S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1037
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 13, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. WALKER, DE LOS SANTOS, LUCAS, SIMON, TAYLOR --
   read once and referred to the Committee on Housing
 
 AN ACT relating to protecting the rights of current and converted  Mitc-
   hell-Lama residents
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Protecting the rights of current  and  converted  Mitchell-
 Lama  residents.  1.  New  York  State  Homes  and Community Renewal, in
 consultation with the New York City Department of Housing  Preservation,
 shall  appoint an independent agency or office, which will solicit resi-
 dent complaints and will provide unbiased grievance and complaint proce-
 dures that are consistent with the administrative procedures act.    The
 independent  agency  or  office will handle all Mitchell-Lama complaints
 including, but not limited to, the following:
   a. owner/management company/co-op board harassment and abuse;
   b. enjoying the benefit of unnecessarily and  financially  unsupported
 rent/carrying charge increases;
   c.   failure  to  adequately  reconcile  tenant  rent/carrying  charge
 records;
   d. failure to provide essential services on a consistent basis;
   e. failure to provide a decent, sanitary and safe living environment;
   f. failure to hold open and transparent co-op board elections;
   g. failure to notify and include all residents of building/development
 conversions; and
   h. failure to lower rents/carrying  charges  for  eligible  residents,
 when  a  subsidy  program that is already in development will lower that
 resident's rent/carrying charges.
   2. The practice of approving refinancing and/or conversion  "windfall"
 deals  shall be eliminated unless the ownership, managing agents, co-ops
 boards, the New York city supervised  Mitchell-Lama  developments  (HPD)
 and  the New York state supervised Mitchell-Lama developments (DHCR) can
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04606-01-3
              

 A. 1037                             2
 
 produce verified financial  documentation  from  the  comptroller  which
 accounts  for every dollar spent during the ten year period prior to the
 application for refinancing and/or conversion.
   3.  All  rent  and  carrying charge increases approved by HPD and DHCR
 shall receive final approval from the respective New York  city  or  New
 York  state  comptroller  and  he  or  she shall have certified that the
 increase is financially necessary and supported by  a  comptroller-veri-
 fied financial review of expenses, assets and income.
   4.  Unless  the comptroller with the jurisdiction officially agrees to
 monitor and confirm the validity and  accuracy  of  future  expenses  or
 losses,  owners  and  co-op boards shall not be permitted to continue to
 receive rent/carrying charge increases based on those projections.
   5. Unless a resident's household income confirms that  he  or  she  is
 subject to a surcharge, there shall be no audit surcharges.
   6.  Legal representation and adequate pro se litigant support shall be
 provided by the state of  New  York  for  litigants  in  landlord/tenant
 cases.
   7.  A  comprehensive help desk shall be provided by the supreme courts
 of the state of New York to support pro se litigants.
   8. Judges and court staff with knowledge and experience with the Mitc-
 hell-Lama law and regulations shall oversee  all  Mitchell-Lama  related
 cases.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.