BILL NUMBER: S6352C
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to certain housing accommodations; and to amend the emergency
tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in relation to certain
hardship provisions
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To preserve, and restore to the rental market, rent-stabilized dwelling
units vacated after extended occupancies by setting forth a procedure in
law that will require documentary submissions demonstrating subject
units to be lead-free under applicable local definitions and to have
undergone code-compliant modernization with tenant protection plans in
place. Further, to set forth a process and requirements for setting
legal regulated rents for qualifying units, commensurate with Section 8
Housing Choice Voucher rents in the same geographic areas.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Adds a new paragraph 15 to subdivision c of Section 26-511 of the New
York City Administrative Code, and a new paragraph 6 to subdivision d of
Section 6 of the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, both authorizing the
adjustment of the legal regulated rents of housing accommodations having
undergone documented restoration when vacated after continuous tenancies
or occupancies of ten years or more.
Adds a new section 26-511.2 of the New York City Administrative Code,
and a new subdivision (a-1) to Section 15 of the Emergency Tenant
Protection Act, which both set forth the documentation submission
requirements for restored units to qualify for legal regulated rent
adjustment, certain limitations such as the correction of all
violations, penalties for tenant harassment, prohibition for buildings
in enforcement programs, and the requirements for an audit process by
the Division of Housing & Community Renewal.
Adds a new section 26-513.1 of the New York City Administrative Code,
and a new subdivision (d-1) to Section 9 of the Emergency Tenant
Protection Act, which both set forth requirements for applications for
adjustment of legal regulated rents including provisions to incentivize
the housing of voucher applicants established under this act and crite-
ria for assessment of such applications and legal regulated rents estab-
lished under this act.
 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND ORIGINAL VERSION (IF APPLICABLE:
Amended to add additional tenant protections including an affidavit or
other evidence of no harassment, requirements for units to be recovered
through legal court process, prohibition of buildings in the NYC Housing
Preservation & Development Alternative Enforcement Program, and
protections against unlawful evictions.
Amended to add incentives for property owners to rent apartments to
housing subsidy voucher holders, and to ensure rent levels are not
greater than Section 8 payment standards so that voucher holders can
occupy renovated units.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, there are thousands of apartments across New York that are
uninhabitable due to the failure of property owners to keep dwellings up
to code. Such upgrades for owners are cost prohibitive and have left
apartments vacated for some time. New York is in a housing crisis. With
unit scarcity and high demand for apartments, we need solutions to bring
those apartments back into a state of good repair and in conformity with
housing regulations.
With regulated housing options scarce for middle- and low-income fami-
lies, this bill would create a process that would allow for restoration
to the regulated rental market units vacated after long-term tenancies.
These units must be brought into compliance with applicable local defi-
nitions for lead-free housing accommodations and have otherwise under-
gone modernization in accordance with applicable code and construction.
This bill further requires that property owners submit to the Division
of Housing and Community Renewal certain documentation establishing
entitlement to adjust the legal regulated rent of qualifying restored
units and to allow for confirmation that any legal regulated rent estab-
lished under this act does not exceed the Section 8 Voucher Payment
Standard adopted by the local agency for the same geographic area. This
bill includes incentives for property owners to rent renovated apart-
ments to housing subsidy voucher holders and ensures rent levels are
within Section 8 voucher rent limits.
This bill provides robust tenant protections to prevent harassment and
unlawful eviction of current long-term occupants of rent-regulated hous-
ing. This bill will provide incentives to improve rent-regulated housing
stock while restoring units to the rental market and promoting the
health, safety, and welfare of current and new tenants.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amendments to
chapter 4 of title 26 of the administrative code of the city of New York
made by sections one, two and three of this act shall expire on the same
date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration of such law
as provided under section 26-520 of such law.