On September 18, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.64, extending the moratorium on evictions and foreclosure actions against commercial tenants and owners facing financial hardship due to COVID-19 through October 20, 2020. The Order extends the previous prohibitions contained in Executive Orders 202.28, 202.48, 202.57, and 202.60, which prevent commercial landlords from initiating or enforcing an action of eviction against a tenant for nonpayment of rent and prevent commercial mortgagees from pursuing foreclosures for the nonpayment of commercial mortgages.
New York remains one of the few states where COVID-19 state-ordered protections extend to commercial properties, tenants, and mortgagors. Governor Cuomo defends the extension of the moratorium "in recognition of the financial toll the pandemic has taken on business owners, including retail establishments and restaurants."
On September 28, Governor Cuomo announced he would issue an Executive Order to extend residential tenant eviction protections to January 1, 2021. Additional protections for residential renters that remain in effect under this extension include a ban on late fees for late rent payments and a tenant's right to use their security deposit as rent payment with the ability to repay the security deposit over time.
Residential tenants who are experiencing financial hardship during the pandemic continue to receive similar and additional protections under the New York Tenant Safe Harbor Act, which was signed into law on June 30, 2020.
The commercial and residential moratoriums remain subject to further extensions. We will continue to monitor future Executive Orders and will provide further updates as they become available.
Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
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