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A02994 Summary:

A02994 Floor Votes:

A02994 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
 submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)



 
BILL NUMBER: A2994
 
SPONSOR: Lopez V (MS)

 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the administrative code of the city of
New York and the emergency tenant protection act  of nineteen seventy-
four, in relation to the declaration of emergencies for certain rental
housing accommodations
 
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
 
The purpose of this legislation is to extend rent and eviction
protections to tenants living in former federal Section 8 projects.
 
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
 
This legislation includes former Section 8 projects in the types of

multiple dwellings that are covered by the New York City Rent Stabiliza-
tion Law. Also, this bill enables localities to include former Section 8
projects as a type of housing accommodation that would be subject to the
Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974.
 
 
EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH THIS BILL WOULD ALTER:
 
Generally, housing accommodations in buildings completed on or after
January 1, 1974 are not subject to rent regulation. This bill would
subject former Section 8 projects completed after this date to rent
regulation.
 
 
JUSTIFICATION:
 
The Multi-Family Assisted Housing Reform Act of 1997 (MAHRA) was enacted
by Congress in an attempt to reduce the long term costs of the Section 8
project-based rent assistance program. The United States Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has begun implementing the changes
required by MAHRA through an initiative known as Portfolio Reengineering

(a.k.a. Mark to Market). Under this initiative HUD is seeking to
preserve affordable housing while at the same time reducing rent assist-
ance payments to buildings that heretofore have collected rents in
excess of market rates. Despite the efforts of HUD, it is anticipated
that some owners will opt out of the Section 8 program so that they may
dramatically increase rents.
 
This legislation will ensure that all buildings that opt out of Section
8 in New York City and Nassau, Westchester and Rockland counties may
become subject to rent regulation. Under current law, only those build-
ings that were occupied prior to January 1, 1974 will become subject to
the rent and eviction protections offered by rent regulation.
 
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
 
A.1281 in the 2001/02 Legislative Session
A.2789A in the 2003/04 Legislative Session
A.5362 in the 2005/06 Legislative Session
A.5677 in the 2007/08 Legislative Session
 
 

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
 
None noted.
 
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

A02994 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          2994
 
                               2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 21, 2011
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. V. LOPEZ, SILVER, BING, O'DONNELL, PERRY, ORTIZ,
          SPANO, WRIGHT, KAVANAGH -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.  BROOK-KRAS-
          NY,  FARRELL, JACOBS, JEFFRIES, ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to
          the Committee on Housing
 
        AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and  the

          emergency tenant protection act  of nineteen seventy-four, in relation
          to  the declaration of emergencies for certain rental housing accommo-
          dations
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. Subdivision a of section 26-504 of the administrative code
     2  of the city of New York, subparagraph (f) of paragraph 1 as  amended  by
     3  chapter 422 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
     4    a.  Class  A  multiple  dwellings  not  owned as a cooperative or as a
     5  condominium, except as provided in section three hundred  fifty-two-eeee
     6  of  the  general  business  law,  containing  six or more dwelling units
     7  which:   (1) were  completed  after  February  first,  nineteen  hundred
     8  forty-seven,  except  dwelling units (a) owned or leased by, or financed

     9  by loans from, a  public  agency  or  public  benefit  corporation,  (b)
    10  subject  to rent regulation under the private housing finance law or any
    11  other state law, (c) aided by government insurance under  any  provision
    12  of  the  national  housing  act, to the extent this chapter or any regu-
    13  lation or order issued thereunder  is  inconsistent  therewith,  or  (d)
    14  located  in  a building for which a certificate of occupancy is obtained
    15  after March tenth, nineteen hundred sixty-nine[;], or (e)  any  class  A
    16  multiple  dwelling which on June first, nineteen hundred sixty-eight was
    17  and still is commonly regarded as a hotel, transient hotel  or  residen-
    18  tial  hotel,  and  which customarily provides hotel service such as maid
    19  service, furnishing and laundering of  linen,  telephone  and  bell  boy
    20  service, secretarial or desk service and use and upkeep of furniture and

    21  fixtures, or (f) not occupied by the tenant, not including subtenants or
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04768-01-1
        A. 2994                             2
 
     1  occupants,  as his or her primary residence, as determined by a court of
     2  competent jurisdiction, provided, however that no action  or  proceeding
     3  shall  be  commenced  seeking to recover possession on the ground that a
     4  housing accommodation is not occupied by the tenant as his or her prima-
     5  ry  residence  unless  the  owner or lessor shall have given thirty days
     6  notice to the tenant of his or her intention to commence such action  or
     7  proceeding  on  such  grounds.  For  the purposes of determining primary

     8  residency, a tenant who is a victim of domestic violence, as defined  in
     9  section  four  hundred  fifty-nine-a of the social services law, who has
    10  left the unit because of such violence, and who  asserts  an  intent  to
    11  return  to the housing accommodation shall be deemed to be occupying the
    12  unit as his or her primary residence. For the purposes of this  subpara-
    13  graph where a housing accommodation is rented to a not-for-profit hospi-
    14  tal  for  residential  use, affiliated subtenants authorized to use such
    15  accommodations by such hospital shall be deemed to be  tenants,  or  (g)
    16  became  vacant on or after June thirtieth, nineteen hundred seventy-one,
    17  or become vacant, provided however, that this exemption shall not  apply
    18  or  become  effective  with  respect to housing accommodations which the
    19  commissioner determines or finds became vacant because the  landlord  or

    20  any  person acting on his or her behalf, with intent to cause the tenant
    21  to vacate, engaged in any course of conduct (including but  not  limited
    22  to,  interruption  or discontinuance of essential services) which inter-
    23  fered with or disturbed or was intended to interfere with or disturb the
    24  comfort, repose, peace or quiet of the tenant in his or her use or occu-
    25  pancy of the housing accommodations and provided further that any  hous-
    26  ing  accommodations  exempted by this paragraph shall be subject to this
    27  law to the extent provided in subdivision b of this section; or (2) were
    28  decontrolled by the city rent agency pursuant to section 26-414 of  this
    29  title; or (3) are exempt from control by virtue of item one, two, six or
    30  seven  of  subparagraph (i) of paragraph two of subdivision e of section
    31  26-403 of this title; or (4) were covered by a project based  assistance

    32  contract  pursuant  to section eight of the United States housing act of
    33  1937  which  contract  is  no  longer  in  effect,  notwithstanding  the
    34  provisions  of subparagraph (d) or (g) of paragraph one of this subdivi-
    35  sion or paragraph five of subdivision a of section five of the emergency
    36  tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four  provided  however,  that
    37  any  dwelling  unit  which  becomes subject to this law pursuant to this
    38  paragraph shall not be subject to the provisions  of  subdivision  a  of
    39  section 26-513 of this chapter; and
    40    § 2. Section 5 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974 consti-
    41  tuting  the  emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four is
    42  amended by adding a new subdivision c to read as follows:

    43    c. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph five of  subdivision  a
    44  of  this  section but subject to any other applicable exceptions in such
    45  subdivision, nothing shall  prevent  the  declaration  of  an  emergency
    46  pursuant to section three of section four of this act for rental housing
    47  accommodations  located  in  a  building  which was covered by a project
    48  based assistance contract pursuant to section eight of the United States
    49  housing act of 1937 which contract  is  no  longer  in  effect  provided
    50  however,  that  any  housing accommodation which becomes subject to this
    51  act pursuant to this subdivision shall not be subject to the  provisions
    52  of subdivision a of section nine of section four of this act.

    53    §  3.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
    54  buildings which are covered  by  a  project  based  assistance  contract
    55  pursuant to section eight of the United States housing act of 1937 which
    56  contract  ceased to be effective on or after such date; provided, howev-
        A. 2994                             3
 
     1  er, that the amendment to subdivision a of section 26-504 of the  admin-
     2  istrative  code  of the city of New York made by section one of this act
     3  shall not affect the expiration of  such  section  pursuant  to  section
     4  26-520  of  such code and shall expire therewith; and provided, further,
     5  that the amendment to section 5 of the emergency tenant  protection  act
     6  of  nineteen  seventy-four  made  by  section  two of this act shall not
     7  affect the expiration of such act as provided in section 17  of  chapter

     8  576 of the laws of 1974, as amended, and shall expire therewith.