Today, the New York State Assembly voted to extend the moratorium on evictions and continue to allow tenants to remain in rental units without paying rent. This affects both residential and commercial units and extends the moratorium until August 2021. The moratorium has harmed landlords who continue to pay the property taxes, utility bills and repairs on the properties. Small landlords have been particularly hard-hit.

Our state already has a system in place to resolve landlord and tenant disputes – it is in our courts. Now that our courts are open again, this is the proper place to decide these matters. If a judge determines that the facts justify a stay of eviction on behalf of a tenant, the judge has the authority to delay the eviction. It is time for landlords, many of whom have not received rental income in over a year, to have due process before the courts.

Many small landlords rely on rental income to pay their own bills and supplement their social security. The state moratorium on a landlord’s ability to collect rent and petition the court has financially devastated small landlords. The extension will result in the loss of rental units available in the future.

 It’s time to stop enabling a rent-free New York state, where the only result will be a total collapse of our housing and real estate market and dire consequences for our already-struggling economy. Eventually this path will put everyone who has avoided paying rent in total personal financial failure.

A video of Assemblywoman Byrnes’ remarks is attached:

(https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PPxx6b7w1ZOxIbSp1MWGCzsTnhc_NQKb/view?usp=sharing.)