Over the last 18 months, eviction moratoria at the State and Federal level saved thousands of homes and prevented the spread of COVID-19. In August, those critical protections were thrown into disarray when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key provisions of both the New York State and federal eviction moratoria.
On Sept 1st, 2021 the NY State Legislature voted in favor of extending key parts of the Eviction Moratorium in the state and expanding relief for tenants by nearly $300 million during a special session. This action protects over 860,000 households behind on rent from displacement.
If you are behind on rent due to loss of income related to the pandemic or the city’s shutdown, you can be protected from eviction by signing and submitting the Hardship Declaration. If you have already summited the HD, there is no need to submit again.
You can download a blank copy of the Hardship Declaration here.
Once filled out, you can send a copy to the court, your landlord, or both. You can find the email and physical address to the court in your borough in the chart below:
| Bronx | BronxHardshipDeclaration@nycourts.gov | 1118 Grand Concourse, The Bronx, NY 10456 |
| Brooklyn | KingsHardshipDeclaration@nycourts.gov | 141 Livingston St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 |
| Manhattan | NewYorkHardshipDeclaration@nycourts.gov | 111 Centre St, New York, NY 10013 |
| Queens | QueensHardshipDeclaration@nycourts.gov | 89-17 Sutphin Blvd, Queens, NY 11435 |
| Staten Island | RichmondHardshipDeclaration@nycourts.gov | 927 Castleton Ave, Staten Island, NY 10310 |
In addition, there are other protections that may apply to you:
New York’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) – if you already applied for ERAP your landlord cannot start a new eviction case against you and any current eviction case will be paused while you wait for your ERAP application to be processed.
If you are found eligible for ERAP and the landlord accepts the money:
- Landlords can’t sue for money covered by ERAP in a non payment case.
- Landlords can’t sue for no-cause holdovers for 1 year EXCEPT in buildings with 4 units or less where the landlord/family member wants to immediately occupy it and EXCEPT where the Landlord says the tenant intentionally causes significant property damage or the tenant persistently engages in behavior that infringes on other tenants or creates a substantial safety hazard to others.