Central NY Landlord; inherited tenet !

[Loren Oatman]

I have a friend who had a tenet that moved out but had a roommate that was not on the lease. It was February and in Central NY a cold time of the Year. My friend the owner let the roommate stay feeling bad for him. The RM( Roommate) is now the sole person in the house. He paid two months and was given a receipt on the last payment. The RM stopped paying rent in May and stated that he no longer has to pay rent because he is disabled and NY Governor says that there are no evictions until September. My friend was told by a lawyer that he is stuck because he gave the RM a receipt. I would like some feedback about this situation and see what other people thing about the  situation.