The bill would give tenants the right to a lease renewal in most cases and curb unlimited rent hikes in non-stabilized apartments. Incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is running for reelection next year, has not yet taken a firm position on the legislation.
Supporters of the legislation say property owners, particularly large corporate landlords, should not have the power to abruptly deny leases to existing renters and kick them out of their homes. Property owners say it’ll saddle them with problem tenants.
As part of the 2018 Jerome Avenue rezoning deal, city officials committed $1.5 million in financial assistance for area merchants, intended to help relocate existing businesses that would be displaced. But officials have yet to issue any such grants, a City Limits investigation found.
The law replaces earlier protections that expired Aug. 31 but had been gutted by the Supreme Court ruling last month.
The ruling comes less than two weeks after the Supreme Court ended New York state’s ban on most evictions. But NYC tenants still have several other potential avenues of protection.
‘When you see that line stretch down the block and wrap around the corner, you’ll know things are back to normal,’ one housing advocate said. ‘It’s going to snowball at some point and it’s going to start rolling down the hill.’
The soon-to-be governor recently pledged to re-strengthen the state’s eviction moratorium after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key portion of the law, which expires at the end of this month.
The country’s highest court struck down a key portion of the state’s eviction protections, which allowed tenants to fend off Housing Court proceedings by swearing they had experienced a COVID-related financial hardship.
The State Assembly and Senate passed a bill Monday that would extend the moratorium on most evictions—protections that lapsed May 1—through the end of August. A separate state initiative to distribute federal relief funds to property owners whose tenants owe back-rent is not expected to be up and running until the end of the month.
‘Our state and federal governments have a moral responsibility to go beyond emergency measures and implement systemic, long-term solutions that will direct more public resources to preventing eviction and homelessness.’
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