NY State Senate Bill 2015-S498

Senate Bill S498

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Requires the division of housing and community renewal to calculate the period of rent reduction due to diminution of services from the date of actual diminution of the services

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Cities 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

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2016	referred to cities
Jan 07, 2015	referred to cities

2015-S498 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Cities
Law Section:: New York City
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S4884
2017-2018: S94
2019-2020: S15
2021-2022: S692
2023-2024: S3233

2015-S498 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires the division of housing and community renewal to calculate the period of rent reduction due to diminution of services from the date of actual diminution of the services.

2015-S498 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S498

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act in relation to requiring the division of
housing and community renewal to calculate the period of rent
reduction due to diminution of services from the date of actual
diminution of the services

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section One of the legislation states that notwithstanding any law,
rule, or regulation to the contrary, any rent reduction attributable
to diminution of services shall be calculated by the division of
housing and community renewal to be effective upon the date that the
diminution of service commenced, regardless of when that diminution of
services was reported to the division or the date upon which the
diminution of services was addressed by the division. Such rent
reduction shall be applicable to the entire period in which it is
found the services were not maintained in full.

 EXISTING LAW : New law.

 JUSTIFICATION :  This bill directs the Division of Housing and
Community Renewal (DHCR) that any rent reduction for diminution of
services should be effective for the entire period for which it is
found that the services have not been maintained.

Current DHCR policy with respect to rent reductions for regulated
tenants who have experienced a diminution of services in their
apartment or building is incompatible with the Rent Stabilization Code
(RSC), and runs the risk of denying tenants compensation to which they
are otherwise entitled.

The DHCR's "Fact Sheet 14: Rent Reductions for Decreased Services"
says that rent regulated tenants who experience a decrease in service
in an individual apartment or building-wide must first contact the
owner about the complaint in writing. If that does not resolve the
problem, the tenant may file a complaint with the DHCR. If the
evidence indicates that the owner failed to maintain required
services, the DHCR can issue a written order that directs the owner to
restore services and reduces the rent for the apartment.

It is DHCR's practice, and Fact Sheet 14 states, that "The effective
date for rent stabilized tenants is retroactive back to the first day
of the month following DHCR's service of the complaint on the owner.
For rent controlled tenants, the effective date is the first day of
the month after the order is issued." However, if tenants are denied
their contractually obligated services, their remedy should not be
limited to the period after DHCR has had time to serve notice on the
owner.

In fact, Section 2523.4(a)(1) of the RSC provides that "the DHCR shall
so reduce the rent for the period for which it is found that the owner
has failed to maintain required services," This bill would bring DHCR
practice into compliance with the RSC.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :  S.4884-A of 2013-2014 (Hoylman): Died in
Cities

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS : To be determined

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :  To be determined

 EFFECTIVE DATE :  This act shall take effect immediately and shall
apply to all pending and future proceedings.

2015-S498 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                   498

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                               (PREFILED)

                             January 7, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities

AN ACT in relation to requiring the division of  housing  and  community
  renewal to calculate the period of rent reduction due to diminution of
  services from the date of actual diminution of the services

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

  Section 1. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the  contra-
ry,  any  rent reduction attributable to diminution of services shall be
calculated by the division of housing and community renewal to be effec-
tive upon the date that the diminution of service commenced,  regardless
of  when the diminution of services was reported to the division or that
date upon which the diminution of services was addressed  by  the  divi-
sion.  Such  rent  reduction shall be applicable to the entire period of
time the services were not maintained in full.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  all
pending and future proceedings.





 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01219-01-5

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.