I'm very new at property ownership in all forms, having bought my first house, a duplex, in November 2021. I took an out-of-state job shortly after, which had me move last May. I converted the property from the primary residence it was (with the other side as a rental) to a full rental. Due to how far away I was, I also hired a property manager. At the same time, I had the tenant that had been there since before I bought the property sign a new one-year lease. I don't know how related it all is or if it was just a coincidence, but as soon as all of this happened, collecting rent became a problem. The entire summer had a constant theme of getting a few partial payments every month. At some point, the tenant was served a 14-day pay or vacate notice, but did catch up on his balance owed. It finally came to a head in September, which had no payments and no payments have come in since. He was served another 14-day notice, only this time there was no payment.

Instead, he went to a local shelter for aid, who enlightened him about NY's ERAP and got him to apply. The property manager suggested we attempt eviction anyway because the judge has the power to make whatever decision he wants and I had a long history on this tenant that would probably prove that he doesn't qualify for ERAP based on my interpretation of the "hardship" requirement. Well, we get into court and are dismissed immediately because of a new requirement that not even my property manager knew about, which was there can't be too much time (I forgot the exact days) between serving an eviction notice and the court appearance. So I never even get a chance to get a read on the judge to see if he would be willing to consider overriding the ERAP eviction-immunity. The financial sacrifice I endured to be able to attend this eviction attempt was great enough for me to decide to give in and accept ERAP. My reluctance to do so was because the property has been operating at a slight loss for reasons I won't get into. I planned for this loss to last only until this tenant's lease comes to an end. ERAP's protection extends well beyond this date.

However, recent revelations have made me go back to my original position and not fill in my end of the application. The ERAP website says that no applications after August 31 will be processed due to lack of funding, confirmed by talking with a representative for the program. This tenant's ERAP application was submitted in September. This means that I am guaranteed not to get paid, but also can't evict the tenant. It's just another eviction moratorium that could theoretically last forever if the politicians don't fund the program or dismantle the program entirely. Meanwhile, my property operating under a slight loss in the best of times is now a much larger loss due to the rent payments no longer coming in. The tenant's one-year protection from eviction won't even start counting down until I receive my first ERAP payment. So screw it, I'm not going to fill in my side of the application until I see an update about additional funding.

What I want to try next is trying to persuade the tenant to leave, either through bribery or some other means. I have actually already tried to offer him money and debt forgiveness, which he has declined, claiming it won't help because he has no where to go. I am capable of offering even more money, but I also want to make it known that I will try to make continued habitation of my property as unappealing as possible. I have already removed the washer and dryer and the property is in a semi-rural area. I am very close to removing the kitchen appliances. The lease doesn't require that I supply any of these.

If there's anyone here who has dealt with a similar situation, I would appreciate any and all ideas. I'm even willing to enter the realm of illegal actions as long as it is still likely to have an outcome more favorable than just letting the tenant live there rent-free. My personal finances are close enough to the brink for me to consider ANYTHING.

Upstate New York, New York

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