Landlords are calling New York's extension of the eviction moratorium unconstitutional and are now taking the fight to court.

The landlords are suing to stop the eviction moratorium, which was extended in September through January 2022.

"Denies access, meaningful access to the court system and the legal process to property owners," says Car Finger, an attorney representing landlords.

Under the moratorium tenants can apply for either a medical or financial hardship, but landlords claim they have suffered millions of dollars in losses as a result.

"Some of these tenants owed money before March of 2020 when everything came to a head," says Finger.

Benjamin Bedell, of the Legal Aid Society of Rockland, says some people may be taking advantage of the situation.

"Some tenants may be abusing these declarations, these hardships but the vast majority of these tenants are not lying and do have a financial hardship," Bedell.

Bedell is going to court weekly representing tenants being challenged by landlords. He urges tenants and landlords to instead apply for emergency rental assistance from the state called ERAP.

So far, nearly 300,000 applications were submitted and one-third have been paid, including over $1 billio to landlords. The stipulation is that tenants are then allowed to stay at the property for an entire year at the same rent.

"The pain is gonna have to be shared I think instead of going to federal court landlords should file that document with ERAP and get paid," says Bedell.