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Thursday, Jul. 9, 2020

Can New York’s emergency order be invoked to modify rent obligations?

Devin Stewart, Gigafact
yes

On March 7, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order declaring a disaster emergency for the state, under which he can modify or suspend state laws "if compliance with such provisions would prevent, hinder, or delay action necessary to cope with the disaster."

According to John Teufel, a lawyer writing in the New York Daily News, Cuomo can suspend or modify "any of the series of laws that govern residential leases in New York." The governor, according to Teufel, could remove "the ability of landlords to sue for eviction based on unpaid rent during this crisis" by modifying the definition of "rent," in effect canceling rent.

On March 30, Cuomo said that temporarily halting evictions was the "fundamental answer" to concerns about rent. He would not commit to halting rent obligations altogether.

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