NY State Senate Bill 2021-S8564

Senate Bill S8564

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Relates to the percentage of units to be sold to convert certain real property to cooperative or condominium ownership in the city of New York

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Archive: Last Bill Status Via A8809 - Passed Senate

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

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 18, 2022	returned to assembly passed senate 3rd reading cal.1032 substituted for s8564
May 18, 2022	substituted by a8809b
May 05, 2022	advanced to third reading
May 04, 2022	2nd report cal.
May 03, 2022	1st report cal.1032
Mar 14, 2022	referred to housing, construction and community development

Votes

- May 18, 2022 - Floor Vote
  A8809
  
  61
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  2
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: May 18, 2022
      
      aye (61)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Akshar
      
      Bailey
      
      Biaggi
      
      Borrello
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Brisport
      
      Brooks
      
      Cleare
      
      Comrie
      
      Cooney
      
      Felder
      
      Gallivan
      
      Gaughran
      
      Gianaris
      
      Gounardes
      
      Griffo
      
      Harckham
      
      Helming
      
      Hinchey
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jackson
      
      Jordan
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Kaplan
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      Lanza
      
      Liu
      
      Mannion
      
      Martucci
      
      Mattera
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Myrie
      
      O'Mara
      
      Oberacker
      
      Ortt
      
      Palumbo
      
      Parker
      
      Persaud
      
      Ramos
      
      Rath III
      
      Reichlin-Melnick
      
      Ritchie
      
      Rivera
      
      Ryan
      
      Salazar
      
      Savino
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Serino
      
      Serrano
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stec
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Tedisco
      
      Thomas
      
      Weik
      
      excused (2)
      
      Brouk
      
      Sanders Jr.
  May 3, 2022 - Housing, Construction And Community Development Committee Vote
  S8564
  
  9
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  2
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Housing, Construction And Community Development Committee Vote: May 3, 2022
      
      aye (9)
      
      Boyle
      
      Brisport
      
      Jackson
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Mannion
      
      Myrie
      
      Rivera
      
      Ryan
      
      Salazar
      
      aye wr (2)
      
      Helming
      
      Martucci

co-Sponsors

2021-S8564 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8809
Law Section:: General Business Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §352-eeee, Gen Bus L

2021-S8564 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Permits certain buildings with five or fewer units to convert to cooperative or condominium ownership upon written purchase agreements with at least fifteen percent of the dwelling units in the building.

2021-S8564 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8564

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general business law, in relation to the percentage
of units to be sold to convert certain real property to cooperative or
condominium ownership in the city of New York

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To permit owner-occupied buildings with five or fewer units to convert
to cooperative or condominium ownership with fewer restrictions.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of this bill amends section 352-eeee of the General Business
Law to provide that for buildings containing five or fewer units, a plan
may not be declared effective for conversion to cooperative or condomin-
ium ownership until written purchase agreements have been executed and
delivered from either bona fide tenants in occupancy or bona fide
purchasers for occupancy for at least fifteen percent of all dwelling

units in the building.

Section two makes conforming amendments to subdivision two of section
352-eeee of the General Business Law.

Section three sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Recent changes to Section 352-eeee of the General Business Law as
amended by Part N of Chapter 36 of 2019 have severely impacted communi-
ties with small buildings occupied by homeowners. There are many small
buildings in New York City with a limited number of apartments that are
occupied by the owner and several tenants. Until the recent change, only
15% of the units had to be sold to effectively convert the building to a
condominium. Due to the change in the law, if 51% of the tenants now do
not buy their respective units, the building can no longer be converted
to a condominium and the owners cannot sell their unit. This has a nega-
tive impact on both tenants and owners of units in these small build-
ings.

On the tenant side, it serves as an additional obstacle to homeowner-
ship. Before the change in the law, a tenant occupying a unit in a three
to five family house had the option to negotiate the purchase of the
unit they had been renting and living in. This was an attractive option
to tenants, and still is albeit the current obstacles. It is a home they
have been living in and are comfortable with and they are aware of any
potential issues with the unit. It is also a more affordable way to
acquire a home relative to purchasing a single standing house, which is
frequently prohibitively expensive in New York City. This, in turn,
would also incentivize current owners to maintain and improve such rent-
ed units in the event that renters may become potential purchasers.

On the owner side, the change in law affects mobility. Owners occupying
only one unit of a three-family house and who are looking to relocate,
cannot sell their specific unit, which could provide the funds necessary
to purchase a new home.
As a result of the amendment, the ability to convert to condominium or
cooperative ownership has become unrealistic for these small buildings.
To mitigate these concerns for both tenants and owners of these small
buildings, the law should be amended to allow buildings with five or
fewer units to convert to cooperative or condominium ownership by sell-
ing fifteen percent of the units instead of the current fifty-one
percent, as was allowed under the law before the amendment.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after which it shall
have become a law.

2021-S8564 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8564
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 14, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- 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 general business law, in relation to the  percentage
   of units to be sold to convert certain real property to cooperative or
   condominium ownership in the city of New York

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 1 of section 352-eeee  of  the
 general business law, as amended by section 1 of part N of chapter 36 of
 the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   (b)  "Non-eviction  plan".  A plan which may not be declared effective
 until written purchase agreements have been executed and  delivered  for
 at  least  fifty-one  percent  of  all dwelling units in the building or
 group of buildings or development by bona fide tenants who were in occu-
 pancy on the date a letter was issued by the attorney general  accepting
 the  plan  for filing; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT FOR A BUILDING CONTAINING
 FIVE OR FEWER UNITS, AND WHERE THE SPONSOR OF THE OFFERING  PLAN  OFFERS
 THE  UNIT THAT THEY OR THEIR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER HAS OCCUPIED FOR AT
 LEAST TWO YEARS, THE PLAN MAY NOT BE EFFECTIVE  UNTIL  WRITTEN  PURCHASE
 AGREEMENTS HAVE BEEN EXECUTED AND DELIVERED FOR AT LEAST FIFTEEN PERCENT
 OF  ALL  DWELLING  UNITS  IN  THE  BUILDING  SUBSCRIBED FOR BY BONA FIDE
 TENANTS IN OCCUPANCY OR BONA FIDE PURCHASERS  WHO  REPRESENT  THAT  THEY
 INTEND THAT THEY OR ONE OR MORE MEMBERS OF THEIR IMMEDIATE FAMILY OCCUPY
 THE  DWELLING  UNIT WHEN IT BECOMES VACANT. The purchase agreement shall
 be executed and delivered pursuant to an offering  made  in  good  faith
 without  fraud and discriminatory repurchase agreements or other discri-
 minatory inducements.
   § 2. Subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of  subdivision  2  of  section
 352-eeee  of the general business law, as amended by section 1 of part N
 of chapter 36 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   (i) [The] (1) SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF CLAUSE TWO OF THIS SUBPARA-
 GRAPH, THE plan may not be declared  effective  until  written  purchase
 agreements  have  been  executed  and  delivered  for at least fifty-one
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD13595-05-2
 S. 8564                             2
 
 percent of all dwelling units in the building or group of  buildings  or
 development subscribed for by bona fide tenants in occupancy on the date
 a  letter  was  issued  by  the  attorney general accepting the plan for
 filing  for  which  purchase  agreement  shall be executed and delivered
 pursuant to an offering made without  discriminatory  repurchase  agree-
 ments or other discriminatory inducements.
   (2)  FOR BUILDINGS CONTAINING FIVE OR FEWER UNITS, THE PLAN MAY NOT BE
 DECLARED EFFECTIVE UNTIL WRITTEN PURCHASE AGREEMENTS HAVE BEEN  EXECUTED
 AND  DELIVERED FOR AT LEAST FIFTEEN PERCENT OF ALL DWELLING UNITS IN THE
 BUILDING SUBSCRIBED FOR BY BONA FIDE TENANTS IN OCCUPANCY OR  BONA  FIDE
 PURCHASERS  WHO  REPRESENT  THAT  THEY  INTEND  THAT THEY OR ONE OR MORE
 MEMBERS OF THEIR IMMEDIATE FAMILY  OCCUPY  THE  DWELLING  UNIT  WHEN  IT
 BECOMES  VACANT,  PROVIDED  THAT THE SPONSOR OF THE OFFERING PLAN OFFERS
 THE UNIT THAT THEY OR THEIR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER HAVE OCCUPIED FOR AT
 LEAST TWO YEARS. AS TO TENANTS WHO WERE  IN  OCCUPANCY  ON  THE  DATE  A
 LETTER WAS ISSUED BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACCEPTING THE PLAN FILING, THE
 PURCHASE AGREEMENT SHALL BE EXECUTED AND DELIVERED PURSUANT TO AN OFFER-
 ING MADE WITHOUT DISCRIMINATORY REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS OR OTHER DISCRIMI-
 NATORY INDUCEMENTS.
   §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
 this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
 on or before such date.

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Senate Bill S8564

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Sponsored By

Andrew Gounardes