NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10827
SPONSOR: Rules (Reyes) TITLE OF BILL: An act preventing evictions during the COVID-19
covered period
PURPOSE:
The purpose of the Emergency Housing Stability and Tenant Displacement
Prevention Act is to help stabilize residential and commerical tenants
during the economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 provides the title. Section 2 of the bill provides legislative
findings. Section 3 of the bill defines the COVID-19 covered period.
Section 4 of the bill: (1) prohibits the enforcement of an eviction of
any residential or commercial tenant, and (2) prohibits the issuance of
a judgment of possession against a residential or commercial tenant or
other lawful occupant, or a foreclosure of any residential or commercial
property for the covered period. Section 5 of the bill provides the
effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
On March 7, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 202, declaring a
statewide disaster emergency due to the impending threat of the COVID-19
global pandemic. On March 20, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued Executive
Order 202.8, which included a directive that "There shall be no enforce-
ment of either an eviction of any tenant residential or commercial, or a
foreclosure of any residential or commercial property for a period of
ninety days." The subsequent Executive Order 202.28, issued on May 7,
2020, included a directive that "there shall be no initiation of a
proceeding or enforcement of either an eviction of any residential or
commercial tenant, for nonpayment of rent or a foreclosure of any resi-
dential or commercial mortgage, for nonpayment of such mortgage, owned
or rented by someone that is eligible for unemployment insurance or
benefits under state or federal law or otherwise facing financial hard-
ship due to the COVID-19 pandemic for a period of sixty days beginning
on June 20, 2020." While the eviction moratoria provided in EOS 202.8
and 202.28 are important measures to help stabilize the State of New
York and its residents during the height of the pandemic, they do not
address the full scope of collateral consequences brought on by COVID-19
and the ensuing economic recession. This legislation would disallow the
enforcement of an eviction of any residential or commercial tenant, or a
foreclosure of any residential or commercial property for a period of
one year after the end of the state of emergency. The United States has
officially been in a recession since February 2020, as the National
Bureau of Economic Research reported on June 8, 2020. Unprecedented
unemployment rates and the anticipated COVID-19 resurgence in the fall
of 2020 will continue to be significant destabilizing factors, while the
State will be forced to govern in the face of extraordinary revenue
losses. It is critical that the State prevents displacement and stabi-
lizes housing as the State continues to battle the world's highest
concentration of COVID-19 infections. Due to the current economic envi-
ronment, the State lacks sufficient resources to assist the growing
number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. The spread
of COVID-19 in shelters and other congregate settings will only deepen
the current public health and economic crises. Furthermore, this act
acknowledges the concurrent public health crises of systemic racism and
inequality. It is well-established that regions with a high percentage
of Black and qqtinx residents experience greater rates of eviction and
homelessness. By all accounts, the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportion-
ately wreaked havoc on people of color and low-income communities,
thereby exacerbating historic inequities that are rooted in racism. This
act is consistent with the State's emerging awareness of the disparate
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people of color and serves as an
affirmative stance against racism and inequality. It will provide a
stopgap measure as our economy stabilizes and New Yorkers begin the
critical work of dismantling systems of oppression throughout the state.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DANE:
This act shall.take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10827
IN ASSEMBLY
July 16, 2020
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Reyes) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Housing
AN ACT preventing evictions during the COVID-19 covered period
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Emergency
2 Housing Stability and Displacement Prevention Act".
3 § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and declares
4 that the COVID-19 pandemic has been a public health and economic crisis
5 unparalleled by any in modern history. The State has lost over 30,000 of
6 its citizens and more than 380,000 have been confirmed infected, a
7 number which continues to escalate. A clear consensus of public health
8 experts predicts subsequent waves of increasing infections, which could
9 lead to graver consequences to public health and the economy than those
10 that have occurred thus far. The lack of a cure or effective vaccine
11 means there is no definitive endpoint to the harm from COVID-19 on the
12 State. The legislature further finds and declares that housing instabil-
13 ity and homelessness lead to worse health outcomes for individuals and
14 in doing so worsen public health. The legislature further finds and
15 declares that the COVID-19 pandemic and its resultant economic instabil-
16 ity and job losses has worsened an existing housing crisis state-wide
17 where millions of tenants were already rent-burdened, and millions of
18 homeowners were already struggling to remain current on their mortgages.
19 The existing housing crisis disproportionately impacts Black and Latinx
20 individuals and communities. The legislature further finds and declares
21 that the well-documented disproportionate impacts of both the COVID-19
22 pandemic and the housing crisis on communities of color are deeply
23 connected to and rooted in systemic racism. The legislature further
24 finds and declares that the State is presently in a state of emergency
25 and extra ordinary measures have been implemented in all aspects of
26 society to protect public health and welfare. The legislature further
27 finds and declares that it is counterproductive to public health and
28 welfare to allow evictions and foreclosures until the COVID-19 pandemic
29 has passed and sufficient time has been provided for communities to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16728-03-0
A. 10827 2
1 recover. Accordingly, the legislature must protect public health and
2 welfare and extend a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures until one
3 year after this crisis has concluded.
4 § 3. For the purposes of this act, the "COVID-19 covered period" shall
5 include March 7, 2020 through the end of the state of emergency in the
6 state of New York plus one full year. For the purposes of this act, the
7 "state of emergency" period includes, but is not limited to, any period
8 referenced in Executive Orders 202, 202.8, 202.28 and any other execu-
9 tive order that closed or otherwise restricted public or private busi-
10 nesses or places of public accommodation, or required postponement or
11 cancellation of all non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size
12 for any reason in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, within the state of
13 New York. For the purposes of this act, "lawful occupant" of a residen-
14 tial or commercial property shall mean any person or business for whom
15 eviction proceedings in a court of law would be legally required to
16 remove said occupant from the residential or commercial property,
17 including but not limited to, any person who occupied the residential
18 property for thirty consecutive days or longer.
19 § 4. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary:
20 1. No court shall authorize the execution or enforcement of a warrant
21 of eviction or order a monetary judgment for rent arrears against a
22 tenant or lawful occupant of a residential or commercial property during
23 the COVID-19 covered period.
24 2. No court shall accept for filing any papers commencing any action
25 or proceeding seeking a judgment of possession or a monetary judgment
26 against a tenant or lawful occupant of a residential property for rent
27 or use and occupancy during the COVID-19 covered period.
28 3. No court shall issue a warrant of eviction or judgment of
29 possession against a residential or commercial tenant or other lawful
30 occupant, or execute a judgment of foreclosure and sale of any owner-oc-
31 cupied or rented residential or commercial property, during the COVID-19
32 covered period.
33 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
