Shitty tenant question

[Jacob Taylor]

Hey all,

So I live in a very rural area in upstate NY. We have some neighbors that live about half a mile down the road, a sweet old couple in a big white farmhouse. Apparently, they are renting out a smaller, trailer-sized house about a quarter mile down the road from them (I've known the guy that lives there my whole life, just didn't know that he rented from the couple. We have often had problems with his dogs running up to our house and being a little rough with our dog). Additionally, this guy has not paid his rent in at least 6 months, maybe more. My family and the couple are saying, though, that they are unable to get him to leave because of some new "COVID laws". They tried to fight it in our small town court but got nowhere.

All of this information is just what my mom told me, and I know that's not much to go off but that's what I have at the moment. Could anyone explain what she might be talking about and give any possible solutions? Thank you!

- Jacob