The Nation’s First City to #CancelRent

WE JUST MADE HISTORY! Our resolution, below, passed 6-4 and it couldn’t have happened without the tremendous support from this community. Ithaca is the first city in the country to do this. If the State Department of Health approves this #cancelrent legislation, then we begin working with the city to implement it. While there’s still work to do, this is a huge and historic first step.

Thank you Alderperson Ducson Nguyen, @Stephen Smith and Svante Myrick for working with us and standing on the side of justice.

 

ETPA FAQ:

Why is this necessary? Didn’t the Governor extend the eviction moratorium?

The Governor’s extension is not a blanket moratorium on evictions. Starting June 20, landlords can still pursue evictions and take their tenants to court, where tenants will have to prove that they are unable to pay rent due to economic issues brought on by COVID-19. If they don’t show up, they lose. When many Ithacans have been unable to receive stimulus checks and unemployment, and many of those are undocumented or gig workers, we know that our most vulnerable will still be left unprotected by this false moratorium.

What about pushing the state for rent relief? Why pursue this at the local level?

In April 2019, our City legislature unanimously passed a resolution requesting rent suspension and mortgage relief be instituted by the State government. Now that months have gone by with no such legislation having passed, and the original bill endorsed by Council has been thrown out by the State Assembly, it is our position that the actions of the State and Federal governments have been insufficient to protect tenants’ access to shelter. Over two-thirds of Ithaca’s tenants were rent burdened before a single COVID-19 case appeared in New York, and countless more now face excruciating uncertainty about their ability to stay housed once the unconditional eviction moratorium expires in just two weeks. The State government has left us with no choice; we must act now.

Why start with the City of Ithaca?

With rent suspension now on the legislative floor for next week, Ithaca is the closest city in the United States to breaking ground on true, universal rent relief — even for those who are left out by the broken and exclusionary means testing of the unemployment and stimulus check system. The Ithaca Tenants Union, Tompkins County Progressives, statewide housing coalition Housing Justice for All, as well as state legislators agree that with the state having thrown out its rent relief bill, our only shot left at comprehensive rent and mortgage relief is to start a chain reaction of municipalities forcing the state to respond and act in kind.

What about landlords? Doesn’t tenant relief threaten their revenue?

While the State declines to act to support struggling tenants, it has looked out for banks, landlords and homeowners first. On May 27th, the State passed the latest of multiple homeowner relief bills, postponing mortgage payments long-term and deferring property taxes short-term, while at the same time throwing out a means-tested rent relief bill and replacing it with vouchers for landlords who lose revenue. Like the previous CARES Act SBA 7(a) loan program and PPP funding, these are great for landlords, because they are protected from the brunt of the economic crisis that has also hit the thousands of Ithacans who rent. We support any action taken by the State to institute mortgage relief! But without similar action for tenants, it’s up to Ithaca to help the most vulnerable — especially considering that mortgages are paid into equity, allowing homeowners to keep much of the money anyway. Just as rent suspension seeks to do for tenants.

Can’t tenants and landlords work with each other to find solutions?

Yes! So far, tenants have had to rely on landlords for generosity — but that power dynamic puts the fate of many tenants in the hands of relatively few landlords. The Emergency Tenant Protection act flips that dynamic around and hands control of our crisis response to the many — and the Ithaca Tenants Union strongly encourages financially stable tenants to continue timely rent payment if the ETPA passes.

Additionally, by passing this rent suspension resolution here in Ithaca, we force the State to respond, rekindling the Statewide and National conversation on rent relief. Passing the Emergency Tenant Protection Act in Ithaca also unites us with the Tompkins County Landlords Association around a common goal: even better, more comprehensive state mortgage relief for small landlords and homeowners — rather than spending our energy fighting each other on local rent relief.

 

The Final ETPA Resolution (as passed by Common Council):

6.3 Resolution Requesting Emergency Protection for Ithaca Renters and Small Landlords – Alderperson Nguyen

By Alderperson Nguyen:  Seconded by Alderperson Smith

WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca has demonstrated its desire and commitment to be a leader in housing justice and social equity by recently passing resolutions creating:

  • An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 146 of the City of Ithaca Municipal Code entitled “Building Code Enforcement”, §146-9 entitled “Identification and Notification”

  • An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 258 of the City of Ithaca Municipal Code entitled “Rental Housing”, to add Article III entitled “Displaced Tenants”

and,

WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca has a significant tenant population, and

WHEREAS, all residents of the City of Ithaca have the right to a stable, safe and affordable place to live, and

WHEREAS, the rate of rent burden, defined as paying 30% or more of household income for rent, was already above 70%[1] in Ithaca before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to 2018 Census data, and

WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has now caused thousands of Ithaca residents to lose their jobs, rendering many incapable of paying rent, and

WHEREAS, on March 7, 2020, Governor Cuomo of New York State issued Executive Order Number 202, declaring a Statewide disaster emergency for the entire State of New York, and
WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca deems itself morally obligated to protect its most disadvantaged residents from bearing the brunt of the economic risk from the COVID-19 pandemic, and

WHEREAS, increased eviction rates in the City of Ithaca will undermine the realization of the Ithaca Green New Deal’s goal of achieving “a carbon neutral city by 2030,” by inciting rent burdened individuals to seek housing in cheaper areas further from the City, increasing urban sprawl and our dependence on single-use cars for commuting to work and commercial or recreational areas in the City, and

WHEREAS, Governor Cuomo’s May 7, 2020 Executive Order Number 202.28 partially bars evictions through August 20, 2020, but does not prevent evictions over “just-cause” non-economic infractions, nor does it prevent the filing of any eviction proceedings or lawsuits after August 20, 2020, over alleged lease infractions that occurred during a COVID-19 eviction moratorium, and

WHEREAS, the COVID-19 moratoriums established in the Governor’s Executive Orders 202 and 202.28 do not protect residential or small business tenants from the non-renewal of leases, or rent hikes during and following a moratorium, and

WHEREAS, the State of New York has not yet acted to pass NY State Senate Bill S8125A, which would “act to suspend rent payments for certain residential tenants and small business commercial tenants and to suspend certain mortgage payments for ninety days in response to the outbreak of coronavirus”, and

WHEREAS, the State of New York has not yet acted to pass NY State Senate Bill S2892B, “The Good Cause Eviction Bill,” which would, according §213, prohibit “landlords from taking any action to evict, fail to renew a lease, or otherwise seek to remove a tenant from housing accommodation except for good cause”, and

WHEREAS, undocumented persons, the unemployed, and other vulnerable populations do not have access to the stimulus and unemployment benefits provided by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, and


WHEREAS, City of Ithaca Code §48-1 and §48-8 authorizes through the proceedings for Emergency Preparedness procedures for “rendering assistance to citizens within the City of Ithaca in the event of a disaster or emergency which exceeds the dimensions of any individual City Department’s current mandate for response,” such as in the case of the COVID-19 health and economic crisis; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That Common Council requests that the New York State Department of Health authorize the Mayor, subject to Common Council approval, to forgive via executive order three months of all residential and small-business rent payments and additional fees which are due through June 2020, and, for leases started on or after April 1st 2020, to forgive all rent payments and additional fees due through June 2020, as determined by the payment schedule outlined in the original lease, and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the City of Ithaca calls upon renters who remain financially stable during the COVID-19 pandemic to maintain timely payment of rent, and, be it further

RESOLVED, That Common Council requests that the New York State Department of Health authorize the Mayor, subject to Common Council approval, to obligate landlords to offer renters who have been affected by COVID-19 lease extensions at the current rate of rent during the duration of the declaration of emergency, and, be it further

RESOLVED, That Common Council urges the New York State Senate to pass Senate Bill S8190, which would provide financial assistance for small landlords and homeowners through increasing penalties for banks that refuse mortgage deferral, and mandating that the state use federally allocated funds to provide vouchers to landlords for lost revenue, and, be it further

RESOLVED, That Common Council urges the inclusion of a national rent and mortgage forgiveness fund in the next COVID-19 relief package, as presented in a letter to Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Leader McConnell, and Leader Schumer by various members of Congress.

Ayes (6) Nguyen, Murtagh, Smith, Kerslick, Mohlenhoff, Lewis
Nays (4) Brock, McGonigal, Gearhart, Fleming                                                                                Carried (6-4)


[1]https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=city%20of%20ithaca,%20ny,%20occupancy,%20tenure&tid=ACSDP5Y2018.DP04&t=Owner%2FRenter%20%28Tenure%29&layer=place&cid=DP04_0001E&vintage=2018&g=1600000US3638077