S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
4649
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 5, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. V. LOPEZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Housing
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 conversion of garden-type maisonette multiple dwellings
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 26-505 of the administrative code of the city of
New York is amended to read as follows:
S 26-505 Application to multiple family complex. For purposes of this
chapter a class A multiple dwelling shall be deemed to include a multi-
ple family garden-type maisonette dwelling complex containing six or
more dwelling units having common facilities such as sewer line, water
main, and heating plant, and operated as a unit under a single ownership
on May sixth, nineteen hundred sixty-nine, notwithstanding that certif-
icates of occupancy were issued for portions thereof as one- or two-fa-
mily dwellings.
THE SUBDIVISION OF A PORTION OF SUCH MULTIPLE FAMILY GARDEN-TYPE
MAISONETTE DWELLING COMPLEX INTO A STRUCTURE CONTAINING LESS THAN SIX
UNITS THROUGH ALTERATIONS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE INSTALLA-
TION OF SEPARATE SEWER OR WATER LINES OR THE INSTALLATION OF A SEPARATE
HEATING SYSTEM, SHALL NOT RESULT IN THE REMOVAL OF INDIVIDUAL UNITS FROM
THE PROVISIONS OF THIS LAW. PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT ANY SUCH UNIT SHALL
BE REMOVED FROM REGULATION UNDER THIS LAW IF SUCH UNIT HAS BECOME VACANT
AFTER ALTERATIONS OF SUCH UNIT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED.
S 2. Subparagraph (b) of paragraph 9 of subdivision c of section
26-511 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended to
read as follows:
(b) where he or she seeks to recover possession of one or more dwell-
ing units for his or her own personal use and occupancy as his or her
primary residence in the city of New York and/or for the use and occu-
pancy of a member of his or her immediate family as his or her primary
residence in the city of New York, provided however, that this subpara-
graph shall not apply where a tenant or the spouse of a tenant lawfully
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04880-01-9
A. 4649 2
occupying the dwelling unit is sixty-two years of age or older, or has
an impairment which results from anatomical, physiological or psycholog-
ical conditions, other than addiction to alcohol, gambling, or any
controlled substance, which are demonstrable by medically acceptable
clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques, and which are expected to
be permanent and which prevent the tenant from engaging in any substan-
tial gainful employment, unless such owner offers to provide and if
requested, provides an equivalent or superior housing accommodation at
the same or lower stabilized rent in a closely proximate area. AN OWNER
ALSO MAY NOT COMMENCE AN ACTION TO RECOVER POSSESSION OF A DWELLING UNIT
FROM A TENANT ON THE GROUNDS THAT HE OR SHE SEEKS THE DWELLING UNIT FOR
THE USE AND OCCUPANCY OF HIMSELF OR HERSELF OR HIS OR HER IMMEDIATE
FAMILY IF SUCH DWELLING UNIT HAD BEEN PART OF A MULTIPLE FAMILY GARDEN-
TYPE MAISONETTE DWELLING COMPLEX SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION
26-505 OF THIS CODE AND HAD SINCE BEEN SUBDIVIDED INTO A STRUCTURE
CONTAINING LESS THAN SIX UNITS THROUGH ALTERATIONS INCLUDING, BUT NOT
LIMITED TO, THE INSTALLATION OF NEW SEWER OR WATER LINES OR THE INSTAL-
LATION OF NEW HEATING SYSTEMS. The provisions of this subparagraph shall
only permit one of the individual owners of any building to recover
possession of one or more dwelling units for his or her own personal use
and/or for that of his or her immediate family. Any dwelling unit recov-
ered by an owner pursuant to this subparagraph shall not for a period of
three years be rented, leased, subleased or assigned to any person other
than a person for whose benefit recovery of the dwelling unit is permit-
ted pursuant to this subparagraph or to the tenant in occupancy at the
time of recovery under the same terms as the original lease. This
subparagraph shall not be deemed to establish or eliminate any claim
that the former tenant of the dwelling unit may otherwise have against
the owner. Any such rental, lease, sublease or assignment during such
period to any other person may be subject to a penalty of a forfeiture
of the right to any increases in residential rents in such building for
a period of three years; or
S 3. Subparagraph (b) of paragraph 4 of subdivision a of section 5 of
section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, constituting the emergency
tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, is amended to read as
follows:
(b) for purposes of this paragraph four, a building shall be deemed
to contain six or more dwelling units if it is part of a multiple family
garden-type maisonette dwelling complex containing six or more dwelling
units having common facilities such as a sewer line, water main or heat-
ing plant and operated as a unit under common ownership, notwithstanding
that certificates of occupancy were issued for portions thereof as one-
or two-family dwellings. THE SUBDIVISION OF SUCH MULTIPLE FAMILY
GARDEN-TYPE MAISONETTE DWELLING COMPLEX INTO STRUCTURES CONTAINING LESS
THAN SIX UNITS THROUGH ALTERATIONS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
INSTALLATION OF SEPARATE SEWER OR WATER LINES OR THE INSTALLATION OF
SEPARATE HEATING SYSTEMS, SHALL NOT RESULT IN THE REMOVAL OF INDIVIDUAL
UNITS FROM THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT. PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT ANY SUCH
UNIT SHALL BE REMOVED FROM REGULATION UNDER THIS ACT, IF SUCH UNIT HAS
BECOME VACANT AFTER ALTERATIONS OF SUCH UNIT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED.
S 4. Subdivision a of section 10 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the
laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nine-
teen seventy-four, as amended by chapter 234 of the laws of 1984, is
amended to read as follows:
a. For cities having a population of less than one million and towns
and villages, the state division of housing and community renewal shall
A. 4649 3
be empowered to implement this act by appropriate regulations. Such
regulations may encompass such speculative or manipulative practices or
renting or leasing practices as the state division of housing and commu-
nity renewal determines constitute or are likely to cause circumvention
of this act. Such regulations shall prohibit practices which are likely
to prevent any person from asserting any right or remedy granted by this
act, including but not limited to retaliatory termination of periodic
tenancies and shall require owners to grant a new one or two year vacan-
cy or renewal lease at the option of the tenant, except where a mortgage
or mortgage commitment existing as of the local effective date of this
act provides that the owner shall not grant a one-year lease; and shall
prescribe standards with respect to the terms and conditions of new and
renewal leases, additional rent and such related matters as security
deposits, advance rental payments, the use of escalator clauses in leas-
es and provision for increase in rentals for garages and other ancillary
facilities, so as to insure that the level of rent adjustments author-
ized under this law will not be subverted and made ineffective. Any
provision of the regulations permitting an owner to refuse to renew a
lease on grounds that the owner seeks to recover possession of the hous-
ing accommodation for his own use and occupancy or for the use and occu-
pancy of his immediate family shall require that an owner demonstrate
immediate and compelling need and shall not apply where a member of the
housing accommodation is sixty-two years of age or older, has been a
tenant in a housing accommodation in that building for twenty years or
more, or has an impairment which results from anatomical, physiological
or psychological conditions, other than addiction to alcohol, gambling,
or any controlled substance, which are demonstrable by medically accept-
able clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques, and which are
expected to be permanent and which prevent the tenant from engaging in
any substantial gainful employment. AN OWNER ALSO MAY NOT COMMENCE AN
ACTION TO RECOVER POSSESSION OF A DWELLING UNIT FROM A TENANT ON THE
GROUNDS THAT HE OR SHE SEEKS THE DWELLING UNIT FOR THE USE AND OCCUPANCY
OF HIMSELF OR HERSELF OR HIS OR HER IMMEDIATE FAMILY IF SUCH DWELLING
UNIT HAD BEEN PART OF A MULTIPLE FAMILY GARDEN-TYPE MAISONETTE DWELLING
COMPLEX SUBJECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SUBPARAGRAPH (B) OF PARAGRAPH FOUR
OF SUBDIVISION A OF SECTION FIVE OF THIS ACT AND HAD SINCE BEEN SUBDI-
VIDED INTO A STRUCTURE CONTAINING LESS THAN SIX UNITS THROUGH ALTER-
ATIONS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE INSTALLATION OF NEW SEWER OR
WATER LINES OR THE INSTALLATION OF NEW HEATING SYSTEMS.
S 5. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to any
tenant in possession at or after the time this act takes effect, regard-
less of whether an owner's refusal to renew a lease or refusal to extend
or renew a tenancy that took place before this act shall have taken
effect; provided that the amendments to sections 26-505 and 26-511 of
the rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by
sections one and two of this act shall expire on the same date as such
law expires and shall not affect the expiration of such law as provided
under section 26-520 of such law and provided further that the amend-
ments to sections 5 and 10 of section 4 of the emergency tenant
protection act of nineteen seventy-four made by sections three and four
of this act shall expire on the same date as such act expires and shall
not affect the expiration of such act provided for in section 17 of
chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, as from time to time amended.