Provides that no court shall issue a warrant of eviction or judgment of possession against a residential tenant that has suffered a financial hardship for the non-payment of rent that accrues or becomes due during the COVID-19 covered period.
The purpose of the Tenant Safe Harbor Act is to help keep residential tenants in their homes following the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing only money judgments, and not evictions, for unpaid rent that comes due while restrictions are in place due to COVID-19 on businesses, public accommo- dations, and nonessential gatherings
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/s8192/amendment/b
The bill would make it so that landlords could only seek a money judgment from tenants, rather than formally trying to boot them out.
Until more rent payment relief arrives–if it does–this bill would relieve tenants from eviction related to any rent accrued during COVID-19 restrictions.
It also allows for tenants to benefit so long as they suffered financial hardship “during” the pandemic–lifting the burden from tenants to prove they lost work “due to” the virus.