BILL NUMBER: S5767                   Revised 1/25/18

SPONSOR: LANZA
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the multiple dwelling law, in relating
to clarifying certain provisions relating to the occupancy of certain
class A multiple dwellings

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Authorizes the temporary occupancy, for compensation, of a class A
multiple dwelling that is a cooperative or condominium unit under
certain conditions

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends the multiple dwelling law to allow inci-
dental and occasional occupancy in exchange for monetary compensation in
a cooperative or condominium unit occupied by owners or tenant share-
holders for fewer than thirty consecutive days by other natural persons
when the permanent occupant is temporarily absent for personal reasons
such as vacation or medical treatment provided that:
              

The permanent occupant is the lawful owner or shareholder of such dwell-
ing and it is their primary or secondary residence;

The owner does not own or control any other class A multiple dwelling
being occupied or made available for occupancy for fewer than thirty
consecutive days by other natural person;

The owner cannot rent out their unit on a temporary basis more than 90
total days in any calendar year and;

All applicable state and local taxes and fees are collected and remitted
in accordance with applicable law.

Section 2 of the bill provides for an immediate effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The purpose of the bill is to provide a narrow exemption for certain
owner-occupied class A multiple dwellings units to be made available for
rent on a short-term basis (less than 30 days). Specifically, the bill
would allow an owner of a co-op or condominium unit to rent their unit
for less than 30 days when they are temporarily absent for personal
reasons such as vacation or medical treatment provided that all applica-
ble state and local taxes associated with a short term rental are
collected and remitted. Additionally, to prevent multiple listings, a
condo or co-op owner cannot own or control more than 1 unit being rented
on a short term basis or made available for short term rental. This
legislation would not abrogate or annul the by-laws of a cooperative or
condominium that currently prohibit or restrict this short term rental
activity in their buildings nor would it restrict a building owner's
rights or the authority of a governing board to prohibit or restrict
this activity in their building in the future.

Current NY Multiple Dwellings Law, as amended in 2010 in response to an
ongoing issue in New York City with single room occupancy (SRO) build-
ings being used as illegal hotels, prohibits temporary occupancies (less
than 30-days) in all Class A Multiple Dwellings.  Under the definition
of Class A Multiple Dwelling, this prohibition applies to Condominium
and Co-Op units but does not include 1 and 2 family homes.

This bill is targeted to help another group of home-owners that live in
Condo or Co-op units and would like to rent their units out on a short
term basis, thereby providing tax revenue and tourism dollars to the
state and city.

The prohibition on temporary occupancies in apartments and all other
Class A Multiple Dwellings except for owner-occupied condos and co-ops
will remain. The existing prohibition on short term rentals in apart-
ments, especially rent stabilized and rent controlled units will not be
effected.

Affording certain homeowners the ability to rent out their units on a
short term basis is consistent with the original intent of the 2010
Multiple Dwellings Law changes which exempted 1 and 2 family property
owners from the restriction of short term rentals. While the existing
law as written is broad in its application, providing this limited
exemption for condo and co-op owners to temporarily rent their units for
less than 30 days, clarifies the law in a way to put the focus of the
law's force squarely where it should be to protect the public - away
from home owners and targeted at, SROs and illegal hotels in rental
units.

By preserving the right of a building owner or a governing board that
has been elected by owners or tenant-shareholders of a building to limit
or restrict this activity, this bill keeps the control of the activity
under the responsibility of the building to collectively decide what is
best for all of the owners and tenant-shareholders of the building.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017: S.5767 - Referred to Housing, Construction & Community Development
/ A.8331 - Referred to Housing

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

This bill will result in increased revenue to the State and New York
City.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.