Bill Text: NY S01926 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Removes provisions that prohibit cities of one million or more from strengthening rent regulation laws to provide more comprehensive coverage than state laws.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S01926 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S01926-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1926
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 17, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, ADDABBO, BAILEY, HOYLMAN, MONTGOMERY, PARK-
          ER,  SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
          committed to the Committee  on  Housing,  Construction  and  Community
          Development
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  local  emergency  housing  rent control act, in
          relation to rent regulation laws
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  5  of section 1 of chapter 21 of the laws of
     2  1962, constituting the local emergency  housing  rent  control  act,  as
     3  amended  by  chapter 82 of the laws of 2003 and the closing paragraph as
     4  amended by chapter 422 of the laws  of  2010,  is  amended  to  read  as
     5  follows:
     6    5.  Authority  for  local rent control legislation. Each city having a
     7  population of one million or more, acting through its local  legislative
     8  body,  may  adopt  and  amend local laws or ordinances in respect of the
     9  establishment or designation of a city  housing  rent  agency.  When  it
    10  deems such action to be desirable or necessitated by local conditions in
    11  order  to  carry  out the purposes of this section, such city, except as
    12  hereinafter provided, acting through its local legislative body and  not
    13  otherwise,  may  adopt  and amend local laws or ordinances in respect of
    14  the regulation and control  of  residential  rents,  including  but  not
    15  limited  to  provision  for  the establishment and adjustment of maximum
    16  rents, the classification of housing accommodations, the  regulation  of
    17  evictions,  and  the  enforcement  of such local laws or ordinances. The
    18  validity of any such local laws or ordinances, and the  rules  or  regu-
    19  lations  promulgated  in  accordance therewith, shall not be affected by
    20  and need not be consistent with the state emergency housing rent control
    21  law or with rules and regulations of the state division of  housing  and
    22  community renewal.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06406-01-9
        S. 1926                             2
     1    Notwithstanding  any  local  law  or ordinance, housing accommodations
     2  which became vacant on or after July first, nineteen hundred seventy-one
     3  or which hereafter become vacant shall be subject to the  provisions  of
     4  the  emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, provided,
     5  however,  that  this  provision shall not apply or become effective with
     6  respect to housing accommodations which, by local law or ordinance,  are
     7  made  directly  subject to regulation and control by a city housing rent
     8  agency and such agency determines or finds  that  the  housing  accommo-
     9  dations  became  vacant because the landlord or any person acting on his
    10  behalf, with intent to cause the tenant to vacate, engaged in any course
    11  of conduct (including but not limited to, interruption or discontinuance
    12  of essential  services)  which  interfered  with  or  disturbed  or  was
    13  intended  to  interfere  with  or  disturb the comfort, repose, peace or
    14  quiet of the tenant in his use or  occupancy  of  the  housing  accommo-
    15  dations.  The  removal  of any housing accommodation from regulation and
    16  control of rents pursuant to the vacancy exemption provided for in  this
    17  paragraph shall not constitute or operate as a ground for the subjection
    18  to more stringent regulation and control of any housing accommodation in
    19  such  property  or  in  any  other  property owned by the same landlord,
    20  notwithstanding any prior agreement to the contrary by the landlord. The
    21  vacancy exemption provided for in this paragraph shall  not  arise  with
    22  respect  to  any  rented plot or parcel of land otherwise subject to the
    23  provisions of this act, by reason of a transfer of title and  possession
    24  occurring  on  or  after  July  first, nineteen hundred seventy-one of a
    25  dwelling located on such plot or parcel and owned by  the  tenant  where
    26  such  transfer  of  title  and  possession  is  made  to a member of the
    27  tenant's immediate family provided that the member of the tenant's imme-
    28  diate family occupies the dwelling with the tenant prior to the transfer
    29  of title and possession for a continuous period of two years.
    30    The term "immediate family" shall include a husband, wife, son, daugh-
    31  ter, stepson, stepdaughter, father, mother, father-in-law or  mother-in-
    32  law.
    33    [Notwithstanding  the foregoing, no local law or ordinance shall here-
    34  after provide for the regulation and control of  residential  rents  and
    35  eviction in respect of any housing accommodations which are (1) present-
    36  ly exempt from such regulation and control or (2) hereafter decontrolled
    37  either by operation of law or by a city housing rent agency, by order or
    38  otherwise. No housing accommodations presently subject to regulation and
    39  control  pursuant  to  local laws or ordinances adopted or amended under
    40  authority of this subdivision shall hereafter be by local law  or  ordi-
    41  nance  or  by rule or regulation which has not been theretofore approved
    42  by the state commissioner of housing and community renewal subjected  to
    43  more  stringent or restrictive provisions of regulation and control than
    44  those presently in effect.
    45    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on and after the effective
    46  date of this paragraph, a city having a population  of  one  million  or
    47  more  shall not, either through its local legislative body or otherwise,
    48  adopt or amend local laws or ordinances with respect to  the  regulation
    49  and control of residential rents and eviction, including but not limited
    50  to  provision for the establishment and adjustment of rents, the classi-
    51  fication of housing accommodations, the regulation of evictions, and the
    52  enforcement of such local laws or ordinances, or otherwise adopt laws or
    53  ordinances pursuant to the provisions of this act, the emergency  tenant
    54  protection  act  of  nineteen  seventy-four,  the New York city rent and
    55  rehabilitation law or the New York city rent stabilization  law,  except
    56  to  the extent that such city for the purpose of reviewing the continued
        S. 1926                             3

     1  need for the existing regulation and control of residential rents or  to
     2  remove  a  classification  of housing accommodation from such regulation
     3  and control adopts or amends local laws or ordinances pursuant to subdi-
     4  vision  three of section one of this act, section three of the emergency
     5  tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, section  26-415  of  the
     6  New  York  city  rent  and  rehabilitation  law, and sections 26-502 and
     7  26-520 of the New York city rent stabilization law of  nineteen  hundred
     8  sixty-nine.]
     9    Notwithstanding  any  provision of this act to the contrary, any local
    10  law adopted pursuant to this act shall provide that notwithstanding  any
    11  provision  of such local law in the case where all tenants occupying the
    12  housing accommodation on the  effective  date  of  this  paragraph  have
    13  vacated  the  housing accommodation and a family member of such vacating
    14  tenant or tenants is entitled to and continues  to  occupy  the  housing
    15  accommodation  subject  to the protections of such act, if such accommo-
    16  dation continues to be subject to such  act  after  such  family  member
    17  vacates,  on the occurrence of such vacancy the maximum collectable rent
    18  shall be increased by a sum equal to the allowance then  in  effect  for
    19  vacancy leases for housing accommodations covered by the rent stabiliza-
    20  tion law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine, including the amount allowed by
    21  paragraph  (5-a)  of  subdivision  c of section 26-511 of such law. This
    22  increase shall be in addition to any other  increases  provided  for  in
    23  this  act  and  shall be applicable in like manner to each second subse-
    24  quent succession.
    25    Notwithstanding the foregoing, no local law or ordinance shall subject
    26  to such regulation and control any housing accommodation  which  is  not
    27  occupied  by  the  tenant in possession as his or her primary residence;
    28  provided, however, that such housing accommodation not occupied  by  the
    29  tenant  in  possession as his or her primary residence shall continue to
    30  be subject to regulation and control as provided for herein  unless  the
    31  city  housing  rent  agency  issues an order decontrolling such accommo-
    32  dation, which the agency shall do upon application by the landlord when-
    33  ever it is established by any facts  and  circumstances  which,  in  the
    34  judgment  of  the  agency, may have a bearing upon the question of resi-
    35  dence, that the tenant maintains his or her primary  residence  at  some
    36  place  other  than  at  such  housing accommodation. For the purposes of
    37  determining primary residency, a tenant who  is  a  victim  of  domestic
    38  violence,  as defined in section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social
    39  services law, who has left the unit because of such  violence,  and  who
    40  asserts an intent to return to the housing accommodation shall be deemed
    41  to be occupying the unit as his or her primary residence.
    42    §  2.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
    43  the amendments to subdivision 5 of section 1 of chapter 21 of  the  laws
    44  of  1962  made by section one of this act shall remain in full force and
    45  effect only so long as the public emergency requiring the regulation and
    46  control of residential rents and evictions  continues,  as  provided  in
    47  subdivision  3  of section 1 of the local emergency housing rent control
    48  act; provided further, however, that the amendment to the second  undes-
    49  ignated  paragraph  of  subdivision  5 of section 1 of chapter 21 of the
    50  laws of 1962 made by section one of this act shall not affect the  expi-
    51  ration of such paragraph and shall be deemed to expire therewith.