Bill Text: NY S08591 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes the rental improvement fund pilot program to provide capital grants to small landlords to renovate rental units in certain cities; creates the rental improvement fund.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-20 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S08591 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S08591-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8591

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 20, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  RYAN  --  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 private housing finance law and the state finance
          law, in relation to establishing the  rental  improvement  fund  pilot
          program

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

     1    Section 1. The private housing finance law is amended by adding a  new
     2  article 32 to read as follows:
     3                                 ARTICLE XXXII
     4                    RENTAL IMPROVEMENT FUND PILOT PROGRAM
     5  Section 1290. Statement of legislative findings and purpose.
     6          1291. Rental improvement fund pilot program.
     7    §  1290.  Statement  of legislative findings and purpose. It is hereby
     8  declared and found that there exists across upstate New York a  shortage
     9  of  safe  and  affordable  rental units. It is further found that stable
    10  housing is tied to positive employment, education, and health  outcomes,
    11  and  that  the  state  therefore  has  an interest in promoting safe and
    12  affordable housing opportunities. In order,  further,  to  promote  such
    13  opportunities,  it  is hereby declared that additional provisions should
    14  be made to provide public monies for the  purpose  of  grants  to  small
    15  landlords  to  make necessary improvements to rental units on the condi-
    16  tion that renovated units will be leased at a reasonable  rate  for  ten
    17  years.   The necessity in the public interest for the provisions of this
    18  article is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination.
    19    § 1291. Rental improvement fund pilot program. 1. (a) Over a period of
    20  five years beginning on the effective date of this article, the division
    21  of housing and community renewal shall, subject to  appropriation,  make
    22  capital grants of up to seventy-five thousand dollars per unit available
    23  to  small  landlords for the purpose of making necessary improvements to
    24  up to four thousand rental units located in Albany, Buffalo,  Rochester,
    25  and  Syracuse.  The  allocation  of  the  four  thousand grants shall be
    26  proportional to the populations of each of the four cities.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14513-03-4
        S. 8591                             2

     1    (b) Receipt of such capital grants shall be conditioned upon an agree-
     2  ment by such landlords to lease such renovated  units  at  a  reasonable
     3  rate  for  the  ten-year  period  following  the receipt of such capital
     4  grants. Over such ten-year period, each such rental unit shall be eligi-
     5  ble  to  receive  an  additional  ten  thousand  dollars for maintenance
     6  purposes.  Upon a finding by the commissioner of housing  and  community
     7  renewal  that  a  landlord who has received a grant to renovate a rental
     8  unit pursuant to this section increased the rent  at  such  unit  at  an
     9  unreasonable rate, any grants received by such landlord shall be subject
    10  to recoupment in full.
    11    2.  The commissioner of housing and community renewal shall promulgate
    12  rules and regulations deemed necessary and appropriate to establish  and
    13  administer  the  rental  improvement fund pilot program pursuant to this
    14  article, including but not limited to the application process, eligibil-
    15  ity requirements, disbursement of grants, determination of a  reasonable
    16  lease  rate,  and any other rules, regulations, or definitions necessary
    17  to carry out the provisions of this article.
    18    § 2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-rr to
    19  read as follows:
    20    § 99-rr. Rental improvement fund. 1. There is  hereby  established  in
    21  the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of hous-
    22  ing  and community renewal a fund to be known as the "rental improvement
    23  fund".
    24    2. Such fund shall consist of all moneys collected therefor, or moneys
    25  credited, appropriated or transferred thereto from  any  other  fund  or
    26  source  pursuant  to  law,  or  any  other moneys made available for the
    27  purposes of the fund.
    28    3. Moneys of the fund, following appropriation by the legislature  and
    29  allocation  by  the  director of the budget, shall be available only for
    30  purposes of the rental improvement fund pilot program, as set  forth  in
    31  article thirty-two of the private housing finance law.
    32    §  3.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    33  have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
    34  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
    35  this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
    36  on or before such effective date.