It is a document which a tenant must sign disclosing that either:
(A) You are experiencing financial hardship and unable to pay rent because:
- Significant loss of household income during the COVID-19 pandemic;
- Increase in necessary out-of-pocket expenses related to performing essential work or related to health impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic;
- Childcare responsibilities or responsibilities to care for an elderly, disabled, or sick family member during the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively affected my ability or the ability of someone in my household to obtain meaningful employment or earn income or increased my necessary out-of-pocket expenses;
- Moving expenses and difficulty I have securing alternative housing make it a hardship for me to relocate to another residence during the COVID-19 pandemic;
- Other circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively affected my ability to obtain meaningful employment or earn income or have significantly reduced my household income or significantly increased my expenses.
(B) Vacating and moving to new housing will pose a significant health risk because members of the household have increased risk to illness due to age, pre-existing conditions, etc.
The hardship declaration is available to be reviewed, printed, and signed here: http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/SSI/images/corona/HardshipDeclaration.pdf