Senate Bill S6597

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S6597        REVISED 05/10/2021

SPONSOR: MARTUCCI
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to  amend  chapter  381  of  the  laws of 2020 establishing the
"COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020", in
relation to excluding property owners with ten or less residential units

 
PURPOSE:

To exempt small property owners from the onerous and costly eviction
moratorium first enacted in 2020 and now extended through August 31.
2021

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 Exempts property owners with ten or less residential rental
units from the eviction moratorium requirements of the COVID-19 Emergen-
cy Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020

              

Section 2 is the effective date

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led the state to take certain justi-
fiable emergency steps to protect public health. Among these steps was
an eviction moratorium that was first implemented via Executive Action
and later codified and extended by the Legislature.  The most recent
extension is in place through August 31, 2021.  Circumstances have dras-
tically shifted since the initial enactment of this legislation.
Vaccines have been successfully deployed across our state and in fact
59.4% of all residents have received a single dose and 47% have
completed the series. In all, nearly 17 million New Yorkers have full or
partial protection from COVID via one of several scientifically recom-
mended vaccines. The positive impact of the vaccine's availability has
led the state to a much more rapid economic and social reopening.
Restrictions and capacity limits have been lifted across all sectors. In
fact, on the same day proponents of extending the eviction moratorium
argued public health required the extension, Governor Cuomo allowed
vaccinated individuals to attend shows and sporting events at stadiums
with NO CAPACITY limits. Furthermore, the CDC has recommended that
eviction moratoriums end on June 30. As the leading experts on infec-
tious disease in the country, its glaring that their conclusion is much
different than the one reached by advocates for an August 31 extension
here in New York.

Separate and apart from the more general problems with the eviction
moratorium, this bill seeks to remedy a very specific inequity in
relation to the adverse impact of the moratorium on small property
owners with ten or less rental units. These are not large corporate
conglomerates who can weather the loss of rent for more than a year,
they are our neighbors and they need this income to pay their own mort-
gages and bills.

An elderly constituent of mine from Deer Park for example, has a single
rental unit attached to her own home. She can no longer physically or
financially take care of the house and property, so she wishes to sell
it. The problem is-she cannot. Her tenant refuses to leave and is claim-
ing the protections of this eviction moratorium to force this elderly
woman to continue to own the house and struggle to pay her bills. This
is not only morally repugnant, it is Un-American.

Under this legislation, my constituent could sell her home, just as she
could prior to COVID. Other small mom and pop property owners would be
allowed to go back to court to evict tenants if the facts of that
specific case would merit such eviction. The legislature has unfairly
targeted small property owners through this onerous statute and this
bill seeks to restore the right of those individuals to have their day
in court when faced with a tenant who will not or cannot pay their rent.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately