BILL NUMBER: S127
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and the
real property actions and proceedings law, in relation to granting legal
services to small property owners
 
PURPOSE:
This bill will serve to ensure that counsel is provided to small proper-
ty owners who can prove losses of twenty percent or more in a calendar
year
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds an undesignated twelfth paragraph to section 26-1301
defining small property owner to cite such definition applies to land-
lords who own 20 units of rental property or less.
Section 2 adds subdivision e to section 26-1303 of the administrative
code of the city of New York to grant small property owners legal coun-
sel if they can prove a loss of at least twenty percent of rent payments
in a calendar year.
Section 3 adds section 703 to the real property actions and proceedings
law to cite the same definition as provided in section 1, statewide.
Section 4 adds section 770-a to grant legal counsel to small property
owners who can prove losses of twenty percent or more.
Section 5 provides the effective date of 90 days after the bills
passage.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The housing crisis in New York is not limited to tenants and residents
of real property. This bill will ensure that those real property owners
who have operated independently for years are able to access much needed
legal counsel to resolve disputes related to all issues from rent non-
payment to foreclosure. That includes property owners facing foreclo-
sure, evicting tenants who do not provide payment, and ensuring rent
payments can be collected by tenants in order to continue paying the
mortgage. In the absence of remedies found by federal, state, or local
governments, we continue to see a growing wealth gap in real property
ownership. This provision is essential to maintaining real property
ownership by the middle-class.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S6386 Comrie/ A6817 Vanel
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Ninety days from this act becoming law.

Statutes affected:
S127: 26-1301 administrative code of the city of New York as added by local law