Here’s NY’s new eviction policy — and why it may be struck down
UPDATED Sept. 1, 2021, 5:36 p.m.: As state lawmakers craft an eviction ban that shields tenants and meets the Supreme Court’s marching orders, lawyers say the legislation on the table won’t survive a legal challenge.
Under a preliminary version of the bill, which insiders say Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie have agreed to, landlords would have the opportunity to challenge a tenant’s declaration of hardship in court.
A judge would then rule on the validity of the tenant’s claim to have lost employment, hours or income, or experienced increased expenses. If it does not pass muster, an eviction proceeding can proceed. The new policy would run until Jan. 15.
The drafted language attempts to satisfy a Supreme Court ruling last month that the state’s previous moratorium was unconstitutional because it allowed tenants to self-declare hardship, thereby denying landlords due process.
Lawyers say the proposed workaround won’t cut it, either.
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