Westchester Court Vacates ERAP Stay, Finding Section 8 Tenant Unlikely to Get Funds

Mt. Vernon landlord sued to evict Section 8 tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant filed an ERAP application for rental assistance which, by law, stayed the eviction proceeding pending determination of the application by the NY State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). Landlord asked the court to vacate the ERAP stay. Landlord argued that tenant's ERAP application was futile because current regulations provided that applications for Section 8 tenants would be reviewed only after all applications from nonsubsidized tenants had been processed. The court listed a number of other decisions where courts vacated ERAP stays to "avoid inequity, fraud or futile results." Tenant's application had now been pending before OTDA for 18 months, and tenant had received no provisional approval letter from OTDA. The court lifted the ERAP stay because it found that the stay was inequitable to the landlord. The ERAP program also had now apparently closed down on Jan. 20, 2023, while it was still processing applications filed before that date. The court found it highly likely that tenant would receive no money from the ERAP program. Other Westchester County agencies also were assisting tenants with rents rather than wait for help from the ERAP program. 

Horizon Realty of Mt. Vernon, LLC v. Dabbs: 77 Misc.3d 1233(A), 2023 NY Slip Op 50084(U)(City Ct. Mt. Vernon; 1/31/23; Johnson, J)