STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
S. 5040 A. 7046
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
SENATE - ASSEMBLY
April 4, 2019
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IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sens. BRESLIN, BIAGGI, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN,
JACKSON, KRUEGER, LIU, MAY, METZGER, MYRIE, RIVERA, SALAZAR, THOMAS --
read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Housing
AN ACT to establish the "statewide tenant protection act of 2019"; and
to amend the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four,
in relation to expanding rent and eviction protections statewide
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "statewide tenant protection act of 2019."
3 § 2. Section 2 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974,
4 constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-
5 four, is amended to read as follows:
6 § 2. Legislative finding. The legislature hereby finds and declares
7 that a serious public emergency continues to exist in the housing of a
8 considerable number of persons in the state of New York which emergency
9 was at its inception created by war, the effects of war and the after-
10 math of hostilities, that such emergency necessitated the intervention
11 of federal, state and local government in order to prevent speculative,
12 unwarranted and abnormal increases in rents; that there continues to
13 exist in many areas of the state an acute shortage of housing accommo-
14 dations caused by continued high demand, attributable in part to new
15 household formations and decreased supply, in large measure attributable
16 to reduced availability of federal subsidies, and increased costs of
17 construction and other inflationary factors; that a substantial number
18 of persons residing in housing not presently subject to the provisions
19 of this act or the emergency housing rent control law or the local emer-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09638-01-9
S. 5040 2 A. 7046
1 gency housing rent control act or the New York City rent stabilization
2 law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine, including persons residing in large
3 parts of the state that have been arbitrarily excluded from coverage
4 under this act are being charged excessive and unwarranted rents and
5 rent increases and are subject to unjust and arbitrary evictions; that
6 preventive action by the legislature continues to be imperative in order
7 to prevent exaction of unjust, unreasonable and oppressive rents and
8 rental agreements and to forestall profiteering, speculation and other
9 disruptive practices tending to produce threats to the public health,
10 safety and general welfare; that in order to prevent uncertainty, hard-
11 ship and dislocation, the provisions of this act are necessary and
12 designed to protect the public health, safety and general welfare; that
13 the existing law regulating residential rents and evictions would better
14 promote equity and serve the public interest if certain amendments were
15 made thereto, including the removal of arbitrary geographic restrictions
16 on the applicability of this act; that the transition from regulation to
17 a normal market of free bargaining between landlord and tenant, while
18 the ultimate objective of state policy, must take place with due regard
19 for such emergency; and that the policy herein expressed shall be
20 subject to determination of the existence of a public emergency requir-
21 ing the regulation of residential rents and evictions within any city,
22 town or village by the local legislative body of such city, town or
23 village.
24 The legislature therefore declares that the provisions of this act are
25 necessary to protect the public health, safety and general welfare. The
26 necessity in the public interest for the provisions hereinafter enacted
27 is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination.
28 § 3. Section 14 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974,
29 constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-
30 four, is amended to read as follows:
31 § 14. Application of act. The provisions of this act shall [only] be
32 applicable:
33 a. in the city of New York; and
34 b. in [the counties of Nassau, Westchester and Rockland] all counties
35 within the state of New York outside the city of New York and shall
36 become and remain effective only in a city, town or village located
37 therein as provided in section three of this act.
38 § 4. Separability clause. If any provision of this act or the applica-
39 tion there shall, for any reason be adjudged by any court of competent
40 jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such judgement shall not
41 affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this act, but shall be
42 confined in its operation to the provision thereof directly involved in
43 the controversy in which the judgement shall have been rendered;
44 provided, however, that in the event that the entire system of rent
45 control or stabilization shall be finally adjudged invalid or unconsti-
46 tutional by a court of competent jurisdiction because of the operation
47 of any provision of this act, such provision shall be null, void and
48 without effect, and all other provisions of this act which can be given
49 effect without such invalid provision, as well as provisions of any
50 other law, relating to the control of or stabilization of rent, as in
51 effect prior to the enactment of this act as otherwise amended by this
52 act, shall continue in full force and effect for the period of effec-
53 tiveness set forth in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974,
54 constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-
55 four, as amended.
S. 5040 3 A. 7046
1 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
2 ments to sections 2 and 14 of the emergency tenant protection act of
3 nineteen seventy-four made by sections two and three of this act shall
4 expire on the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the
5 expiration of such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the
6 laws of 1974, as amended.
