§ 3. Local determination of emergency; end of emergency. a. The
existence of public emergency requiring the regulation of residential
rents for all or any class or classes of housing accommodations,
including any plot or parcel of land which had been rented prior to May
first, nineteen hundred fifty, for the purpose of permitting the tenant
thereof to construct or place his own dwelling thereon and on which plot
or parcel of land there exists a dwelling owned and occupied by a tenant
of such plot or parcel, heretofore destabilized; heretofore or hereafter
decontrolled, exempt, not subject to control, or exempted from
regulation and control under the provisions of the emergency housing
rent control law, the local emergency housing rent control act or the
New York city rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine; or
subject to stabilization or control under such rent stabilization law,
shall be a matter for local determination within each city, town or
village. Any such determination shall be made by the local legislative
body of such city, town or village on the basis of the supply of housing
accommodations within such city, town or village, the condition of such
accommodations and the need for regulating and controlling residential
rents within such city, town or village. A declaration of emergency may
be made as to any class of housing accommodations if the vacancy rate
for the housing accommodations in such class within such municipality is
not in excess of five percent and a declaration of emergency may be made
as to all housing accommodations if the vacancy rate for the housing
accommodations within such municipality is not in excess of five
percent.

b. The local governing body of a city, town or village having declared
an emergency pursuant to subdivision a of this section may at any time,
on the basis of the supply of housing accommodations within such city,
town or village, the condition of such accommodations and the need for
continued regulation and control of residential rents within such
municipality, declare that the emergency is either wholly or partially
abated or that the regulation of rents pursuant to this act does not
serve to abate such emergency and thereby remove one or more classes of
accommodations from regulation under this act. The emergency must be
declared at an end once the vacancy rate described in subdivision a of
this section exceeds five percent.

c. No resolution declaring the existence or end of an emergency, as
authorized by subdivisions a and b of this section, may be adopted
except after public hearing held on not less than ten days public
notice, as the local legislative body may reasonably provide.

d. When requested by a municipality or a designee, as a part of a
study to determine its vacancy rate, owners, or their agent, of housing
accommodations in the class of housing accommodations determined, shall
provide the most recent records of rent rolls and, if available, records
for the preceding thirty-six months. Such records shall include the
tenant's relevant information relating to finding the vacancy rate of
such municipality including but not limited to the name, address, and
amount paid or charged on a weekly, monthly, or annual basis for each
occupied housing accommodation and which housing accommodations are
vacant at the time of the survey and available for rent. Such records
shall also include any housing accommodations that are vacant and not
available for rent and provide the reason why such unit is not available
for rent.

e. A municipality may impose a civil penalty or fee of up to five
hundred dollars on an owner or their agent if the owner or their agent
refuses to participate in such vacancy survey and cooperate with the
municipality or a designee in such vacancy survey, or submits knowingly
and intentionally false vacancy information.

f. A nonrespondent owner shall be deemed to have zero vacancies.

g. Identifying data or information shall be kept confidential and
shall not be shared, traded, given, or sold to any other entity for any
purpose outside of such vacancy study.