Senator Rachel May Announces Passage of Rent Regulation Package

Albany, NY - Senator Rachel May (D-Onondaga, Madison, Oneida) is proud to announce the passage of a landmark rent regulation and tenant protection package. The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, S.6458, is a slate of legislation that resulted from months of conversation within the Legislature and provides the strongest affordable housing provisions and tenant protections in history. The bill contains key protections against retaliatory and illegal evictions, limits security deposit charges to one month’s rent, and bans discriminatory tenant blacklists.

The Senate held a series of hearings, in collaboration with the Assembly, on rent regulations and tenant protections across the state. The hearings were held in Syracuse, New York City, Albany, Newburgh, and Greenburgh. The Syracuse hearing was at Danforth Middle School on May 9th. These hearings were a critical step in highlighting the challenges that renters face all across New York State, not just in New York City. 

The Legislature worked with numerous stakeholders and advocates, including the Legal Aid Society, AARP, Citizen Action NY, and the Upstate-Downstate Housing Alliance. The result of this collaboration is a series of protections that reduce the unfair amount of power landlords have over their tenants all across the state. 

In addition to renter protections, the omnibus bill also provides mobile and manufactured home (MMH) owners with protections against unreasonable rent increases on the land they lease. Rent increases will be limited to 3%; new Rent-to-Own protections are established that provide MMH tenants protection when working to buy a home from a park owner or operator; a “Homeowner’s Bill of Rights” rider will be added to all leases; restrictions on evictions are strengthened, including for seasonal residents; and protections for tenants are provided should a park owner or operator decide to change the use of the park. 

“The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 will shift the balance toward helping renters throughout New York State to stay in their homes,” said Senator May. “Housing stability is key to stable employment, school success, neighborhood crime prevention, and much more. I was honored to be an Upstate voice at the table, advocating for protections against retaliatory eviction and for people in manufactured/mobile homes who are vulnerable to sharp rent increases on the land where their homes are located. This omnibus bill recognizes that tenants throughout the state deserve strong protections.”

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