months of rent and utility arrears and three months of prospec-
tive rent. Additional federal and state funding was added to the program
in SFY 2022-23 and SFY 2023-24. Applications for ERAP closed on January
20, 2023.
Under the terms of the program, a tenant who applied for ERAP was
protected from eviction until a determination of eligibility had been
made. If the tenant was approved for ERAP, a payment was made directly
to the landlord for the covered arrears. By accepting the ERAP payment,
landlords agreed not to pursue non-payment eviction for months covered
by the program, not to evict for an expired lease or holdover tenancy
for one year, waive late fees for arrears paid for by the program, and
not to raise rent for a year from the amount at the time an application
was filed. Landlords could still pursue eviction for nonpayment of rent
for months not covered by the program.
Tenants received proof that a payment was made on their behalf, or if
their landlord was unresponsive, that a reserve payment was held for at
least 180 days. Proof of reserved payment could be used to protect them-
selves against non-payment eviction for arrears that would be covered by
the program for up to one year after the determination was made. If the
landlord had not accepted the payment within a year, they were deemed to
have waived the rent that would have been covered by that payment and
were prevented from initiating a monetary action or proceeding or
collecting a judgement for the amount of the rent covered by the
payment.
The statute for ERAP is set to expire and be repealed on September 30,
2025. However, the statute of limitations for a landlord to initiate a
monetary action or proceeding or collect a judgement for the amount of
rent covered by an ERAP payment will not have expired by that time.
Allowing a potential loophole where landlords who refused ERAP payments
could potentially sue tenants for the same arrears that would have been
covered by the program.
This bill would extend the limit on initiating a monetary action or
collecting a judgment - only when the landlord did not accept an ERAP
payment and only for the amount of rent covered by that payment.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8702
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 30, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend subpart A of part BB of chapter 56 of the laws of 2021
relating to establishing a COVID-19 emergency rental assistance
program and amending the state finance law relating to establishing a
COVID-19 emergency rental municipal corporation allocation fund, in
relation to extending the effectiveness of certain provisions thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 3 of subpart A of part BB of chapter 56 of the laws
2 of 2021, relating to establishing a COVID-19 emergency rental assistance
3 program and amending the state finance law relating to establishing a
4 COVID-19 emergency rental municipal corporation allocation fund, is
5 amended to read as follows:
6 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately [and]; provided, however
7 that sections one, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, ten, eleven,
8 twelve, thirteen and fourteen of section one and section two of this act
9 shall expire and be deemed repealed September 30, 2025.
10 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13215-01-5
