§ 280. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and declares
that a serious public emergency exists in the housing of a considerable
number of persons in cities having a population of over one million,
which emergency has been created by the increasing number of conversions
of commercial and manufacturing loft buildings to residential use
without compliance with applicable building codes and laws and without
compliance with local laws regarding minimum housing maintenance
standards; that many such buildings do not conform to minimum standards
for health, safety and fire protection; that housing maintenance
services essential to maintain health, safety and fire protection are
not being provided in many such buildings; that as a consequence of the
acute shortage of housing as found and declared in the emergency tenant
protection act of nineteen seventy-four the tenants in such buildings
would suffer great hardship if forced to relocate; that as a result of
the uncertain status of the tenancy in question the courts have been
increasingly burdened with disputes between landlords and tenants
regarding their respective rights and obligations under the existing
circumstances; that some courts have declared such buildings "de facto"
multiple dwellings; that illegal and unregulated residential conversions
undermine the integrity of the local zoning resolution and threaten loss
of jobs and industry; that the intervention of the state and local
governments is necessary to effectuate legalization, consistent with the
local zoning resolution, of the present illegal living arrangements in
such "de facto" multiple dwellings, and to establish a system whereby
residential rentals can be reasonably adjusted so that residential
tenants can assist in paying the cost of such legalization without being
forced to relocate; that in order to prevent uncertainty, hardship, and
dislocation, the provisions of this article are necessary and designed
to protect the public health, safety and general welfare.