NY State Senate Bill 2015-S3581

Senate Bill S3581

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Requires landlord to grant access to engineer or architect hired by tenants to inspect major capital improvements in certain multiple dwellings

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Housing, Construction And Community Development 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2016	referred to housing, construction and community development
Feb 12, 2015	referred to housing, construction and community development

co-Sponsors

2015-S3581 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Housing, Construction And Community Development
Law Section:: New York City Administrative Code
Laws Affected:: Amd §§26-405, 26-511 & 26-520, NYC Ad Cd; amd §6, Emerg Ten Prot Act of 1974
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S1443
2011-2012: S1282
2013-2014: S837, S86
2017-2018: S3643, S3874
2019-2020: S4818
2021-2022: S5387
2023-2024: S6852

2015-S3581 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides that no landlord shall deny access to a licensed professional engineer or licensed registered architect hired by any tenant or tenant association representing tenants of a multiple dwelling of six units or more for the purpose of conducting an inspection of a major capital improvement for which an application for a maximum rent adjustment has been filed by the landlord; provides that such inspection shall be conducted after notice to the landlord and during normal business hours; provides for the filing of such inspection report by such tenants with the New York city rent agency for consideration in such application's determination.

2015-S3581 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S3581

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 inspection of major capital improvements for which rent
increases are requested and in relation to extending the provisions of
the rent stabilization law

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

This legislation would require landlords of rent-stabilized and rent
controlled apartment buildings who are applying for major capital
improvement increases to allow access to a professional engineer or
architect hired by the tenant, tenants or tenants' association to
inspect the improvements done by the landlord. In turn, the report
filed by the engineer or architect can be submitted with the NYC rent
agency or the State Division of Housing and Community Renewal by the
tenants in objection to the major capital improvement increase.

JUSTIFICATION:

In order to receive a major capital improvement rent increase, a
landlord must file a report with the Division of Housing and Community
Renewal (DHCR) which sends a copy of that report to the tenants of the

building. The DHCR then gives the tenants an opportunity to verify the
information in the report, and, if the tenants disagree with the
landlord's claims, to object to the proposed rent increase. In order
for tenants to verify what is stated in the landlord's report, they
must be able to hire experts to inspect the improvements described in
the report. Presently, landlords can deny access to engineers or
architects hired by the tenants. This legislation requires landlords
to allow access to engineers or architects hired by the tenants to
inspect building improvements, and enables tenants to use reports
prepared by their experts to object to the proposed rent increase.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

1999-2000: S.3671 Died in Senate Housing Committee
2001-2002: S.2043 Died in Senate Housing Committee
2003-2004: S.627 Died in Senate Housing Committee
2003-2004: S.627 Died in Senate Housing Committee
2005-2006: S.4156 Died in Senate Housing Committee
2009: S.1443/A.1357 Died in Senate Housing/Died in Assembly Housing
2010:S.1443/A.1357 Died in Senate Housing/Died in Assembly Codes

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect on the 120th day after it shall have become
a law.

2015-S3581 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  3581

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 12, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  ESPAILLAT,  HOYLMAN,  KRUEGER  --  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 administrative code of the city of New York and the
  emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in  relation
  to  inspection  of major capital improvements for which rent increases
  are requested and in relation to extending the provisions of the  rent
  stabilization law

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

  Section 1. Subparagraph (g) of paragraph 1 of subdivision g of section
26-405 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by
chapter 749 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
  (g) There has been since July first, nineteen hundred seventy, a major
capital improvement required for the operation, preservation or  mainte-
nance  of  the  structure.  An  adjustment under this subparagraph [(g)]
shall be in an amount sufficient to amortize the cost  of  the  improve-
ments  pursuant to this subparagraph [(g)] over a seven-year period.  NO
LANDLORD SHALL DENY ACCESS TO A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER LICENSED TO  PRAC-
TICE  IN  THE  STATE  OF  NEW YORK OR A REGISTERED ARCHITECT LICENSED TO
PRACTICE IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK HIRED BY ANY TENANT, TENANTS OR TENANT
ASSOCIATION REPRESENTING TENANTS OF A MULTIPLE DWELLING OF SIX UNITS  OR
MORE  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  CONDUCTING AN INSPECTION OF A MAJOR CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENT FOR WHICH AN APPLICATION FOR ADJUSTMENT OF MAXIMUM RENT  HAS
BEEN FILED. SUCH INSPECTION SHALL BE CONDUCTED AFTER NOTICE TO THE LAND-
LORD  AND  DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS. SUCH TENANT MAY FILE THE REPORT
OF THE INSPECTION WITH THE CITY RENT AGENCY  FOR  CONSIDERATION  IN  THE
DETERMINATION OF SUCH APPLICATION; or
  S 2. Paragraph 6 of subdivision c of section 26-511 of the administra-
tive code of the city of New York, as amended by chapter 116 of the laws
of 1997, is amended to read as follows:

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD08551-01-5

S. 3581                             2

  (6)  provides  criteria whereby the commissioner may act upon applica-
tions by owners for increases in  excess  of  the  level  of  fair  rent
increase  established under this law provided, however, that such crite-
ria shall provide (a) as to hardship applications, for  a  finding  that
the level of fair rent increase is not sufficient to enable the owner to
maintain  approximately  the same average annual net income (which shall
be computed without regard to debt service, financing costs  or  manage-
ment  fees)  for the three year period ending on or within six months of
the date of an application pursuant to such criteria  as  compared  with
annual  net income, which prevailed on the average over the period nine-
teen hundred sixty-eight through nineteen hundred seventy,  or  for  the
first three years of operation if the building was completed since nine-
teen  hundred  sixty-eight  or  for the first three fiscal years after a
transfer of title to a new owner provided the new owner can establish to
the satisfaction of the commissioner that he or she  acquired  title  to
the  building as a result of a bona fide sale of the entire building and
that the new owner is unable to obtain requisite records for the  fiscal
years  nineteen  hundred  sixty-eight  through  nineteen hundred seventy
despite diligent efforts to obtain same from predecessors in  title  and
further  provided that the new owner can provide financial data covering
a minimum of six years under his or  her  continuous  and  uninterrupted
operation  of  the building to meet the three year to three year compar-
ative test periods herein provided; and (b) as  to  completed  building-
wide  major  capital  improvements, for a finding that such improvements
are deemed depreciable under the Internal Revenue Code and that the cost
is to be amortized over a seven-year period, based  upon  cash  purchase
price  exclusive  of interest or service charges. NO LANDLORD SHALL DENY
ACCESS TO A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER LICENSED TO PRACTICE IN THE  STATE  OF
NEW  YORK OR A REGISTERED ARCHITECT LICENSED TO PRACTICE IN THE STATE OF
NEW YORK HIRED BY ANY TENANT, TENANTS OR TENANT ASSOCIATION REPRESENTING
TENANTS OF A MULTIPLE DWELLING OF SIX UNITS OR MORE FOR THE  PURPOSE  OF
CONDUCTING  AN  INSPECTION  OF  A MAJOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FOR WHICH AN
APPLICATION  FOR  ADJUSTMENT  OF  MAXIMUM  RENT  HAS  BEEN  FILED.  SUCH
INSPECTION  SHALL  BE  CONDUCTED AFTER NOTICE TO THE LANDLORD AND DURING
NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS. SUCH TENANT MAY FILE THE REPORT OF THE INSPECTION
WITH THE CITY RENT AGENCY FOR CONSIDERATION IN THE DETERMINATION OF SUCH
APPLICATION. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained  herein,
no  hardship  increase  granted  pursuant  to this paragraph shall, when
added to the annual gross rents,  as  determined  by  the  commissioner,
exceed  the sum of, (i) the annual operating expenses, (ii) an allowance
for management services as determined by the commissioner, (iii)  actual
annual  mortgage debt service (interest and amortization) on its indebt-
edness to a lending institution, an insurance company, a retirement fund
or welfare fund which is operated under the supervision of  the  banking
or  insurance  laws  of  the state of New York or the United States, and
(iv) eight and one-half percent of that portion of the fair market value
of the property which exceeds the unpaid principal amount of  the  mort-
gage  indebtedness  referred to in subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph.
Fair market value for the purposes of this paragraph shall be six  times
the  annual gross rent. The collection of any increase in the stabilized
rent for any apartment pursuant to this paragraph shall not  exceed  six
percent  in  any  year from the effective date of the order granting the
increase over the rent set forth in the schedule of  gross  rents,  with
collectability  of any dollar excess above said sum to be spread forward
in similar increments and added to the stabilized rent as established or
set in future years;

S. 3581                             3

  S 3. Paragraph 3 of subdivision d of section 6 of section 4 of chapter
576 of the laws of 1974, constituting the  emergency  tenant  protection
act  of  nineteen seventy-four, as amended by chapter 749 of the laws of
1990, is amended to read as follows:
   (3) there has been since January first, nineteen hundred seventy-four
a  major capital improvement required for the operation, preservation or
maintenance of the structure. An adjustment under this  paragraph  shall
be  in  an  amount  sufficient  to amortize the cost of the improvements
pursuant to this paragraph over a seven-year period.  NO LANDLORD  SHALL
DENY ACCESS TO A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER LICENSED TO PRACTICE IN THE STATE
OF  NEW YORK OR A REGISTERED ARCHITECT LICENSED TO PRACTICE IN THE STATE
OF NEW YORK HIRED BY ANY TENANT, TENANTS OR TENANT  ASSOCIATION  REPRES-
ENTING  TENANTS  OF  A  MULTIPLE  DWELLING  OF SIX UNITS OR MORE FOR THE
PURPOSE OF CONDUCTING AN INSPECTION OF A MAJOR CAPITAL  IMPROVEMENT  FOR
WHICH AN APPLICATION FOR ADJUSTMENT OF MAXIMUM RENT HAS BEEN FILED. SUCH
INSPECTION  SHALL  BE  CONDUCTED AFTER NOTICE TO THE LANDLORD AND DURING
NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS. SUCH TENANT MAY FILE THE REPORT OF THE INSPECTION
WITH THE CITY RENT AGENCY FOR CONSIDERATION IN THE DETERMINATION OF SUCH
APPLICATION, or
  S 4. Section 26-520 of the administrative code  of  the  city  of  New
York,  as amended by local law number 16 of the city of New York for the
year 2012, is amended to read as follows:
  S 26-520 Expiration date. This chapter shall expire  on  April  first,
two  thousand [fifteen] EIGHTEEN unless rent control shall sooner termi-
nate as provided in subdivision three of section one of the local  emer-
gency housing rent control law.
  S 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
it shall have become a law, except that any rules and regulations neces-
sary  for  the  timely  implementation of this act on its effective date
shall be promulgated on or before such date; provided that the amendment
to section 26-405 of the  city  rent  and  rehabilitation  law  made  by
section  one  of  this act shall remain in full force and effect only so
long as the public emergency requiring the  regulation  and  control  of
residential  rents and evictions continues, as provided in subdivision 3
of section 1 of  the  local  emergency  housing  rent  control  act  and
provided  further  that  the  amendment  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 and provided further that the amendment to  section  6  of  the
emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four made by section
three  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, as amended.

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Senate Bill S3581

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Sponsored By

Adriano Espaillat