BILL NUMBER: S5501
SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to creating
a new acquisition fund for community land trusts located in New York
state
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to promote housing stability and permanent
affordability, especially in communities that might otherwise be subject
to speculative investment in the private housing market that might
displace existing residents, by assisting community land trusts (CLTs)
in acquiring vacant land or housing in need of repair through a new New
York State CLT Acquisition Fund.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends the law governing the Affordable Home
Ownership Development Program, Article 19 of the Private Housing Finance
Law, by amending subdivision 2 and adding a new subdivision 9 to section
1111, specifying that a community land trust as an eligible applicant
under the Program and defining a community land trust.
Section 2 amends the law governing the New York State Housing Finance
Agency, Article 3 of the Private Housing Finance Law, to add a new
section 59-J, creating a New York State CLT Acquisition Fund under the
authority of the Affordable Housing Corporation. The Affordable Housing
Corporation will have the ability to pay into this fund any moneys which
may be made available to it for the purposes of this fund from any
source including but not limited to moneys appropriated by and made
available pursuant to appropriation by the state and any income or
interest earned by, or increment to, the account due to the investment
thereof or loans made pursuant to article nineteen of this chapter. The
monies held in or credited to the acquisition fund established under
this section shall be expended solely to carry out the provisions of
article nineteen of this chapter exclusively for community land trusts
as defined in Article 19, subdivision (9) of section 1111 of the private
housing finance law.
Section 3 sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
One of the largest expenses in creating and preserving affordable hous-
ing in New York is the cost of acquiring property. Currently, New York
state is seeing a growth of community land trusts, a network of not-for-
profit, democratically

Statutes affected:
S5501: 1111 private housing finance law, 1111(2) private housing finance law