On June 30, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the state’s Tenant Safe Harbor Act, which provides additional protection to tenants who could be evicted for not paying the accrued rent. Even groups representing landlords, such as the New York State Association of Realtors, are pushing for policies, including a rent freeze or suspension, that would give renters much needed relief from the pandemic that has hit New York’s economy. Cuomo, who announced relief on mortgage payments back in March, does not believe a state eviction moratorium is enough to provide relief to tenants and has not brought similar relief to tenants.
There are still many uncertainties for tenants at the moment and talking to any number of landlords can be intimidating. Remember that it is in a landlord’s best interest to keep the best tenants on their property, especially if they are looking to move in now. Below, we have compiled the most pressing questions for tenants about what rights they should have when diagnosed with COVID-19.
You can rely on your rent to pay your mortgage, insurance and taxes, and you run the risk of not complying with a moratorium on eviction and passing the economic blow like a coronavirus on to your landlord or lender. Even with a balanced relief of tenants and owners there is always the possibility that the landlord must initiate eviction proceedings. Often you are the only person in the house who has a mortgage or insurance or taxes and have no idea whether you need them or not. You are often responsible for paying your own bills and maintaining your properties,utilities and utilities.
At a time when the country is sliding into recession, landlords are trying to evict tenants in order to raise rents. One can only approach the leaders who are stalling on evictions and foreclosures. A moratorium on evictions also applies to small business owners who rent out their workplaces.
In response to the moratorium guidelines set by Governor Steve Sisolak, the group told its members how important it was to find a solution with tenants. If you are interested in making the decision to rent an apartment or house during the hardships of COVID-19, he stressed three things: communicate, communicate and communicate. It is important that tenants inform their landlords of their financial situation.
As others have noted, most renters don’t know their mortgage has been issued. The Urban Institute estimates that the CARES eviction ban covers only about 10 percent of federally sponsored rental housing. Tenants of apartment buildings with government-sponsored mortgages can expect not to be evicted in an emergency, even though landlords don’t necessarily play by the rules, it was revealed on Friday.
For Tenants
If you rent in federally subsidized housing with a federally subsidized mortgage, you may have additional protections against evictions. One start is to compile a list of federally supported apartment buildings in your area, according to data drawn from the Office of Management and Budget of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (OMB).
If you rent in a property that is under a limited waiver agreement with the county, the owner or management company may not charge late fees to the tenants. If you have lost your income due to the COVID 19 pandemic and have received an eviction notice, you may be able to postpone the case for up to 60 days.
Note: In some US cities it is illegal to require tenants to sign a payment plan. You must agree with the landlord, otherwise you will have to pay the fine and for every day of late payment you may be fined up to $1,000 per day.
One of landlords biggest fears is that they will not be able to make up the lost rental income if they default on their mortgage payments. In most cases, he says, the best strategy is to contact the landlord and tell them exactly how much rent they are losing on the property, and tell them they can’t pay, and try to find a deal. Tell them what you are losing in income, give them a breakdown of your monthly expenses, let them know how much you will be able to pay each month to avoid default.
Here us a sample letter that can be adapted by tenants under different conditions. If the landlord is so desperate to keep you as a tenant and try to find you a new one, the tenant has influence.
