Wayne Streibich, Diana M. Eng, and Chenxi Jiao

Lenders, mortgage servicers, and other financial institutions should take note that the New York State legislature has extended the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act (“CEEFPA”) and the COVID-19 Emergency Protect Our Small Businesses Act to January 15, 2022. Therefore, the requirements and stays with respect to residential and commercial foreclosures and evictions and credit reporting remain effective through January 22, 2021, to the extent a tenant or mortgagor has submitted a Hardship Declaration. The legislature also amended the statutes, in part, to address the United States Supreme Court’s August decision blocking the enforcement of Part A of the CEEFPA for violating landlords’ due process rights. Per the amendments, landlords and mortgagees can now challenge a self-certified Hardship Declaration in Court.

On September 2, 2021, through a Special Legislative Session, New York State extended the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act (“CEEFPA”) and the COVID-19 Emergency Protect Our Small Businesses Act (“SBA”) through January 15, 2022. As discussed in our August 17, 2021 Alert, in Chrysafis v. Marks, No. 21A8, — S. Ct. –, 2021 WL 3560766 (Aug. 12, 2021), the United States Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”) granted an injunction blocking the enforcement of CEEFPA and held that Part A of the CEEFPA, a provision allowing tenants to submit an affidavit self-certifying their pandemic-related hardship to prevent eviction, violated the plaintiffs-landlords’ due process rights (“Hardship Declaration”) and was unconstitutional. New York’s new legislation attempts to address this constitutional issue by providing a mechanism for landlords and mortgagees in residential and commercial evictions and foreclosures to challenge the Hardship Declarations by filing a motion.

To read the full client alert, please visit our website.