New York courts open for eviction, foreclosure filings

Tuesday was the first day New York landlords and mortgage lenders could file eviction and foreclosure notices after nearly two years.

Saturday marked the end of the state’s pandemic eviction moratorium that allowed for protections for renters and homeowners.

An expert from the Legal Aid Society says she’s concerned there will be a flood of cases coming through the courts, as an unprecedented number of people are behind on their home payments.

“There is no restriction, the courts are open for new filings, and there is a lot of pent up delinquencies, especially New York compared to back when the great recession happened and the mortgage foreclosure crisis,” said Marlene Morales, who supervises the Foreclosure Prevention Project at the Legal Aid Society.

Some landlord advocates have argued that emergency assistance is available to tenants and homeowners. Morales says that doesn’t affect whether people lose their homes.

“That doesn’t stop the foreclosure, and now that the moratorium is expired, banks can go forward with the foreclosure,” she explained.

NewsChannel 13 reached out to courts in the Capital Region for updates on how many filings they had Tuesday and will update this story when we have those numbers.