Relates to the determination of the status of an interim multiple dwelling unit as a protected occupant's primary residence by the loft board or a court of competent jurisdiction, or by registration of with the loft board; provides factors for consideration for such findings; restores certain landlord-tenant relationships severed prior to the effective date.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9783B
SPONSOR: Glick TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the multiple dwelling law, in relation to the status of
an interim multiple dwelling unit as a protected occupant's primary
residence
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To clarify tenant protections under the Loft Law.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 sets forth legislative findings.
Section 2 amends paragraph 1 of subdivision 2 of section 286 of the
multiple dwelling law to clarify that the primary residency requirement
for continued occupancy protections in a loft unit is to be assessed
subsequent to the finding of coverage by the loft board or a court of
competent jurisdiction or registration with the loft board of the occu-
pant's unit. A new subdivision 14 is added to state that determinations
for coverage under the Loft Law shall not rest upon any single factor.
Section 3 sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The Loft Law is intended to provide a pathway for residential units that
were illegally converted from commercial and manufacturing space to be
brought into conformity with safety standards and receive a certificate
of occupancy. When making determinations on potential coverage of inter-
im multiple dwellings and their protected occupants, the Loft Board has
considered the primary residency requirement for continued occupancy
protection to begin with the filing of an application for protected
status, and rightfully so because prior to this point tenants-are living
illegally without rent and eviction protections. Furthermore, the Loft
Board considers all relevant evidence when determining whether a unit is
the tenant's primary residence. This bill codifies the Loft Board's
rules and precedent in this regard.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to all pending
actions or proceedings, including appeals.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9783--B
IN ASSEMBLY
April 9, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GLICK -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Housing -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said
committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommit-
ted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the multiple dwelling law, in relation to the status of
an interim multiple dwelling unit as a protected occupant's primary
residence
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and
2 declares that the findings in section 280 of the multiple dwelling law
3 are reaffirmed; that the decision from the Appellate Division, First
4 Department, in One Double Nine Dashing LLC v New York City Loft Board et
5 al. (2022) misinterpreted the relationship of primary residence to
6 continued occupancy of potential protected occupants under article 7-C
7 of the multiple dwelling law; that the unique illegal living arrange-
8 ments of potential protected occupants prior to loft law coverage, with-
9 out rent and eviction protections and without the applicability of mini-
10 mum housing maintenance standards, necessitates a regulatory approach
11 which is not always the same as for other rent-regulated tenants; that
12 the loft board properly concluded that the primary residence requirement
13 in the statute is prospective from an application for protected occupan-
14 cy or from registration of the unit with the loft board; that the loft
15 board properly considered all relevant evidence and rejected a position
16 that statements on tax returns alone are determinative in making deter-
17 minations regarding primary residence; that prior to Dashing (2022)
18 neither the courts nor the loft board has looked at statements made on
19 tax returns as controlling when evaluating issues of primary residence
20 for loft tenants; that most loft tenants use for business purposes
21 portions of their lofts, which the loft law envisions as being legalized
22 and covered as joint live/work spaces, so long as the residential use is
23 the primary use of the unit; and that it is necessary for the legisla-
24 ture to correct the misinterpretation in Dashing (2022) and to clarify,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14985-04-4
A. 9783--B 2
1 and to codify in the law, what has been loft board policy and precedent
2 based on the current law, loft board rules, and the loft board's deleg-
3 ated expertise for evaluating primary residence of potential protected
4 occupants in possible interim multiple dwelling units.
5 § 2. Paragraph (i) of subdivision 2 of section 286 of the multiple
6 dwelling law, as amended by chapter 4 of the laws of 2013, is amended
7 and a new subdivision 14 is added to read as follows:
8 (i) Prior to compliance with safety and fire protection standards of
9 article seven-B of this chapter, residential occupants qualified for
10 protection pursuant to this article shall be entitled to continued occu-
11 pancy, provided that, subsequent to the application for protected occu-
12 pancy with the loft board or a court of competent jurisdiction or regis-
13 tration with the loft board of the occupant's unit pursuant to this
14 article, the unit is their primary residence, and shall pay the same
15 rent, including escalations, specified in their lease or rental agree-
16 ment to the extent to which such lease or rental agreement remains in
17 effect or, in the absence of a lease or rental agreement, the same rent
18 most recently paid and accepted by the owner; if there is no lease or
19 other rental agreement in effect, rent adjustments prior to article
20 seven-B compliance shall be in conformity with guidelines to be set by
21 the loft board for such residential occupants within six months from the
22 effective date of this article.
23 14. In determining whether a unit qualifies for coverage pursuant to
24 this article, whether an occupant qualifies for protection under this
25 article, or whether a registered interim multiple dwelling unit is a
26 protected occupant's primary residence for all purposes under this arti-
27 cle, no single factor shall be solely determinative, including, without
28 limitation, statements made or actions taken in relation to federal,
29 state or city tax returns. Evidence which may be considered shall
30 include, but not be limited to, specification by an occupant of an
31 address other than such unit as a place of residence on any tax return,
32 motor vehicle registration, driver's license or other document filed
33 with a government agency. No waiver of rights otherwise protected by
34 this subdivision, made prior to the effective date of this subdivision,
35 shall be accorded any force or effect.
36 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to all
37 pending actions or proceedings, including appeals.
