Hochul working with New York legislative leaders to call special session on eviction moratorium

(The Center Square) – New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday afternoon that she’s in talks with state legislative leaders to call a special session to address a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday on eviction moratoriums.

“I am in talks with the Senate Majority Leader and Assembly Speaker to call a special session to address the impending eviction crisis, given the Supreme Court’s decision,” Hochul said in a statement. “Our teams will be working through the weekend to address how best to deliver relief to renters and homeowners in need as quickly as possible.”

Late Thursday, the Supreme Court justices ruled, in a 6-3 decision, that the Biden administration’s national ban on evictions was unconstitutional. The unsigned decision said that it was up to Congress to decide whether to issue a moratorium.

New York’s state eviction ban is set to expire Aug. 31. The ban was implemented in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as workers were advised to stay home to avoid spreading the virus and companies issued layoff notices while the economy largely shut down.

Since then, the economy has largely reopened, although some sectors are still struggling, but thousands of renters who benefited from the eviction moratoriums may be unable to pay their back rent once the moratoriums expire. Congress has provided billions of dollars for rental assistance, but in many states – and in New York especially – that money has been trickling out slowly, leaving many renters in jeopardy of being evicted.

Landlords have also suffered during the eviction moratorium as many renters could not or chose not to pay rent, and New York Republican leaders sent a letter Friday to Hochul and other state officials urging the administration to take steps to address the delays in issuing rental relief funds.

“Senate and Assembly Republicans have for months been urging the previous Governor’s office and Majority Democrats to release these vital funds to assist both tenants and landlords,” Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt said in a news release. “The new Governor recently said that she is ‘not at all satisfied’ with the rent relief program, and that distributing the funds would be a top priority for her administration. I agree, and urge the new administration to make these funds accessible.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., joined a group of other Democratic lawmakers in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging them to take up a bill for a renewed national moratorium on evictions.

“Millions of people who are currently at risk of eviction, housing insecurity, or face becoming unhoused desperately look to their elected representatives to implement legislation that will put their health and safety first and save lives,” the group of lawmakers said in a statement. “As your fellow colleagues, we implore you to act with the highest levels of urgency to advance a permanent legislative solution in a must pass legislative vehicle in order to extend the life-saving federal eviction moratorium for the duration of the deadly global health crisis.”

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