As of May 26, New York state courts have reopened for new electronically filed applications. Now that tenants have a venue to challenge improper default notices, the question becomes whether, and to what extent, landlords can exercise conditional limitations and terminate leases for nonpayment of rent.
The governor’s executive order, which I previously discussed in a Law360 guest column, had extended the commercial eviction moratorium through at least Aug. 20 and prohibits nonpayment proceedings from being filed until after June 20. However, nothing in this executive order prohibits landlords from terminating leases in the meantime and eventually commencing holdover petitions after June 20, assuming the housing courts are open.