New York’s Eviction Moratorium and the Supreme Court
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/21a8_3fb4.pdf
In a 6-3 verdict this week, the Supreme Court just enjoined a big part of New York’s eviction moratorium during the pandemic. The eviction moratorium had two parts. Part A allowed tenants to self-certify to their financial hardship due to the pandemic; this would stay eviction proceedings until the end of August 2021. Part B required courts to consider tenants’ financial hardship due to the pandemic and the availability of government assistance as a defense to an eviction.
The 6-3 majority invalidated and enjoined Part A, saying “no man shall be the judge of his own case”. Justice Breyer writing for the dissenting minority pointed out: 1) Part A expires in three weeks, and 2) landlords can be reimbursed for any financial losses they suffer due to non-payment under the federal programs providing for federal assistance to renters and landlords ($2 billion for New York). Finally, there is still a pandemic going on and putting people out on the streets with evictions will only increase the chances for spread of the Delta variant of Covid 19.
As a practical matter, tenants often do not show up in court to mount a defense because they have to be at work and cannot take time off, and they think they will never win a case against their landlords in the court. So Part B, while important, will be of help to only a small portion of NY tenants now facing evictions.
Lucien Wulsin
8/14/21