NY State Senate Bill 2011-S448

Senate Bill S448

2011-2012 Legislative Session

Prohibits an owner from adjusting the amount of preferential rent upon the renewal of a lease

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 12, 2012	committee discharged and committed to rules
Feb 21, 2012	notice of committee consideration - requested
Jan 04, 2012	referred to housing, construction and community development
Apr 13, 2011	defeated in housing, construction and community development
Mar 18, 2011	notice of committee consideration - requested
Jan 05, 2011	referred to housing, construction and community development

Votes

- Apr 13, 2011 - Housing, Construction And Community Development Committee Vote
  S448
  
  2
  
  Aye
  
  4
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  2
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Housing, Construction And Community Development Committee Vote: Apr 13, 2011
      
      aye (2)
      
      Espaillat
      
      Krueger
      
      nay (4)
      
      Bonacic
      
      Grisanti
      
      Ritchie
      
      Young
      
      excused (2)
      
      Diaz
      
      Gallivan

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2011-S448 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974
Laws Affected:: Amd §10, Emerg Ten Prot Act of 1974; amd §26-511, NYC Ad Cd
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S2251
2013-2014: S1775
2015-2016: S2828
2017-2018: S3712, S6527
2019-2020: S2845

2011-S448 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits an owner from adjusting the amount of preferential rent, rent charged and paid by the tenant which is less than the legal regulated rent for the housing accommodation, upon the renewal of a lease; only allows the owner to make such adjustments upon a vacancy which is not the result of the failure of the owner to maintain a habitable residence.

2011-S448 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S448

TITLE OF BILL:
An  act  to  amend  the  emergency  tenant  protection act of nineteen
seventy-four and the administrative code of the city of New  York,  in
relation to the regulation of rents

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To  prohibit  an  owner from adjusting the amount of preferential rent
upon the renewal of a lease.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Subdivision a-2 of section 10 of section 4  of  chapter  576  provides
that  where  the  amount  of rent charged to and paid by the tenant is
less than the legal regulated rent for the housing accommodation,  the
amount of rent for such housing accommodation may only be increased to
the   previously  established  regulated  rent,  as  adjusted  by  all
applicable guidelines increases and other increases authorized by law;
provided, however, that such  vacancy  shall  not  be  caused  by  the
failure  of the owner or an agent of the owner to maintain the housing
accommodation  in  compliance   with   the   statutory   warranty   of
habitability.  The law is also deletes provisions that permit an owner
to abandon a preferential rent upon renewal of a lease.

JUSTIFICATION:
As housing costs increase exponentially across the city of  New  York,

the  displacement  of working families and middle class residents from
rent regulated apartments  has  reached  crisis  proportions.  Without
question,  the  displacement is aggravated by the ability of landlords
to abandon a preferential rent upon the renewal of a lease.

Prior to a change in law, a preferential rent was  permanent  for  the
duration  of  a  tenancy,  and  could  only be increased upon vacancy.
However, as a result of an unfortunate provision inserted into the law
during the eleventh hour in  2003,  landlords  are  now  permitted  to
abandon  a discounted, preferential rent and impose the statutory rent
upon vacancy or renewal  of  a  lease.  Pursuant  to  this  provision,
tenants  throughout New York city have faced sudden, unanticipated and
staggering rent increases upon lease renewal, often forcing  them  out
of rent-regulated apartments.

Equally  problematic,  there  is no "clean hands" requirement that the
landlord conduct itself responsibly in order to abandon a preferential
rent and impose the maximum rent upon a vacancy.   Consequently, if  a
tenant  leaves an apartment that is uninhabitable due to lack of heat,
hot water, electricity, repairs or sanitary conditions,  the  landlord
remains  eligible to dramatically increase the rent upon vacancy of an
apartment. As a result, current law encourages bad actors  to  deprive
tenants  of a habitable apartment in order to benefit from the ability
to abandon a preferential rent.

In order to stem  the  displacement  crisis  in  New  York  City,  and
preserve  the  affordable  housing  stock  that  remains  available to
working families and moderate-income residents,  the  rent  regulation
laws  are in need of comprehensive reform. Substantial modification of


the  preferential  rent  provisions  is  an  important  step  in  that
direction.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2009-2010:  S.2251/A.465-A

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE & LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2011-S448 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                   448

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 5, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens. KRUEGER, DIAZ, HASSELL-THOMPSON, HUNTLEY, PERALTA,
  PERKINS, SERRANO, STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction  and
  Community Development

AN  ACT  to amend the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seven-
  ty-four and the administrative code  of  the  city  of  New  York,  in
  relation to the regulation of rents

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision a-2 of section 10 of section 4 of  chapter  576
of the laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of
nineteen  seventy-four,  as  added by chapter 82 of the laws of 2003, is
amended to read as follows:
  [a-2.] (A-2) Provides that where the amount of  rent  charged  to  and
paid by the tenant is less than the legal regulated rent for the housing
accommodation,  the  amount of rent for such housing accommodation which
may be charged [upon renewal or] upon vacancy thereof may, at the option
of the owner, be based upon such previously established legal  regulated
rent,  as  adjusted  by  [the  most  recent]  ALL  applicable guidelines
increases and other increases authorized by law; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT
SUCH VACANCY SHALL NOT BE CAUSED BY THE FAILURE OF THE OWNER OR AN AGENT
OF THE OWNER, TO MAINTAIN THE HOUSING ACCOMMODATION IN  COMPLIANCE  WITH
THE WARRANTY OF HABITABILITY SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION TWO
HUNDRED  THIRTY-FIVE-B  OF  THE REAL PROPERTY LAW.  Where, subsequent to
vacancy, such legal regulated rent,  as  adjusted  by  the  most  recent
applicable  guidelines  increases  and any other increases authorized by
law is two thousand dollars or more per  month,  such  housing  accommo-
dation  shall  be  excluded  from the provisions of this act pursuant to
paragraph thirteen of subdivision a of section five of this act.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01227-01-1

S. 448                              2

  S 2. Paragraph 14 of subdivision c of section 26-511 of  the  adminis-
trative code of the city of New York, as added by chapter 82 of the laws
of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
  (14) provides that where the amount of rent charged to and paid by the
tenant  is  less  than the legal regulated rent for the housing accommo-
dation, the amount of rent for such housing accommodation which  may  be
charged [upon renewal or] upon vacancy thereof may, at the option of the
owner,  be  based upon such previously established legal regulated rent,
as adjusted by the most recent applicable guidelines increases  and  any
other  increases authorized by law; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH VACANCY
SHALL NOT BE CAUSED BY THE FAILURE OF THE  OWNER  OR  AN  AGENT  OF  THE
OWNER,  TO  MAINTAIN  THE  HOUSING  ACCOMMODATION IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE
WARRANTY OF HABITABILITY SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF  SECTION  TWO
HUNDRED  THIRTY-FIVE-B  OF  THE REAL PROPERTY LAW.  Where, subsequent to
vacancy, such legal regulated rent, as adjusted by [the most recent] ALL
applicable guidelines increases and any other  increases  authorized  by
law  is  two  thousand  dollars or more per month, such housing accommo-
dation shall be excluded from the provisions of  this  law  pursuant  to
section 26-504.2 of this chapter.
  S  3.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
the amendments to section 10 of the emergency tenant protection  act  of
nineteen  seventy-four  made  by section one of this act shall expire on
the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of
such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws  of  1974;
and provided, further, that the amendments to section 26-511 of the rent
stabilization  law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by section two 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.

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