On September 2, 2021 NYS Governor Hochul signed into law another eviction moratorium extension through January 15, 2022 in response to the US Supreme Court ruling that the self-attesting Hardship Declaration, Part A of CEEFPA, violates the Due Process Clause as it failed to require Tenants to produce any evidence supporting its claim of hardship nor Landlords the right to contest the Declaration.  [Chrysafis v. Marks].   While the new law seeks to correct its failings, the amendments do nothing more than give the appearance of due process.  

On August 12, 2021, the United States Supreme Court granted an injunction enjoining enforcement of Part A of New York’s Covid Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act (CEEFPA). Under Part A of CEEFPA, if a tenant self-certified financial hardship, a landlord was generally precluded from contesting that certification and thereby denied the landlord a hearing.

Cooperatives finally got long-awaited clarification from the New York State legislature on various sections of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (the “HSTPA”). The HSTPA, meant to provide safeguards for tenants, created a number of unintended effects for cooperative boards. On June 10, 2021, the New York State legislature finally clarified that the inclusion of cooperatives in the tenant-protective provisions of the HSTPA was inadvertent. While the legislation still needs to be signed by the Governor, it is expected to be signed upon delivery to the Governor’s desk.

The stays contained within the Covid-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act (CEEFPA) and Covid-19 Emergency Protect our Small Businesses Act (CEEPSBA) have been extended through August 31, 2021. On April 16, 2021 the Covid-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (CERAP) was enacted to provide rent payments on behalf of low- and moderate-income households experiencing hardship due to Covid-19. Tenants may receive up to twelve months of rental and utility assistance for arrears along with three months of prospective rental assistance. Following is an overview of the major points; applicants need to be familiar with all components of the Act.

This month Governor Cuomo signed a new law that simplifies and improves the state’s power of attorney form. A power of attorney is one of the most widely used legal documents, allowing people to transfer the power to manage their own affairs, especially when they may no longer be able to do so due to health issues or age, to someone else. Executing a power of attorney is an important estate planning tool which avoids the need for a time consuming and expensive guardianship proceeding if a person becomes incapacitated.

The landlord in 1140 Broadway LLC v Bold Food LLC, et. al., Sup. Ct., N.Y. Co. Index No. 652674/2020 commenced a Supreme Court action against a commercial tenant for breach of an office lease due to the tenant’s failure to pay rent during the COVID-19 pandemic and ultimately surrendering the lease almost a year and a half before its expiration date.

The Southern District Court in Melendez v. The City of New York, No. 20-CV-5301 (S.D.N.Y.) declared NYC Council’s newly enacted Anti-Harassment and Guaranty Laws that protect commercial and residential tenants constitutional.

Since the issuance of an Order by the CDC on September 4, 2020 which extended the moratorium on residential evictions for non-payment of rent through December 31, 2020, for covered persons, Governor Cuomo has issued additional Executive Orders (“EO”) and Judge Marks has issued an Administrative Order (“AO”) which seeks to permit the court to move forward with housing court proceedings while creating additional obstacles to delay evictions.

Pursuant to authority granted by the Trump administration, the CDC will publish an Order on September 4, 2020 which extends the moratorium on residential evictions for non-payment of rent through December 31, 2020, covering additional residential renters which were not previously covered under the CARES Act.

Effective August 13, 2020, with respect to commercial eviction matters commenced prior to March 17, 2020, the court may proceed in the normal course except no eviction of any commercial tenant...