Bill Text: NY A06127 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Prohibits corporate entity, real estate developer, or residential building contractor from directly or indirectly purchasing, owning, building, acquiring, or otherwise obtaining any interest in any single-family private dwelling and converting such property into residential real estate containing one rental unit.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to housing [A06127 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A06127-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6127

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      April 3, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. HUNTER -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Housing

        AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to prohibiting corpo-
          rate  entities, developers, and contractors from converting single-fa-
          mily homes into a rental property unit

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The real property law is amended by adding a new article 11
     2  to read as follows:
     3                                 ARTICLE 11
     4                  RENTAL OF SINGLE-FAMILY PRIVATE DWELLINGS
     5  Section 360. Legislative findings.
     6          361. Definitions.
     7          362. Single-family private dwelling rental restricted.
     8          363. Enforcement.
     9          364. Rules and regulations.
    10    §  360.  Legislative findings. The legislature finds that it is in the
    11  interests of the state to encourage and protect home ownership  and  the
    12  single-family  home  as  a  basic  housing  option,  to  allow  families
    13  increased access to housing through homeownership, for families to build
    14  equity and wealth through their housing, and to enhance and promote  the
    15  stability and well-being of families and society in New York.
    16    § 361. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall
    17  have the following meanings:
    18    1.  "Affordable  housing"  means  at  least  two-thirds of an entity's
    19  rental units are rented to an individual or family with an annual income
    20  of up to fifty percent of the area median income as  determined  by  the
    21  United  States department of housing and urban development, adjusted for
    22  family size, that is paying no more than thirty percent of annual income
    23  on rent.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10492-01-3

        A. 6127                             2

     1    2. "Commissioner" shall mean the commissioner of housing and community
     2  renewal.
     3    3.  "Corporate  entity"  means  any  partnership, corporation, limited
     4  liability company, pension or investment fund, or  trust  but  does  not
     5  include  a  nonprofit  corporation,  a family trust, or a family limited
     6  liability company.
     7    4. "Family limited liability company" means a limited liability compa-
     8  ny meeting the following standards:
     9    (a) it has no more than five members;
    10    (b) all its members are natural persons or family trusts;
    11    (c) all of its members who are natural persons or spouses  of  natural
    12  persons  are  related  to  each other within the third degree of kindred
    13  according to the rules of civil law; and
    14    (d) its revenue from rent or any other means is paid directly from one
    15  member to another.
    16    5."Family trust" means:
    17    (a) a trust in which:
    18    (i) a majority of the current beneficiaries are persons or spouses  of
    19  persons who are related to each other within the third degree of kindred
    20  according to the rules of civil law;
    21    (ii) all of the current beneficiaries are natural persons or nonprofit
    22  corporations  or  trusts  described  in  Internal  Revenue Code, section
    23  170(c), as amended; and
    24    (iii) one of the current  beneficiaries  or  a  person  related  to  a
    25  current  beneficiary within the third degree of kindred according to the
    26  rules of civil law is residing at the property subject to the trust; or
    27    (b) a charitable remainder trust as defined in Internal Revenue  Code,
    28  section  664,  as  amended,  or  a charitable lead trust as set forth in
    29  Internal Revenue Code, section 170(f).
    30    6. "Not-for-profit corporation"  means  a  not-for-profit  corporation
    31  organized  under  state  not-for-profit corporation law or qualified for
    32  tax-exempt status under federal tax law that was  incorporated  for  the
    33  purpose of providing affordable housing.
    34    7.  "Pension  or  investment fund" means a pension or employee welfare
    35  benefit fund, however organized; a mutual fund; a life insurance company
    36  separate account; a common trust of a bank or other trustee  established
    37  for  the  investment and reinvestment of money contributed to it; a real
    38  estate investment trust; or an investment company as defined  in  United
    39  States Code, title 15, section 80a-3.
    40    8.  "Real  estate  developer" means a business that is engaged in real
    41  estate development or construction.
    42    9. "Residential building contractor" means a person in the business of
    43  building residential real estate,  or  of  contracting  or  offering  to
    44  contract  with  an owner to build residential real estate. A residential
    45  building contractor may also contract or offer to contract with an owner
    46  to improve existing residential real estate.
    47    10. "Single-family private dwelling"  is  any  building  or  structure
    48  designed and occupied exclusively for residence purposes by one family.
    49    §  362. Single-family private dwelling rental restricted. 1. No corpo-
    50  rate entity, real estate developer, or residential  building  contractor
    51  shall:
    52    (a) directly or indirectly purchase, own, build, acquire, or otherwise
    53  obtain any interest in any single-family private dwelling; and
    54    (b)  subsequently  convert  such property into residential real estate
    55  containing one rental unit.

        A. 6127                             3

     1    2. A corporate entity, real estate developer, or residential  building
     2  contractor  may petition the commissioner for an exemption from subdivi-
     3  sion one of this section. The commissioner shall issue an  exemption  if
     4  the entity meets the following criteria:
     5    (a)  the  exemption  would not contradict the purpose of this section;
     6  and
     7    (b) the petitioning entity would not have an impact  upon  the  avail-
     8  ability of affordable housing.
     9    3.  The  commissioner shall review annually each entity, developer, or
    10  contractor that is issued an exemption under  subdivision  two  of  this
    11  section to ensure that the entity continues to meet the criteria in such
    12  subdivision.  If  an entity, developer, or contractor fails to meet such
    13  criteria, the commissioner shall withdraw the exemption and  the  entity
    14  is  subject  to  enforcement  proceedings  under  section  three hundred
    15  sixty-three of this article. The commissioner shall submit a report with
    16  a list of each entity that is issued an exemption under subdivision  two
    17  of  this  section  to the chairs of the senate housing, construction and
    18  community development committee and the assembly housing committee annu-
    19  ally by the first of October.
    20    § 363. Enforcement. If the attorney general has reason to believe that
    21  a corporate entity,  real  estate  developer,  or  residential  building
    22  contractor is in violation of the provisions of this article, the attor-
    23  ney  general shall commence an action in the district court in which any
    24  real property relative to  such  violation  is  situated.  The  attorney
    25  general  shall  file  a  notice of the pendency of the action for record
    26  with the county clerk of each county in which any portion of said  prop-
    27  erty  is  located.  If  the court finds that the property in question is
    28  being held in violation of this article, it  shall  enter  an  order  so
    29  declaring.  The  attorney  general  shall file for record any such order
    30  with the county clerk for the county in which the property  is  located.
    31  Thereafter,  the corporate entity, real estate developer, or residential
    32  building contractor in violation of the provisions of this article shall
    33  have a period of one year from the date of such order to  divest  itself
    34  of  the property. The aforementioned one-year limitation period shall be
    35  deemed a covenant running with the title to  the  property  against  the
    36  entity,  developer, contractor, assignee, or successor. Any property not
    37  so divested within the time prescribed shall be sold at public  sale  in
    38  the  manner  prescribed  by  law  for  the  foreclosure of a mortgage by
    39  action. In addition, any prospective  or  threatened  violation  may  be
    40  enjoined  by  an  action  brought  by the attorney general in the manner
    41  provided by law.
    42    § 364. Rules and regulations. The commissioner  shall  promulgate  all
    43  rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this section.
    44    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    45  it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
    46  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    47  tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
    48  completed on or before such effective date.
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