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The New York Legislature yesterday overwhelmingly passed one of the most comprehensive anti-eviction laws in the nation, as the state contends with high levels of unemployment caused by a pandemic that has taken more than 330,000 lives nationwide, the <em>New York Times</em> reported. Tenants and advocacy groups have been dreading the end-of-year expiration of eviction bans that have kept people in their homes even as they fell months behind in their rent. Under the new measure, landlords will be barred from evicting most tenants for at least another 60 days in almost all cases. The bill would not only block landlords from evicting most tenants but would also protect some small landlords from foreclosure and automatically renew tax exemptions for homeowners who are elderly or disabled. The Legislature convened an unusual special session between Christmas and New Year’s to pass the measure, acting quickly because the governor’s executive order barring many evictions was slated to expire on Dec. 31. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo wasted no time in signing the bill, which goes into effect immediately.

Biweekly survey data from the Census Bureau shows that 85.4 million American adults, or 35.6 percent, report trouble paying for typical household bills such as food, medicine and rent, The Hill reported. That figure, which covers the period of Nov. 25 through Dec. 7, is up significantly since early September, when it hovered at 76.5 million, or 31.9 percent. The survey shows steady increases in other areas of concern in recent weeks as well. The number of people without enough to eat rose from 22.4 million, or 10.3 percent, to 27.4 million, or 12.7 percent. The number of adults who aren't sure they can make their rent or mortgage payments rose from 9.9 million, or 7 percent, in early October, to 12.9 million, or 9.1 percent, in December. Expectations of job loss spiked as well, with 76.7 million, or 31 percent, saying they expect that they or someone in their household will lose employment in the coming month. That figure is up from 58.3 million, or 28.3 percent, two months earlier.

A growing percentage of U.S. homeowners are looking to delay making mortgage payments, the latest sign that the economic recovery is hitting a snag, Bloomberg News reported. In the first week of December, the proportion of mortgage borrowers that started seeking forbearance relief rose to its highest level since August, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. And call volume at the companies that collect payments rose to the highest level since April, a sign of growing distress among homeowners, the trade group said yesterday. With long-term unemployment rates rising and COVID-19 cases surging, “it is not surprising to see more homeowners seeking relief,” Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the MBA, said in a statement. The increasing number of homeowners that have started seeking mortgage forbearance comes even as the economy has shown signs of recovery, underscoring how uneven the turnaround is. U.S. household net worth reached a fresh record of $123.5 trillion in the third quarter, while almost 4 million workers have been unemployed for more than 27 weeks. Homeowners are delaying payments under a U.S. forbearance program that started in March and allows mortgage borrowers to take a break for as long as a year without penalty. The total percentage of loans that are in forbearance edged lower to 5.48 percent in the week ended Dec. 6, from 5.54 percent the week before. Yet the number of borrowers looking to enter forbearance rose to 0.12 percent of all the loans mortgage servicers collect payments for, the most since August, the MBA said.

Joe Biden’s election victory has likely ended the Trump administration’s efforts to return Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to private hands, the Wall Street Journal reported. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested in an interview that he is unlikely to support a consent order to end the government conservatorships of the mortgage-finance companies before President Trump leaves office. His signoff would be required for any change in their legal status. “We’re going to not do anything that jeopardizes taxpayers and puts them at additional risk,” Mnuchin said. “We also want to be careful that we don’t do anything that overnight would limit access to mortgage finance.” Mark Calabria, the Trump-appointed regulator of the companies, was pushing as recently as last month to speed up the mortgage giants’ exit from government control before Biden’s inauguration next month. Calabria wanted the government to take legal steps that the next administration would find difficult to reverse — such as a consent order — but he cannot do so without Mnuchin’s approval. Mnuchin said he is focused on steps that would allow the companies to build capital to absorb future losses and eventually raise money from new, third-party investors.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) yesterday issued two final rules revising the definition of “qualified mortgages” that the bureau said would promote access to credit and transition the mortgage market away from a regulatory exemption given to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, <em>National Mortgage News</em> reported. The CFPB finalized one rule establishing a new general QM standard, which was unchanged from a June proposal. It adopted a pricing threshold to determine if loans can avoid liability under ability-to-repay requirements, replacing the current debt-to-income limit of 43 percent. The final QM rule would give lenders relief for loans capped at 150 basis points above the prime rate. The bureau said that it determined that a loan’s price is a strong indicator of a borrower’s ability to repay and is a “more holistic and flexible measure” than DTI alone.