STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3572
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 8, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sens. SERRANO, HOYLMAN, KRUEGER, SAVINO -- 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 limiting rent increase after vacancy of a housing accommodation
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph 5-a of subdivision c of section 26-511 of the
2 administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by section 16-a
3 of part A of chapter 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as
4 follows:
5 (5-a) provides that, notwithstanding any provision of this chapter,
6 the legal regulated rent for any vacancy lease entered into after the
7 effective date of this paragraph shall be as hereinafter provided in
8 this paragraph. The previous legal regulated rent for such housing
9 accommodation shall be increased by the following: (i) if the vacancy
10 lease is for a term of two years, [twenty] ten percent of the previous
11 legal regulated rent; or (ii) if the vacancy lease is for a term of one
12 year the increase shall be [twenty] ten percent of the previous legal
13 regulated rent less an amount equal to the difference between (a) the
14 two year renewal lease guideline promulgated by the guidelines board of
15 the city of New York applied to the previous legal regulated rent and
16 (b) the one year renewal lease guideline promulgated by the guidelines
17 board of the city of New York applied to the previous legal regulated
18 rent. However, where the amount charged and paid by the prior tenant
19 pursuant to paragraph fourteen of this subdivision, was less than the
20 legal regulated rent, such increase to the legal regulated rent shall
21 not exceed: five percent of the previous legal regulated rent if the
22 last vacancy lease commenced less than two years ago; ten percent of the
23 previous legal regulated rent if the last vacancy lease commenced less
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03196-01-9
S. 3572 2
1 than three years ago; fifteen percent of the previous legal regulated
2 rent if the last vacancy lease commenced less than four years ago; twen-
3 ty percent of the previous legal regulated rent if the last vacancy
4 lease commenced four or more years ago. In addition, if the legal regu-
5 lated rent was not increased with respect to such housing accommodation
6 by a permanent vacancy allowance within eight years prior to a vacancy
7 lease executed on or after the effective date of this paragraph, the
8 legal regulated rent may be further increased by an amount equal to the
9 product resulting from multiplying such previous legal regulated rent by
10 six-tenths of one percent and further multiplying the amount of rent
11 increase resulting therefrom by the greater of (A) the number of years
12 since the imposition of the last permanent vacancy allowance, or (B) if
13 the rent was not increased by a permanent vacancy allowance since the
14 housing accommodation became subject to this chapter, the number of
15 years that such housing accommodation has been subject to this chapter.
16 Provided that if the previous legal regulated rent was less than three
17 hundred dollars the total increase shall be as calculated above plus one
18 hundred dollars per month. Provided, further, that if the previous legal
19 regulated rent was at least three hundred dollars and no more than five
20 hundred dollars in no event shall the total increase pursuant to this
21 paragraph be less than one hundred dollars per month. Such increase
22 shall be in lieu of any allowance authorized for the one or two year
23 renewal component thereof, but shall be in addition to any other
24 increases authorized pursuant to this chapter including an adjustment
25 based upon a major capital improvement, or a substantial modification or
26 increase of dwelling space or services, or installation of new equipment
27 or improvements or new furniture or furnishings provided in or to the
28 housing accommodation pursuant to this section. The increase authorized
29 in this paragraph may not be implemented more than one time in any
30 calendar year, notwithstanding the number of vacancy leases entered into
31 in such year.
32 § 2. Subdivision (a-1) of section 10 of section 4 of chapter 576 of
33 the laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of
34 nineteen seventy-four, as amended by section 16-b of part A of chapter
35 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
36 (a-1) provides that, notwithstanding any provision of this act, the
37 legal regulated rent for any vacancy lease entered into after the effec-
38 tive date of this subdivision shall be as hereinafter set forth. The
39 previous legal regulated rent for such housing accommodation shall be
40 increased by the following: (i) if the vacancy lease is for a term of
41 two years, [twenty] ten percent of the previous legal regulated rent; or
42 (ii) if the vacancy lease is for a term of one year the increase shall
43 be [twenty] ten percent of the previous legal regulated rent less an
44 amount equal to the difference between (a) the two year renewal lease
45 guideline promulgated by the guidelines board of the county in which the
46 housing accommodation is located applied to the previous legal regulated
47 rent and (b) the one year renewal lease guideline promulgated by the
48 guidelines board of the county in which the housing accommodation is
49 located applied to the previous legal regulated rent. However, where the
50 amount charged and paid by the prior tenant pursuant to paragraph four-
51 teen of this subdivision, was less than the legal regulated rent, such
52 increase to the legal regulated rent shall not exceed: five percent of
53 the previous legal regulated rent if the last vacancy lease commenced
54 less than two years ago; ten percent of the previous legal regulated
55 rent if the last vacancy commenced less than three years ago; fifteen
56 percent of the previous legal regulated rent if the last vacancy lease
S. 3572 3
1 commenced less than four years ago; twenty percent of the previous legal
2 regulated rent if the last vacancy lease commenced four or more years
3 ago. In addition, if the legal regulated rent was not increased with
4 respect to such housing accommodation by a permanent vacancy allowance
5 within eight years prior to a vacancy lease executed on or after the
6 effective date of this subdivision, the legal regulated rent may be
7 further increased by an amount equal to the product resulting from
8 multiplying such previous legal regulated rent by six-tenths of one
9 percent and further multiplying the amount of rent increase resulting
10 therefrom by the greater of (A) the number of years since the imposition
11 of the last permanent vacancy allowance, or (B) if the rent was not
12 increased by a permanent vacancy allowance since the housing accommo-
13 dation became subject to this act, the number of years that such housing
14 accommodation has been subject to this act. Provided that if the previ-
15 ous legal regulated rent was less than three hundred dollars the total
16 increase shall be as calculated above plus one hundred dollars per
17 month. Provided, further, that if the previous legal regulated rent was
18 at least three hundred dollars and no more than five hundred dollars in
19 no event shall the total increase pursuant to this subdivision be less
20 than one hundred dollars per month. Such increase shall be in lieu of
21 any allowance authorized for the one or two year renewal component ther-
22 eof, but shall be in addition to any other increases authorized pursuant
23 to this act including an adjustment based upon a major capital improve-
24 ment, or a substantial modification or increase of dwelling space or
25 services, or installation of new equipment or improvements or new furni-
26 ture or furnishings provided in or to the housing accommodation pursuant
27 to section six of this act. The increase authorized in this subdivision
28 may not be implemented more than one time in any calendar year, notwith-
29 standing the number of vacancy leases entered into in such year.
30 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
31 ments to section 26-511 of the rent stabilization law of nineteen
32 hundred sixty-nine made by section one of this act shall expire on the
33 same date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration of
34 such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law; and provided,
35 further, that the amendments to section 4 of the emergency tenant
36 protection act of nineteen seventy-four made by section two of this act
37 shall expire on the same date as such act expires and shall not affect
38 the expiration of such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of
39 the laws of 1974.