ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Two New York lawmakers are introducing a bill to extend the state’s eviction moratorium until Oct. 31 in light of the state’s failure to send out enough COVID-19 rental aid for an estimated 200,000 households in need.
The state’s eviction moratorium is set to expire Aug. 31.
Senator Alessandra Biaggi and Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, both Democrats, are urging the Legislature to return to Albany to extend the moratorium.
“We cannot let hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers risk homelessness due to the negligence of our own government,” Biaggi said. “The Executive has failed New Yorkers, and the Legislature must reconvene to deliver for the people that we were elected to serve.”
This year, the state set up a new $2.4 billion fund to provide up to 12 months of past-due rent and utility bills to eligible households who are at or below 80% of area median income. New Yorkers that spend 30% or more of their monthly income on rent can also receive up to three months of extra rental aid.
But New York was the last state to release new rental relief aid this year, according to U.S. Treasury data provided to The Associated Press.
New York processed $2.7 million in aid as of July 29, but lawmakers say that’s far too little.
Despite repeated requests, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has failed to provide The Associated Press with basic details about the program, including the number of households who have received aid or how many applicants have been denied.
Groups representing large and small landlords — many of whom have had to go months without receiving rent amid the pandemic — are expected to fight efforts to extend the moratorium.
Community Housing Improvement Program Executive Director Jay Martin has said that the Cuomo administration must get the aid out, rather than load tenants and landlords up with more months of debt that won’t be covered by New York’s rent relief program.
If New York’s eviction moratorium expires, tenants still have some protection: Tenants who apply for rental assistance will have protection from eviction if their landlords take them to court, even if tenants don’t hear back from the state before the law expires.
Martin said he expects huge backlogs in the state’s housing court will prevent a wave of evictions. His group, representing 4,000 property owners, is also asking for the state to provide courts with a list of tenants awaiting rental relief, rather than force landlords to take tenants to court.
The Legislature plans to hold an Aug. 10 hearing on the sluggish rollout of the program, which has been plagued by a string of website glitches and poorly trained hotline workers.
Lawmakers are also seeking answers on the Cuomo administration’s awarding of a $115 million contract to a Virginia-based company, Guidehouse, charged with rolling out the rent relief program.
The governor recently announced he’s “streamlining” the application process and adding 350 state workers to help out the vendor.
The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance said Guidehouse won the contract after “multiple competitors were interviewed.”
But OTDA spokesperson Anthony Farmer has not answered repeated questions from AP about whether any other companies submitted bids for the contract, which was issued during the now-expired COVID-19 state of emergency when state procurement rules were eased.
The Associated Press has requested a copy of Guidehouse’s contract. The company has asked the state to redact pricing information and other details before releasing it to AP.
Spokespeople for Guidehouse referred request for comment to OTDA.