What's happening
This bill suspends eviction for rent-regulated tenants who cannot meet primary residence requirements due to COVID-19-related absences.
Why it matters
Protects tenants forced to leave home due to COVID-19. This bill acknowledges that many tenants had to leave their primary residences because of the pandemic—whether for health, caregiving, or other reasons—ensuring they're not penalized for absences beyond their control.
Prevents eviction based on technical lease violations. By suspending the counting of days spent away due to COVID-19 toward the minimum residency requirement, tenants won't lose their rent-regulated status or face eviction simply for failing to meet occupancy rules during the state of emergency.
Helps maintain affordable housing stability. Many rent-regulated tenants are lower- or middle-income New Yorkers; this bill aims to keep them in their homes and retain access to below-market rents, reducing displacement and homelessness risks in the wake of the pandemic.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Pause Evictions for COVID Absence
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Print number 8310a
- Amend (t) and recommit to housing, construction and community development
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Pause Evictions for COVID Tenants
In Assembly Committee · Housing · Sponsor Linda Rosenthal
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8310--A
IN SENATE
May 11, 2020
Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT in relation to suspending evictions for tenants who are forced to spend time away from their rent regulated residences and cannot meet certain occupancy requirements
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, where a tenant has signed a lease and is occupying a rent regulated residence and such lease requires such tenant to occupy such residence as his or her primary residence for a period of greater than one-half of a calendar year, or one hundred eighty-three days, and due to COVID-19 such tenant has not been able to occupy such residence as his or her primary residence pursuant to the requirements of such lease, beginning from the date of the state of emergency declared by executive order 202 that began on March 7, 2020 until such state of emergency is lifted any days spent away from such residence due to COVID-19 shall not be counted towards any rent regulation occupancy time requirement, and shall not be grounds for eviction pursuant to chapter 3 of title 26 of the administrative code of the city of New York.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16337-02-0
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act in relation to suspending evictions for tenants who are forced to spend time away from their rent regulated residences and cannot meet certain occupancy requirements
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 of the bill establishes that time spent out of a rent regu- lated residence during the COVID-19 declared state of emergency shall not be counted toward any rent regulation occupancy time requirement or become grounds for eviction.
Section 2 of the bill provides the effective date.
Justification
In order to continue to be protected under New York City's rent stabili- zation and rent control laws and retain the right to lease renewal, tenants must maintain their housing accommodation as their "primary residence," which according to established case law means they must occupy the residence for more than half of the calendar year. In normal times, this law provides an important guarantee that New York's afforda- ble housing stock is reserved for full-time residents of the City.
However, as New York continues to be the hardest-hit city in the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, some tenants have chosen to temporarily seek shelter with friends or family in locations outside of the City in order to minimize their exposure to the virus and protect their health. If these tenants are away from their units for an extended period of time, this reasonable step could result in their landlord bringing a civil action to evict the tenant on the basis of non-primary residence at the termination of their lease, once eviction proceedings are allowed to resume.
Current law also requires that tenants' family members who desire to succeed to the rights of tenant once the current tenant vacates the apartment must fulfill certain minimum periods of required residency in order to be eligible to do so. If these family members were to relocate during the pandemic, these required time periods could be deemed to be interrupted.
Tenants and their families who temporarily relocate to ensure they can stay safe during this difficult, frightening time period should not have to fear that doing so might lead to the loss of their affordable housing unit, especially when so many New Yorkers are currently faced with crushing economic hardship.
This bill would provide that during the current declared state disaster emergency, such tenants would be deemed to be occupying their units as their primary residence, and any of their family members who relocate would not be deemed to have interrupted their minimum residency require- ments.
Legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
None to the State.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.