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The COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020, signed by the governor on Dec. 28, 2020, suspended eviction and foreclosure proceedings for 60 days to give renters and homeowners the opportunity to submit a hardship declaration. The suspension ended Feb. 26.
A total of 3,059 tenants were evicted from New York City apartments in all of 2020, according to recent data provided by the city’s Department of Investigation (DOI). The data was compiled by DOI from reports submitted by city marshals, who are charged with enforcing court orders, including evictions. The total number of evictions in 2020 represents a decrease of more than 80 percent from the nearly 17,000 evictions completed in 2019.
On Dec. 10, 2020, the New York City Council passed Intro. 2033, creating Interim Certificates of Occupancy (ICOs). Certificates of Occupancy are government documents that indicate the legal use and occupancy of buildings.
In May, the state legislature passed the Emergency Rent Relief Act of 2020 to help low-income renters make their monthly rent payments for up to four months. The program was funded by $100 million of federal money. Critics claimed the legislation enabling the act was written far too narrowly, and that the window to apply for relief was too short and ill-timed. It opened just as New Yorkers were receiving the $600-a-week unemployment checks from the federal government, which meant they were ineligible for rent relief.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams recently released the annual Worst Landlord Watchlist, which catalogues the 100 most egregiously negligent landlords in New York City as determined by widespread, repeated, and unaddressed violations in buildings on the list. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) tops the list for the third year in a row, while Williams also added Mayor Bill de Blasio himself, citing what he called mismanagement of NYCHA and a failure to take sufficient action against individual landlords in 2020 and throughout his term.
Diana Florence has joined the crowded field challenging Cyrus Vance, the incumbent District Attorney of New York County. Florence is one of nine candidates challenging incumbent DA Cyrus Vance in a primary race that will culminate next June 2021. She began her career as a prosecutor 25 years ago in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which included time as head of its Construction Fraud Task Force.
For the fourth time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York in March, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he will extend a moratorium on evicting commercial tenants, this time until Jan. 1, 2021. The most recent moratorium was set to expire on Oct. 20, and Cuomo’s extension for commercial tenants is in line with the eviction moratorium given to New York’s residential tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic. The governor can extend the ban only for 30-day periods, which means the latest order will need to be renewed again on Nov. 19.
The Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants (MOPT), the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit (PEU), and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) jointly launched the NYC Tenant Resource Portal. It’s the city’s online resource to help renters access free resources to help prevent evictions and keep tenants stably housed. The portal features an eviction prevention tool to help renters navigate free resources that can stabilize their housing situations.
The DOB’s Boiler Unit oversees the installation and operation of New York City’s boilers. Owners are responsible for ensuring that their boilers operate safely and are in compliance with the Building Code and all related regulations. The boiler inspection cycle runs from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. And low-pressure boiler and high-pressure boiler internal and external inspections must be performed and filed with the DOB during this cycle.
The DHCR has modified the NYC Renewal Lease Form (RTP-8) to incorporate the requirements of Rent Guidelines Board Order #52. With the latest order, the city’s Rent Guidelines Board froze rents for rent-stabilized tenants with one-year leases. For two-year renewal leases, a 1 percent increase is allowed during the second year. (See “RGB Issues Rent Freeze Amid Pandemic.”)
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