Assembly Extends and Strengthens Rent Regulation

Measure protects New York’s tenants

May 2, 2011

Our economy is still recovering from the worst downturn since the Great Depression, making it a crucial time to protect struggling New Yorkers from unfair rent hikes that could force working families out of their homes.

In an effort to preserve tenants’ rights, the Assembly passed comprehensive legislation I supported strengthening New York’s rent-regulation laws and protecting Mitchell-Lama tenants in the event of a buyout (A.2674-A). The bill encompasses many of the measures championed by the Assembly in previous years, and extends current rent-regulation laws until June 15, 2016.

Under the Urstadt Law, New York City is prohibited from strengthening rent-regulation provisions any further than state law provides. The Assembly’s legislation would remove this hindrance and allow New York City greater control over its own rent-regulation laws.

Another provision in the Assembly’s legislation would repeal vacancy decontrol laws that permit landlords to remove apartments from rent-regulation in New York City when the apartment becomes vacant. Under current law, when tenants in a rent-regulated apartment move out and the rent is over $2,000 per month, the newly vacated unit is no longer subject to rent regulations.

The vacancy decontrol laws have made it difficult for working families to find affordable housing. This unfortunate loophole has created a slew of unethical housing practices, giving building owners and landlords an incentive to drive out existing tenants in rent-regulated apartments so they can charge an exorbitant rent to the next tenant. Strengthening rent-regulation laws and putting oversight mechanisms in place to protect tenants from unfair rent hikes will help keep our communities together.

The Assembly’s measure would also extend rent-stabilization protections to Mitchell-Lama buildings constructed after Jan.1, 1974, by authorizing localities to declare a housing emergency in these buildings following a buyout.

Additionally, the legislation would:

• Allow a building owner to increase the amount of preferential rent — rent that is lower than the legal maximum rent the owner could charge — only upon vacancy;
• Limit a building owner’s ability to recover a rent-regulated apartment for personal use to one unit, and prevent a landlord from recovering an apartment rented by a long-term tenant or senior;
• Reduce the amount of rent increase after a vacancy from 20 percent to 10 percent and limit the number of allowable increases to one per year;
• Limit individual apartment improvement rent increases to 1/60th of the cost of the improvement – which are currently allowed at 1/40th – and establish review processes by the Division of Housing and Community Renewal;
• Allow former federal Section 8 housing properties to be subject to rent regulation even if constructed after January 1974;
• Require the costs of major capital improvements to be charged to tenants as a surcharge, not as part of the base rent and require the surcharges to cease when the cost of the improvement has been recovered; and
• Extend from three years to six years the length of time a landlord must own the rental property before the owner is eligible to apply for a hardship rent adjustment.

We must work together to extend and strengthen our rent-regulation laws, and we must do it now. Go to www.assembly.state.ny.us/Rent/Sign/ and sign the petition to make rent more affordable, then tell the governor and your state Senator to join the Assembly and pass this important measure.

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