Navigating Landlord and Tenant Relationships during a Pandemic

Residential leases either as a landlord or a tenant can be difficult during normal times. But now during the COVID-19 Crisis it has added a layer of complication to it. Ian Lindars, attorney with the firm Stenger, Diamond and Glass SDG Law returns to discuss some of the new changes in New York to the law. We last spoke with Ian in July. He discussed new provisions put in place right before the pandemic. We covered the steps of eviction and how it can become a long the process can become based on the specific municipality. Ian stressed the importance of having a precise plan if you are a landlord on how to handle non-payment. He also spoke about now during the crisis landlords and tenants are working together when dealing with issues. There are new laws in place to stop evictions during the crisis. Ian discussed the New York Safe Harbor Act that had been signed into law and then updated right before our recording, if you have a financial hardship due to the crisis you cannot be evicted from your residential lease. He stressed you have to be able to prove the hardship due to COVID-19. And Ian also mentioned that this new law does not include commercial leases. Another significant aspect of this act prevents the landlord from displacing the residents from their home. But landlords can still obtain a judgement if they can’t collect the lease payment. This doesn’t get the money initially but it does protect the landlord and long term will help in negotiations.  Ultimately, Ian mentioned how tenants and landlords need to work together during these tough times. How they need to be practical and approach issues from a business perspective.  Turning to negotiations in your approach before legal action can turn out better in the end.

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