S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
8018
I N S E N A T E
June 6, 2016
___________
Introduced by Sen. FELDER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to rentals
in projects provided under limited-profit housing companies and to
repeal subdivision 5 of section 31 of such law, relating to continued
occupancy by certain tenants in such projects
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 31 of the private housing finance
law, as amended by chapter 778 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read
as follows:
3. (A) In the event that the income of a person or family in occupancy
should increase and exceed the maximum prescribed by law for admission
or for continued occupancy, based on the latest existing rent, by more
than twenty-five per centum, such person or family shall be subject to
removal from the dwelling, non-housekeeping, aged care accommodations or
non-housekeeping accommodations for handicapped persons provided, howev-
er, that such person or family may be permitted to remain in occupancy
until such income exceeds the maximum prescribed by law by more than
fifty per centum, if the company, with the approval of the commissioner
or the supervising agency, shall determine that removal would cause
hardship to such person or family. Any person or family in occupancy
whose income exceeds the maximum prescribed by law shall pay a rental
surcharge in accordance with a schedule of surcharges to be promulgated
by the company with the approval of the commissioner or the supervising
agency, as the case may be, provided, however, such rental surcharge
shall in no event exceed fifty per centum of the existing rent.
(B) NOTWITHSTANDING PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, ANY SUCH PERSON
OR FAMILY IN OCCUPANCY WHOSE INCOME EXCEEDS SUCH MAXIMUM IN A MUNICIPAL-
LY-AIDED PROJECT IN A CITY WITH A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE
SHALL, WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE SUPERVISING AGENCY, PAY A RENTAL
SURCHARGE IN ACCORDANCE WITH A SCHEDULE OF SURCHARGES TO BE PROMULGATED
BY THE SUPERVISING AGENCY, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH RENTAL SURCHARGE
SHALL IN NO EVENT EXCEED TWO HUNDRED PER CENTUM OF THE EXISTING RENT.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15660-02-6
S. 8018 2
S 2. Subdivision 5 of section 31 of the private housing finance law is
REPEALED.
S 3. Paragraphs (a) and (a-1) of subdivision 1 of section 125 of the
private housing finance law, paragraph (a) as amended by chapter 566 of
the laws of 1993 and paragraph (a-1) as added by chapter 140 of the laws
of 1987, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The local legislative body of any municipality in which a project
of such company is or is to be located may by contract agree with any
redevelopment company to exempt from local and municipal taxes, other
than assessments for local improvements, all or part of the value of the
property included in such project which represents an increase over the
assessed valuation of the real property, both land and improvements,
acquired for the project at the time of its acquisition by the redevel-
opment company which originally undertook the project and for such defi-
nite period of years as such contract may provide, except that where the
real property in a project was acquired for purposes of rehabilitation,
the local legislative body either may utilize the foregoing formula or
may agree to exempt from such taxes all or part of the value of the
property included in such project on condition that the amount of such
taxes to be paid shall not be less than ten per centum of the annual
shelter rent or carrying charges of such rehabilitation project. The tax
exemption shall not operate for a period of more than twenty-five years,
commencing in each instance from the date on which the benefits of such
exemption first become available and effective; provided, however, that
with respect to a project either acquired by a mutual redevelopment
company pursuant to section one hundred twenty-six OF THIS ARTICLE or
owned and continuing to be owned by a mutual redevelopment company which
would require substantial increases in carrying charges after the period
of tax exemption is ended unless relief is provided, the local legisla-
tive body may contract with such mutual redevelopment company to extend
such tax exemption for not more than twenty-five additional years at a
rate of tax exemption not to exceed an average of fifty per centum
during such additional period, provided that the tax exemption during
the first two years of such additional period shall continue at the rate
of the tax exemption of such project immediately preceding the termi-
nation of the initial twenty-five year period and that the tax exemption
thereafter shall be decreased in equal biennial decrements, the first of
which shall occur immediately following such two year period, and
provided that such contract shall contain provisions as to income limi-
tations relating to admission and continued occupancy of the project and
provisions as to rental surcharges to the same effect as are contained
in subdivisions two, three[,] AND four [and five] of section thirty-one
OF THIS CHAPTER, except that in the case of projects owned and continu-
ing to be owned by mutual redevelopment companies, persons or families
whose probable aggregate annual income does not exceed the median income
for families of the same size in the same metropolitan area shall also
be eligible for admission to the project on the understanding that any
person or family becoming eligible by reason hereof whose probable
aggregate annual income at the time of admission or during the period of
occupancy exceeds, the greater of (i) the median income for such persons
or families for the metropolitan statistical area in which the project
is located, or if a project is located outside a metropolitan statis-
tical area, the median income for such persons or families for the coun-
ty in which the project is located, as most recently determined by the
United States department of housing and urban development, in which case
any person or family becoming eligible for admission pursuant to this
S. 8018 3
subparagraph shall pay, from the time of admission, a rental surcharge
as provided for in subdivision three of section thirty-one of this chap-
ter, computed on the basis of the income limitations applicable to such
persons or families in the absence of this subparagraph, or (ii) six
times the rental shall be liable for payment of rental surcharges here-
under computed on the basis of such ratio, except that in the case of
families with three or more dependents such ratio shall be seven to one;
and provided further that with respect to a project which is or is to be
permanently financed by a federally-aided mortgage, the tax exemption
shall operate for so long as such mortgage is outstanding, but in no
event for a period of more than forty years, commencing in each instance
from the date on which the benefits of such exemption first become
available and effective; and provided further that with respect to a
project which is or is to be permanently financed by a loan from the New
York city housing development corporation, the tax exemption shall oper-
ate for so long as such loan is outstanding.
(a-1) Where the redevelopment contract between a mutual redevelopment
company and the local legislative body under which the initial tax
exemption was granted contains provisions different from those in subdi-
visions two, three[,] AND four [and five] of section thirty-one of this
chapter, then a contract to extend the tax exemption for an additional
period under paragraph (a) of this subdivision may provide that those
provisions of the redevelopment contract shall continue to apply (with
such modifications as the supervising agency of such mutual redevelop-
ment company shall approve) during the additional period as if such
additional period were the initial period of tax exemption for such
mutual redevelopment company, notwithstanding the provisions of para-
graph (a) of this subdivision to the contrary.
S 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided however that:
(i) the amendments to subdivision 3 of section 31 of the private housing
finance law, made by section one of this act, shall take effect July 1,
2017; and (ii) any rule or regulation necessary for the timely implemen-
tation of any provision of this act may be promulgated, any procedures,
forms, or instructions necessary for such implementation may be adopted
and issued, and any other acts by any governmental agency necessary for
such implementation may be taken, on or before the effective date of any
provision of this act.