Assemblyman Fred Thiele today announced that he has reintroduced legislation to clarify that certain seasonal rentals are excluded from the provisions regulating deposits and advances for residential dwelling units under the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA).

The enacted HSTPA provides sweeping housing reforms to protect tenants in relation to permanent residential housing. One of the provisions states that a landlord cannot demand a "deposit or advance" in excess of one month's rent. Despite the clear intent of the State Legislature that this act was to apply to permanent housing, some have opined that the "security and advance" limitation could also be applied to seasonal use tenancies. To date, the State Attorney General, who is responsible for enforcing the law, has offered no opinion on whether the act would apply to seasonal use rentals.

It is common practice on the East End and in other vacation destinations across New York State to require a single payment for the entire term of a seasonal use rental. If the act were to be applied to seasonal use rentals, that practice would not be permitted. This legislation would make clear that the provisions of the HSTPA relating to security and advances does not apply to residential dwelling units where the lease expressly provides that the occupancy of the tenant is for seasonal use of the dwelling unit. Under this legislation, “tenant” is defined as a tenant or lawful occupant with a seasonal use lease where such tenant has a primary residence to which to return to.

Assemblyman Thiele stated, “Summer rentals are a vital part of the local economy on the East End. A change in well-accepted business practices of requiring a single payment for a seasonal rental would adversely affect the real estate market and our economy. Not only was the law not intended to cover seasonal rentals, there is no documented problem with the practice of a single payment.”

In December 2020, Assemblyman Thiele successfully fought to exclude seasonal rentals from the recently enacted Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act (Ch. 381 of 2020).

Thiele added, “The exclusion of seasonal rentals from the Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act recognizes that these types of short-term tenancies require a different regulatory approach than permanent dwellings. I am hopeful this acknowledgement signals a willingness of the Legislature to apply the same principle to the securities limitation and advance my legislation.”