NYC's small landlords say they're suffering, too

NEW YORK - New York's ban on evictions, which was implemented earlier in the pandemic, is set to expire at the end of August. But some smaller landlords say it can't come soon enough. 

Lincoln Eccles owns a small apartment building in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. The building, which has been in his family since the 1960s, has 14 units.

Eccles told FOX 5 NY's Linda Schmidt that he is worried he could lose the property, which is his livelihood. The building is his job, he said. It is not an investment property that just makes money for him and he does nothing.

Neither the city nor the state implemented a rent moratorium, which would have allowed tenants to stop paying rent. However, the eviction moratorium prevents landlords from evicting tenants. And Eccles said that some tenants are taking advantage of that.

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Eccles said that landlords of smaller buildings are suffering just as many tenants are suffering across the city. But property owners have to continue paying their mortgages, building maintenance costs, and property taxes.

Pilar Dejesus of the tenant advocacy group TakeRoot Justice said most landlords are not struggling financially.

She does understand that some small landlords are going through hardships but claims that they are a very small percentage of landlords in the city.

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