Amd SS26-405 & 26-511, NYC Ad Cd; amd S6, Emerg Ten Prot Act of 1974
Establishes criteria for approval of rent increases to rent regulated property resulting from major capital improvements to insure that the work performed is an enhancement or upgrade to a housing accommodation or service therein and is not merely repair or replacement to existing services; prohibits approval of a major capital improvement rent increase where any outstanding hazardous violations exist.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2855
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 29, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, HOYLMAN, MONTGOMERY, PERALTA -- read twice
and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
on Housing, Construction and Community Development
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and the
emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in relation
to approval of major capital improvement rent increases
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 26-405 of the administrative code of the city of
2 New York is amended by adding a new subdivision n to read as follows:
3 n. (1) No major capital improvement rent increase will be approved by
4 the division of housing and community renewal unless the work performed
5 is an enhancement or upgrade to a housing accommodation or service ther-
6 ein; or is an addition to such housing accommodation and otherwise
7 eligible according to the prerequisites for major capital improvement
8 rent increases. Any repair or replacement intended to maintain an
9 existing service shall not be eligible for a major capital improvement
10 rent increase.
11 (2) No application for a major capital improvement rent increase may
12 be approved if there exist any outstanding hazardous violations at the
13 time of the consideration of such application, as determined pursuant to
14 regulations of the division of housing and community renewal or any
15 agency administering and enforcing a building code in the jurisdiction
16 in which the property is located, unless it is determined by the divi-
17 sion of housing and community renewal that such work is essential to the
18 alleviation of the violations and such approval is consistent with the
19 provisions of this section. Except in the case of emergency or good
20 cause, the owner of the property shall file, not less than thirty days
21 before the commencement of the improvement, with the division of housing
22 and community renewal a statement containing information outlining the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04340-01-5
S. 2855 2
1 scope of work, expected date of completion for such work and an affida-
2 vit setting forth the following information:
3 (a) every owner of record and owner of a substantial interest in the
4 property or entity owning the property or sponsoring the improvement;
5 and
6 (b) a statement that none of such persons had, within the five years
7 prior to the improvement, been found to have harassed or unlawfully
8 evicted tenants by judgment or determination of a court or agency under
9 the penal law, any state or local law regulating rents or any state or
10 local law relating to harassment of tenants or unlawful eviction.
11 Upon receipt of the scope of work and affidavit provided for herein,
12 the division of housing and community renewal shall provide the tenants
13 in occupancy in such buildings with such information. The division of
14 housing and community renewal shall, in addition, implement procedures
15 including, but not limited to, eliciting tenant comments to determine
16 whether major capital improvement rehabilitation work has been satisfac-
17 torily completed. No major capital improvement rent increase shall
18 become effective until any defective or deficient rehabilitation work
19 has been cured.
20 § 2. Subdivision c of section 26-511 of the administrative code of the
21 city of New York is amended by adding a new paragraph 6-b to read as
22 follows:
23 (6-b) provides criteria whereby the commissioner may act upon applica-
24 tion by owners for increases in excess of the level of fair rent
25 increase established under this law provided however, that such criteria
26 shall provide that:
27 (1) no major capital improvement rent increase will be approved by the
28 division of housing and community renewal unless the work performed is
29 an enhancement or upgrade to a housing accommodation or service therein;
30 or is an addition to such housing accommodation and otherwise eligible
31 according to the prerequisites for major capital improvement rent
32 increases. Any repair or replacement intended to maintain an existing
33 service shall not be eligible for a major capital improvement rent
34 increase.
35 (2) no application for a major capital improvement rent increase may
36 be approved if there exist any outstanding hazardous violations at the
37 time of the consideration of such application, as determined pursuant to
38 regulations of the division of housing and community renewal or any
39 agency administering and enforcing a building code in the jurisdiction
40 in which the property is located, unless it is determined by the divi-
41 sion of housing and community renewal that such work is essential to the
42 alleviation of the violations and such approval is consistent with the
43 provisions of this section. Except in the case of emergency or good
44 cause, the owner of the property shall file, not less than thirty days
45 before the commencement of the improvement, with the division of housing
46 and community renewal a statement containing information outlining the
47 scope of work, expected date of completion for such work and an affida-
48 vit setting forth the following information:
49 (a) every owner of record and owner of a substantial interest in the
50 property or entity owning the property or sponsoring the improvement;
51 and
52 (b) a statement that none of such persons had, within the five years
53 prior to the improvement, been found to have harassed or unlawfully
54 evicted tenants by judgment or determination of a court or agency under
55 the penal law, any state or local law regulating rents or any state or
56 local law relating to harassment of tenants or unlawful eviction.
S. 2855 3
1 Upon receipt of the scope of work and affidavit provided for herein,
2 the division of housing and community renewal shall provide the tenants
3 in occupancy in such buildings with such information. The division of
4 housing and community renewal shall, in addition, implement procedures
5 including, but not limited to, eliciting tenant comments to determine
6 whether major capital improvement rehabilitation work has been satisfac-
7 torily completed. No major capital improvement rent increase shall
8 become effective until any defective or deficient rehabilitation work
9 has been cured.
10 § 3. Section 6 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974,
11 constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-
12 four, is amended by adding a new subdivision d-1 to read as follows:
13 d-1. (1) No major capital improvement rent increase will be approved
14 by the division of housing and community renewal unless the work
15 performed is an enhancement or upgrade to a housing accommodation or
16 service therein; or is an addition to such housing accommodation and
17 otherwise eligible according to the prerequisites for major capital
18 improvement rent increases. Any repair or replacement intended to main-
19 tain an existing service shall not be eligible for a major capital
20 improvement rent increase.
21 (2) No application for a major capital improvement rent increase may
22 be approved if there exist any outstanding hazardous violations at the
23 time of the consideration of such application, as determined pursuant to
24 regulations of the division of housing and community renewal or any
25 agency administering and enforcing a building code in the jurisdiction
26 in which the property is located, unless it is determined by the divi-
27 sion of housing and community renewal that such work is essential to the
28 alleviation of the violations and such approval is consistent with the
29 provisions of this section. Except in the case of emergency or good
30 cause, the owner of the property shall file, not less than thirty days
31 before the commencement of the improvement, with the division of housing
32 and community renewal a statement containing information outlining the
33 scope of work, expected date of completion for such work and an affida-
34 vit setting forth the following information:
35 (a) every owner of record and owner of a substantial interest in the
36 property or entity owning the property or sponsoring the improvement;
37 and
38 (b) a statement that none of such persons had, within the five years
39 prior to the improvement, been found to have harassed or unlawfully
40 evicted tenants by judgment or determination of a court or agency under
41 the penal law, any state or local law regulating rents or any state or
42 local law relating to harassment of tenants or unlawful eviction.
43 Upon receipt of the scope of work and affidavit provided for herein,
44 the division of housing and community renewal shall provide the tenants
45 in occupancy in such buildings with such information. The division of
46 housing and community renewal shall, in addition, implement procedures
47 including, but not limited to, eliciting tenant comments to determine
48 whether major capital improvement rehabilitation work has been satisfac-
49 torily completed. No major capital improvement rent increase shall
50 become effective until any defective or deficient rehabilitation work
51 has been cured.
52 § 4. Subdivision d of section 6 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the
53 laws of 1974 constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nine-
54 teen seventy-four is amended by adding a new paragraph 6 to read as
55 follows:
S. 2855 4
1 (6) Notwithstanding paragraph three of this subdivision there shall be
2 no adjustment for any major capital improvement funded in any part from
3 moneys provided by the New York state energy research and development
4 authority.
5 § 5. Paragraph 1 of subdivision g of section 26-405 of the administra-
6 tive code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new subpara-
7 graph (p) to read as follows:
8 (p) Notwithstanding subparagraph (g) or (k) of this paragraph, there
9 shall be no adjustment for any major capital improvement or for any
10 other expenditures to improve, restore or preserve the quality of a
11 structure if such major capital improvement or such other expenditure is
12 funded in any part from moneys provided by the New York state energy
13 research and development authority.
14 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that:
15 (a) the amendments to section 26-405 of the city rent and rehabili-
16 tation law made by sections one and five of this act shall remain in
17 full force and effect only so long as the public emergency requiring the
18 regulation and control of residential rents and evictions continues, as
19 provided in subdivision 3 of section 1 of the local emergency housing
20 rent control act;
21 (b) the amendment to section 26-511 of the rent stabilization law of
22 nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by section two of this act shall expire
23 on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration
24 of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law, as from time
25 to time amended; and
26 (c) the amendments to section 6 of the emergency tenant protection act
27 of nineteen seventy-four made by sections three and four of this act
28 shall expire on the same date as such act expires and shall not affect
29 the expiration of such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of
30 the laws of 1974, as from time to time amended.
