A01360 Summary:

BILL NO    A01360 

SAME AS    No same as

SPONSOR    Englebright (MS)

COSPNSR    Sweeney, Destito, Abbate, Colton

MLTSPNSR   Galef, Hooper, John, Mayersohn, Millman, Perry, Pheffer, Raia,
           Weinstein

Add S467-g, RPT L

Authorizes the governing body of a municipality to adopt a program which would
create a real property tax exemption for the owner of a rental unit occupied by
a qualifying senior which shall be credited to the lessee in the form of rent
reduction equal to the proportional amount of taxes apportioned to the rental
unit.

A01360 Actions:

BILL NO    A01360 

01/07/2009 referred to aging
01/27/2009 reported referred to codes
04/06/2009 reported referred to ways and means
01/06/2010 referred to aging
01/26/2010 reported referred to codes
02/09/2010 reported referred to ways and means

A01360 Votes:

A01360 Memo:

 BILL NUMBER:  A1360

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the real property tax law, in
relation to a program for senior citizen rent exemption and tax
abatement

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :  The purpose of this bill is to
give eligible senior citizens relief from the burden of rent
increases.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :  This bill would allow
municipalities across the State the option to establish a program
whereby an eligible senior citizen could receive a rent reduction as a
result of a partial real property tax exemption granted to the
landlord of the senior renter. This program would apply to those
tenants sixty-five years of age or over who reside in privately owned
residential rental units.

A property owner who rents to a senior citizen, whose income is
$12,000 or less, would receive a 100% tax exemption from the real
property taxes apportioned to the rental unit of the senior. The
amount of the percentage would decrease in 5% increments based on the
income of the senior citizen. The maximum income eligibility limit of
a senior citizen who could receive a benefit through this new
initiative would be $26,900. A senior citizen with this level of
income would be eligible for a 5% rent reduction.

A qualified senior with the consent of their landlord could apply each
year to the appropriate local assessor for a tax abatement
certificate. Then, a landlord would be required to reduce the rent of
tenant on a monthly basis, in return for a partial tax exemption
granted by the local municipality based on the renter's income. In
addition, a landlord would have to be willing to limit rent increases
for a senior citizen renter to a percentage set by a participating
local government according to certain criteria.

A senior deemed qualified for this program would not be eligible for
any other SCRIE benefits.

 EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH THIS BILL WOULD ALTER :  This bill would
amend the Real Property Tax Law by adding a new section 467-d.

 JUSTIFICATION :  Most seniors live on fixed incomes and need some
assistance in order to be able to pay their rent. This is a major
concern since older New Yorkers rent at a rate twice that of the rest
of the country. A majority of older renters reside in New York City
which has one of the most expensive rental markets in the nation. In
addition, according to a study prepared by the State Office for the
Aging (SOFA), the proportion of elderly renter households in poverty
or near poverty is dramatically higher than owner households. The SOFA
study also revealed that approximately 45% of elderly renter
households had incomes at or below 150% of the poverty rate.

Currently, the Real Property Tax Law only authorizes municipalities
that contain rent regulated and rent controlled properties to provide
a rent increase exemption benefit to income eligible elderly
individuals through the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE)
program. New York City should be able to provide this type of benefit
to all elderly low income tenants who are in need of this protection.
This bill would provide New York the option to provide a rent
exemption increase to non-rent regulated or controlled properties to
ensure senior citizens can continue to afford appropriate housing.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :  02/28/2001 referred to aging 05/07/2002
reported referred to ways and means 01/08/03 A.422 referred to aging
01/07/04 referred to aging 04/27/04 reported referred to codes
05/11/04 reported referred to ways and means 2005-06 A.2239 referred
to ways and means 2007-08 A.828A referred to ways and means

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS :  None to the
State, however, there would be some reduction in real property tax
income for New York City should it decide to adopt the provisions of
this bill.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :  This act shall take effect immediately.