NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A1270
SPONSOR: Walker
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the New York city charter, in relation to willful
neglect of real property prevention
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill provides for protection, preservation and improvement of rent
stabilized multi-family rental property in which some landlords willful-
ly neglect repairs, improvements, or otherwise affected the existing
conditions of properties precipitating the conditions that reduce the
habitability of the Units, resulting in condemnation and eviction of
existing tenants with the intent to build higher cost or luxury housing
in a climate wherein real property prices are rising at an unprecedented
rate.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Provides that HPD after three or more good faith complaints by or on
behalf of tenants and wherein within 120 days such conditions have not
been addressed or remedied by the landlord; and following the consensus
of fifty percent or more of the tenants, the city shall compel the land-
lord or responsible entity to undertake repairs and/or cease in actions
that affect the safety and well-being of tenants. Furthermore, the bill
provides that if the repairs are not completed or negative actions have
not ceased and if elements essential to the safety and well-being of
.residents have not been replaced; New York City shall place alien on
the property equal to the costs of repairs, improvements, replacements
and treatment measures and administrative fees required to remedy the
property.
The bill further requires that HPD shall assess the costs of repair and
actions needed to make property habitable and safe and assign a communi-
ty-based housing corporation to manage the repair process for a fee.
Financing of the repairs shall be made possible by a personal income tax
revenue bond authorized by the New York state housing finance agency.
The responsible landlord shall be responsible reimbursing the city for
the costs of repairs, interest, penalties and administrative management
fees to the community-based housing corporation.
Should repairs require the relocation of tenants, the responsible party
will be responsible for finding comparable housing for the tenants in a
closely proximate area, at a comparable or lower rate and assume relo-
cation costs and should the rent be higher, the difference betwe en the
current rent and the rent at the relocated site. Finally, the bill
requires HPD to establish an imminent danger list of properties for
which more than five complaints, the nature of which pose a threat to
the health and safety of tenants are filed during a calendar year.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
For several years, reports of willful neglect on the part of predatory
landlords appeared to be isolated and random against the backdrop of
thousands of rent-regulated properties. As the demand for housing and
increasing commensurate costs and development profit margins, the trend
to willfully debilitate the integrity of rent regulated properties to
the point of condemnation leading to demolition for the purpose of
developing high income luxury units. The desire to live in locations
within or in proximity of Manhattan has impacted housing in
central/northeastern Brooklyn, from Flatbush to Bushwick; the western
Bronx; Upper Manhattan, from East Harlem to Washington Heights; and
Lower Manhattan, Chinatown and the Lower East Side (1).
The acts have included failure to maintain exterior walls, interior
walls, and boilers and as of late have escalated to outright acts of
demolition in the name of bogus non-sanctioned construction; removing
essential services i.e. water, heat, commodes; and threats of imminent
eviction without cause.
Mayor DeBlasio has established a ten-year housing $41 billion plan that
aspires to the creation or preservation of 200,000 affordable housing
units. The actions of this group of landlords threatens to take the plan
two steps back for every step forward. Moreover, the displacement of the
affected tenants threatens to change the character of the targeted
communities with no possibility of reintegrating tenants in need of
affordable housing e.g. municipal employees, service industry workers,
and health care providers ranging from the working poor to the middle
class. Justifiably, residents in these communities are suspicious of any
development efforts in their neighborhoods maintaining that development
is being done to them without consideration and not with them in consul-
tation. The prevailing opinion is that a wave of secondary displacement
pressures, would negatively affect both long-term residents and existing
businesses.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2015-2016: A6618 - Referred to Housing
2017-2018: A6275 - Referred to Housing
2019-2020: A6268 - Referred to Housing
2021-2022: A4487 - Referred to Housing
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1270
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 13, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WALKER -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Housing
AN ACT to amend the New York city charter, in relation to willful
neglect of real property prevention
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The New York city charter is amended by adding a new
2 section 1807 to read as follows:
3 § 1807. Willful neglect of property prevention. 1. For the purposes
4 of this section "willful neglect" shall mean improper maintenance or
5 lack of maintenance resulting in substantial deterioration of the prop-
6 erty.
7 2. Where there have been three or more good faith complaints, by or on
8 behalf of the tenant, to the department of any health or safety law,
9 regulation, code or ordinance, or any law of regulation which has as its
10 objective the regulation of premises used for dwelling purposes within a
11 period of one hundred twenty days and the conditions have not been reme-
12 died and are not in the process of being remedied the department shall
13 notify the tenants and the department of buildings of the failure to
14 repair.
15 3. Upon the consensus of more than fifty percent of the tenants, an
16 action shall be commenced by the city to compel the person or entity
17 required to maintain the property to undertake repairs and if necessary
18 to cease and desist from removing and destroying structural, mechanical
19 and electrical systems necessary for the delivery of essential services,
20 including appliances, to the tenants.
21 4. If the repairs are not completed or if the removed or destroyed
22 systems have not been replaced within ninety days of the judgment the
23 department shall notify the person or entity required to maintain the
24 property that the city shall place a lien on the property equal to the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04622-01-3
A. 1270 2
1 costs of the repairs, improvements, replacement and treatment measures
2 required to remedy the property and the administrative fees.
3 5. The department shall assess and prepare a list of repairs, improve-
4 ments, replacements and treatment measures to be taken by the person or
5 entity required to maintain the property.
6 6. The department shall assign a community based housing development
7 corporation to manage the repairs.
8 7. The repairs shall be financed by personal income tax revenue bonds
9 authorized by the New York state housing finance agency.
10 8. The person or entity required to maintain the property shall be
11 responsible for reimbursing the city for the costs of repairs in addi-
12 tion to interest and penalties and any administrative management fees.
13 9. Should the repairs, improvements or replacements require relocation
14 of the tenant the person or entity required to maintain the property
15 must, at the tenant's option, either relocate the tenant to a comparable
16 housing accommodation in a closely proximate area that is the same or
17 lower rent or compensate the tenant in an amount necessary to cover
18 their costs of relocation for the duration of the repair.
19 10. The department shall create an "imminent danger" list of proper-
20 ties for which more than five complaints have been filed during the
21 course of any given calendar year. Said list shall be available on the
22 department's website.
23 11. This section shall not preempt, reduce or limit any rights or
24 obligations imposed by any state or local laws with respect to property
25 maintenance and a locality's ability to enforce those laws or a tenant's
26 right to be restored to the vacated premises.
27 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.