Barclay, Republican Leaders Call For Action On $1.3 Billion In Rent Relief Funding

ALBANY, NY – Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R,C,I-Pulaski) and Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt (R-Tonawanda) yesterday urged Gov. Cuomo and legislative colleagues to move forward in distributing $1.3 billion in unused federal assistance.

The funding, which was approved by Congress in December, is intended to help families and individuals pay for rent and utility expenses, while assisting rental property owners cover their mounting costs.

If New York fails to distribute its $1.3 billion allocation by September 30, the federal government may take back any unspent funds and provide them to other states. Republican Conference leaders and the ranking members of the legislative Housing Committees wrote to Gov. Cuomo to call for action. A copy of the letter is available here.

“It’s been more than three months since Washington approved funding to help tenants and landlords manage the financial disasters they’ve experienced during the pandemic. However, Albany has not moved an inch toward getting that money into the hands of people who desperately need it,” Barclay said. “We have a September 30 deadline that will be here before we know it. Albany is easily distracted even on a good day. We already missed one deadline with CARES Act funding and needed a last-minute extension. Considering the severity of the rental crisis at hand, it would be wise not to let history repeat itself.”

“These monies are a win for both tenants and landlords. Since COVID began, we have heard cries from tenants who beg for rent relief to prevent them from being evicted. Now that Washington, D.C. has given us the ability to provide this relief, the governor’s administration is playing games and dragging its feet. This relief needs to get into the hands of tenants who can’t make rent and landlords who can’t pay their property taxes and utility bills. Financial hardships for landlords and tenants have a negative ripple effect felt across our local economy. Now is not the time for that. We must set aside the politics and actually govern,” Ortt said.

New York used only $47 million of the $100 million it received last spring through the federal CARES Act. The state was granted an extension from the federal government, thereby avoiding having to pay back the outstanding undisbursed funds. Even now, New York has failed to distribute CARES Act funding to programs.

The ongoing fallout and financial impacts of COVID-19 have presented prolonged challenges across the entire housing spectrum. According to a recent survey conducted by the housing coalition Under One Roof:
42 percent of small landlords are using personal loans and savings to cover expenses such as mortgages, property taxes and utility bills;
30 percent of small landlords have used business reserves to cover lost rental payments, resulting in job losses, delays in upgrades to rental units and inability to cover operating expenses; and
37 percent of all landlords are unable to make capital investments to meet obligations to bring rental units to market, forcing many to sell.
Thirteen states have already taken steps to develop a grant program or have started accepting applications for individuals to receive federal money.

“Tenants, landlords and the entire housing market are hurting, and we are approaching a level of irreparable damage. Reaching a full recovery will be a long, difficult road. It’s disgraceful that the pain being felt by thousands is being extended by unnecessary and inexplicable bureaucratic delays from Albany,” Barclay said.

*Press release from Assembly Minority Conference.

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