NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7876A
SPONSOR: Carroll TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property law, in relation to requiring disclo-
sure of information concerning flood insurance on residential leases
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section One of the bill creates a new Section 231-b of the Real Property
Law that requires residential leases to provide notice of the flood risk
and flood history of a leased premises, as well as a notice to tenants
of flood insurance available to renters.
Section Two of the bill provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill would establish a flood risk "right to know" for renters. The
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) currently gives New York's
flood risk disclosure law a failing grade in part because New York's
flood disclosure laws only apply to sales of residential real property,
meaning that renters are not receiving adequate disclosures about the
flood risks and history of the units they lease.
Recent storms, like Hurricanes Ida and Henri, caused damage to thousands
of apartments and extensive damage to the personal property of rental
households. Robust flood disclosure is a necessary tool for protecting
New Yorkers on the frontline of climate change. Vulnerable communities
have repeatedly expressed concerns regarding the growing costs of flood
damage in their homes, but renters from low-income communities experi-
encing repeated flood events are often never warned about the risks they
face when moving into a new home. Flood disclosure meets the fundamental
goal of providing awareness and transparency for all residents, irre-
spective of income. Studies have shown that knowing the level of one's
risk helps change patterns of behavior related to flood insurance,
increasing uptake of up to 15 percent or more.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.8439 of 2020 (Hoylman): Died in Judiciary
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7876--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 28, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CARROLL, WALKER, GALLAGHER, BARNWELL, JONES,
ANDERSON, STERN, ROZIC, QUART, PAULIN, CYMBROWITZ, GOTTFRIED, DINOW-
ITZ, GRIFFIN, NOLAN, ABINANTI, SANTABARBARA, L. ROSENTHAL, McDONALD,
LAVINE, THIELE, OTIS, HEVESI, DAVILA, SEAWRIGHT, D. ROSENTHAL, LUPAR-
DO, JACOBSON, FERNANDEZ, O'DONNELL, CUSICK, KELLES, BURDICK, FAHY,
GALEF, STECK, MAGNARELLI, WOERNER, BARRETT, STIRPE, SIMON, HUNTER,
DURSO, GANDOLFO, NIOU, CRUZ, MIKULIN, MONTESANO, ENGLEBRIGHT -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary -- recommitted to the
Committee on Judiciary in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to requiring disclo-
sure of information concerning flood insurance on residential leases
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 section
2 231-b to read as follows:
3 § 231-b. Flood history and risk notice in residential leases. 1. Every
4 residential lease shall provide notice of the following information
5 related to the previous flood history and current flood risk of the
6 leased premises, as follows:
7 (a) whether any or all of the leased premises is located wholly or
8 partially in a Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA") designated
9 floodplain;
10 (b) whether any or all of the leased premises is located wholly or
11 partially in the Special Flood Hazard Area ("SFHA"; "100-year flood-
12 plain") according to FEMA's current Flood Insurance Rate Maps for the
13 leased premises' area;
14 (c) whether any or all of the leased premises is located wholly or
15 partially in a Moderate Risk Flood Hazard Area ("500-year floodplain")
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02362-03-2
A. 7876--A 2
1 according to FEMA's current Flood Insurance Rate Maps for the leased
2 premises' area; and
3 (d) whether the leased premises has experienced any flood damage due
4 to a natural flood event, such as heavy rainfall, coastal storm surge,
5 tidal inundation, or river overflow.
6 2. Every residential lease shall also contain the following notice to
7 tenants: "Flood insurance is available to renters through the Federal
8 Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) National Flood Insurance Program
9 (NFIP) to cover your personal property and contents in the event of a
10 flood. A standard renter's insurance policy does not typically cover
11 flood damage. You are encouraged to examine your policy to determine
12 whether you are covered."
13 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
14 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately the addition, amend-
15 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
16 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
17 completed on or before such date.
