Assemblyman Chris Tague (R,C,I-Schoharie) is urging his fellow lawmakers not to pass a further extension on the state’s existing moratorium as they return to Albany today for a special legislative session. After hearing from small landlords who have struggled to pay their bills and maintain their properties as several of their tenants remain in their units with no clear intention to pay rent, Tague reinforced his opposition to further extending the moratorium, especially as the state holds $2.6 billion in undistributed federal funds intended to assists landlords and tenants.

“Helping people in a time of need is something we all support, however there are landlords who have been unable to utilize or maintain their properties, even as non-paying tenants buy new cars, electronics and other expensive personal goods,” said Tague. “Speaking with small landlords in my district, the kinds of people that own one or a few units, has shown me the incredibly difficult position many of them are in. As bills from their mortgages and taxes stack up, their properties are left to degrade from a lack of care. The worst part of all of this is that we shouldn’t even need to be having this conversation, because the state was given $2.6 billion to address this matter by the federal government back in January, yet it has remained undistributed to tenants and landlords.”