Last Thursday, Governor Cuomo expanded the eviction moratorium from June 20 to August 20, but some are still fighting for a suspension of rent.
The City-Wide Tenant Union of Rochester is asking state officials to suspend rent during the pandemic. Since March, more than 20 million people in the U.S. filed for unemployment. For some, this means they have to choose between putting food on the table and paying rent.
The expansion on the eviction moratorium prohibits landlords from evicting tenants if they can’t make payments. The mandate that lasts until June 20 doesn’t specify which tenants are protected. However, the two month expansion only protects tenants affected by COVID-19 or those who have filed for unemployment.
“I know a lot of people who don’t qualify for these benefits and they’re going to be left in the dust,” said Rivera.
The City-Wide Tenant Union says canceling rent during the pandemic will help keep families off the streets. But Deborah Pusatere, one of the co-leaders of the Under the Roof coalition, says landlords need rent money to pay bills.
“We are the small mom and pop. We’re the small guy. And the smaller you are, the hardest it is to pay those bills. We don’t have rent reserves,” said Pusatere.
Pusatere says landlords need to pay their staff, utilities and coming taxes: “I still have to pay my maintenance staff who also have to pay their rent and have to feed their family, pay their bills. I also have to pay my taxes and my water any my sewer. I have to pay for the supplies. I have to keep making sure my lights stay on and the heat stays on for those tenants I pay their utilities, they need those on.”
Pusatere says housing vouchers would be a win-win for tenants and landlords.
“There are bad landlords are bad tenants. People make bad choices. If that rent voucher could go to the landlord and not into the hands of the tenant, it would just take away any option to make a bad choice with it,” said Pusatere.
The expansion also bans late fees for missed payments. Renters can also choose to use their security deposit to make a payment but they would have to pay back over time.
—- 13 WHAM