SCOTUS Blocks NY’s COVID Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act

The U.S. Supreme Court recently enjoined enforcement of Part A of New York’s COVID Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act (CEEFPA), which allows tenants to self-certify that they have suffered a COVID-19-related financial hardship as a defense to eviction proceedings.

In granting injunctive relief, the Supreme Court noted that CEEFPA precludes landlords from contesting a tenant’s self-certification and does not provide landlords with a hearing, which is generally required under the Due Process Clause.  The Court’s decision does not affect New York’s Tenant Safe Harbor Act, which allows tenants to claim financial hardship due to COVID-19 as a defense in eviction proceedings but requires the court to evaluate the tenant’s income prior to and during COVID, among other considerations.   

WBK previously wrote about the passage of CEEFPA here.