We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. We need to share a couple of important updates. First, looks like Freddy Mac is extending the Multi-Family Forbearance Program. We encourage all qualified borrowers to look into and avail themselves as necessary.

As we move forward into 2021, we want to express our sincere gratitude to our clients, friends and family who have supported us through our transition. It was not easy closing down our former practices and joining forces but we knew it was the right decision for us personally and professionally.

Our firm recently secured a very favorable decision from the Housing Court related to rent overcharge.

It wasn’t an issue for over six (6) months, after enactment, until the Department of State (DOS) had to offer its “guidance,” essentially its interpretation, in late January 2020 within a memorandum on its website, that put brokers and landlords alike in a tizzy.

In our continuing effort to keep you up to date on developments related to the court system, we wanted to advise you that the Court administration has now confirmed that for pre Covid cases:

As we had predicted last week in our Blog, there is another new Executive Order further staying Commercial Evictions through November 13, 2020. It is clear that the road ahead for Property Owners will remain challenging, as they are unable to exercise their contractual and statutory rights against their Tenants. 

The attached MEMO  was sent October 13th by the Department of Investigations to the City Marshals regarding evictions. As you can see, to do residential evictions on pre-Covid cases, a landlord needs a court order. We have been filing the required motions. However, the Courts have not placed any of the motions on the calendar for argument as of yet and we not confident any orders will be issued by judges to allow evictions to proceed any time soon.

Each day we receive emails and calls all similar in nature: 

"What to do to collect rent for non-paying Tenants?"

The options are few: you can  wait and do nothing only to be at the end of the court calendar, you can start a non-payment action and hope that the Court eventually provides a Court date, or you can try to help your tenants access resources to help them pay their rent. We find that too many people just don't know where to turn or are embarrassed to ask for help.

While the order states that effective 10/12/20 evictions may resume, please keep reading as the caveats just about cover every angle leading to the same road.....effectively there will be no residential evictions prior to 1/1/21.

I am writing to provide a very recent update regarding NY Evictions. Governor Cuomo will be signing an Order declaring no evictions until 2021. While this is no surprise, it is certainly a good time to understand what this means to Landlords and Tenants.

After so much confusion as to where NY stands on both the Residential and Commercial front with respect to Evictions. We have put together a comprehensive yet easily understood write up for you.

Please note that notwithstanding the current limitations in the Courts my Partners and I have been successfully negotiating and executing many restructuring plans for Owners and Commercial Tenants. While we never encourage spending $5 to make $7 we do encourage $10 to make $100.

Every week the rules seem to change: Court rules, building rules, Administrative Orders, City Ordinances and State regulations…

The fluid dynamic is frustrating but understandable. We are, after all, still dealing with a novel coronavirus and while the seasons may change, ever-changing risks remain. I can tell you one thing for certain: it is an interesting time to be a real estate attorney.

REGARDING NEW YORK STATE’S “SAFE HARBOR ACT” AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR NEW YORKERS WHO ARE NOT PAYING RENT...

On July 6, 2020 New York Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.48. The Order generally pertains to residential tenants, and reads in pertinent part as follows:

Signing a real estate contract that does not have a mortgage financing contingency is never an easy proposition for any purchaser who needs the financing to complete the purchase. In competitive real estate markets, it is common for sellers to request…

To update last week’s blog about the opening of the housing courts for new filings effective June 22, 2020, we have seen another new development with the June 18, 2020 letter and Administrative Order 127/20 of Supervising Judge Lawrence Marks.

In this letter, Judge Marks reflects the court’s concern for…

New Fair Housing Regulations go into effect on June 20, 2020. Click here to learn more about..

In the past few days we have seen a thaw in the freeze on housing court due to COVID-19; however, it is clear that a full opening will be a long time coming.

In the Bronx on Monday June 15, 2020, Bronx Housing Court Supervising Judge Miriam Breier…

Here we are in the middle of June, COVID numbers statistically are down in New York and New York City has finally entered Phase 1 of the recovery. Walking around the City, you start to feel a buzz; people are anxious and ready to get back to some sense of normalcy.

A few weeks back, I had written about the effects of social distancing and the stay at home order on the closing process. A key and central theme to that discussion was

We wanted to update you on the two recent bills passed by the NYS Legislature and sent to Governor Cuomo for signing which are designed to provide relief to NYS residential tenants facing eviction for rent arrears arising during the COVID-19 period.

The first of these is Senate Bill 8192B which was passed by the NYS Legislature on May 27, 2020. The main portions of this bill are

Perhaps one of the most exciting feelings, as a prospective purchaser, is the moment you receive an accepted offer. And it should be, as it seemingly ends what can sometimes be a long and grueling search. It is important to remember, however, that before you can sign a Contract you need to be certain that you understand the risks and responsibilities…