Assemblymember Hunter is working to Strengthen Tenant Protections
Assemblymember Pamela J. Hunter (D-Syracuse) announced that the first bill in her legislative package to strengthen tenants’ rights and help ensure safe, affordable housing has passed the Assembly.
“We’re facing an affordable housing crisis all across New York, and particularly in Syracuse,” said Hunter. “And all too often, when hardworking families are able to find housing, they’re forced to deal with unscrupulous landlords and unsafe conditions. It’s got to end. Healthy, stable, affordable housing is a right, and I’m doing everything I can to protect tenants and give them a strong voice.”
The legislation that passed the Assembly this week would allow individuals with disabilities to terminate their lease without penalty if they need to move to housing that better suits their needs (A.2118). Hunter noted that the elderly and victims of domestic violence already have this protection and that it’s time New Yorkers with disabilities did too.
The bill is just one of several that Hunter has introduced this year to help protect tenants and keep them in their homes. With 25% of Syracuse’s residents forced to move every year, often with less than a week’s notice – which is more than twice the national average[1] – Hunter stressed that the time to act is now. Further, housing shortages and shady practices by landlords particularly hurt the region’s most vulnerable residents, especially low-income families and those living with disabilities. Hunter’s additional tenants’ rights bills would:
- bar a landlord from collecting rent without a certificate of occupancy to ensure dwellings are safe and habitable (A.1646);
- require landlords to provide contact information to tenants to discourage absenteeism and substandard conditions (A.1652);
- allow tenants to deduct utility payments from their rent in situations where a landlord is delinquent in paying agreed upon utilities (A.3190);
- ensure rental properties are equipped with utility services prior to renting properties (A.4946); and
- set eviction standards to prohibit eviction without good cause (A.5030-A).
Hunter also noted that she plans on introducing legislation that will set statewide standards for bed bug and pest remediation.
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