S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
1759
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 12, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Housing
AN ACT to amend the local emergency housing rent control act, in
relation to rent regulation laws
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 1 of chapter 21 of the laws of
1962, constituting the local emergency housing rent control act, as
amended by chapter 82 of the laws of 2003 and the closing paragraph as
amended by chapter 422 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as
follows:
5. Authority for local rent control legislation. Each city having a
population of one million or more, acting through its local legislative
body, may adopt and amend local laws or ordinances in respect of the
establishment or designation of a city housing rent agency. When it
deems such action to be desirable or necessitated by local conditions in
order to carry out the purposes of this section, such city, except as
hereinafter provided, acting through its local legislative body and not
otherwise, may adopt and amend local laws or ordinances in respect of
the regulation and control of residential rents, including but not
limited to provision for the establishment and adjustment of maximum
rents, the classification of housing accommodations, the regulation of
evictions, and the enforcement of such local laws or ordinances. The
validity of any such local laws or ordinances, and the rules or regu-
lations promulgated in accordance therewith, shall not be affected by
and need not be consistent with the state emergency housing rent control
law or with rules and regulations of the state division of housing and
community renewal.
Notwithstanding any local law or ordinance, housing accommodations
which became vacant on or after July first, nineteen hundred seventy-one
or which hereafter become vacant shall be subject to the provisions of
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03727-01-5
A. 1759 2
the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, provided,
however, that this provision shall not apply or become effective with
respect to housing accommodations which, by local law or ordinance, are
made directly subject to regulation and control by a city housing rent
agency and such agency determines or finds that the housing accommo-
dations became vacant because the landlord or any person acting on his
behalf, with intent to cause the tenant to vacate, engaged in any course
of conduct (including but not limited to, interruption or discontinuance
of essential services) which interfered with or disturbed or was
intended to interfere with or disturb the comfort, repose, peace or
quiet of the tenant in his use or occupancy of the housing accommo-
dations. The removal of any housing accommodation from regulation and
control of rents pursuant to the vacancy exemption provided for in this
paragraph shall not constitute or operate as a ground for the subjection
to more stringent regulation and control of any housing accommodation in
such property or in any other property owned by the same landlord,
notwithstanding any prior agreement to the contrary by the landlord. The
vacancy exemption provided for in this paragraph shall not arise with
respect to any rented plot or parcel of land otherwise subject to the
provisions of this act, by reason of a transfer of title and possession
occurring on or after July first, nineteen hundred seventy-one of a
dwelling located on such plot or parcel and owned by the tenant where
such transfer of title and possession is made to a member of the
tenant's immediate family provided that the member of the tenant's imme-
diate family occupies the dwelling with the tenant prior to the transfer
of title and possession for a continuous period of two years.
The term "immediate family" shall include a husband, wife, son, daugh-
ter, stepson, stepdaughter, father, mother, father-in-law or mother-in-
law.
[Notwithstanding the foregoing, no local law or ordinance shall here-
after provide for the regulation and control of residential rents and
eviction in respect of any housing accommodations which are (1) present-
ly exempt from such regulation and control or (2) hereafter decontrolled
either by operation of law or by a city housing rent agency, by order or
otherwise. No housing accommodations presently subject to regulation and
control pursuant to local laws or ordinances adopted or amended under
authority of this subdivision shall hereafter be by local law or ordi-
nance or by rule or regulation which has not been theretofore approved
by the state commissioner of housing and community renewal subjected to
more stringent or restrictive provisions of regulation and control than
those presently in effect.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on and after the effective
date of this paragraph, a city having a population of one million or
more shall not, either through its local legislative body or otherwise,
adopt or amend local laws or ordinances with respect to the regulation
and control of residential rents and eviction, including but not limited
to provision for the establishment and adjustment of rents, the classi-
fication of housing accommodations, the regulation of evictions, and the
enforcement of such local laws or ordinances, or otherwise adopt laws or
ordinances pursuant to the provisions of this act, the emergency tenant
protection act of nineteen seventy-four, the New York city rent and
rehabilitation law or the New York city rent stabilization law, except
to the extent that such city for the purpose of reviewing the continued
need for the existing regulation and control of residential rents or to
remove a classification of housing accommodation from such regulation
and control adopts or amends local laws or ordinances pursuant to subdi-
A. 1759 3
vision three of section one of this act, section three of the emergency
tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, section 26-415 of the
New York city rent and rehabilitation law, and sections 26-502 and
26-520 of the New York city rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred
sixty-nine.]
Notwithstanding any provision of this act to the contrary, any local
law adopted pursuant to this act shall provide that notwithstanding any
provision of such local law in the case where all tenants occupying the
housing accommodation on the effective date of this paragraph have
vacated the housing accommodation and a family member of such vacating
tenant or tenants is entitled to and continues to occupy the housing
accommodation subject to the protections of such act, if such accommo-
dation continues to be subject to such act after such family member
vacates, on the occurrence of such vacancy the maximum collectable rent
shall be increased by a sum equal to the allowance then in effect for
vacancy leases for housing accommodations covered by the rent stabiliza-
tion law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine, including the amount allowed by
paragraph (5-a) of subdivision c of section 26-511 of such law. This
increase shall be in addition to any other increases provided for in
this act and shall be applicable in like manner to each second subse-
quent succession.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, no local law or ordinance shall subject
to such regulation and control any housing accommodation which is not
occupied by the tenant in possession as his or her primary residence;
provided, however, that such housing accommodation not occupied by the
tenant in possession as his or her primary residence shall continue to
be subject to regulation and control as provided for herein unless the
city housing rent agency issues an order decontrolling such accommo-
dation, which the agency shall do upon application by the landlord when-
ever it is established by any facts and circumstances which, in the
judgment of the agency, may have a bearing upon the question of resi-
dence, that the tenant maintains his or her primary residence at some
place other than at such housing accommodation. For the purposes of
determining primary residency, a tenant who is a victim of domestic
violence, as defined in section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social
services law, who has left the unit because of such violence, and who
asserts an intent to return to the housing accommodation shall be deemed
to be occupying the unit as his or her primary residence.
S 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
the amendments to subdivision 5 of section 1 of chapter 21 of the laws
of 1962 made by section one of this act shall remain in full force and
effect only so long as the public emergency requiring the regulation and
control of residential rents and evictions continues, as provided in
subdivision 3 of section 1 of the local emergency housing rent control
act; provided further, however, that the amendment to the second undes-
ignated paragraph of subdivision 5 of section 1 of chapter 21 of the
laws of 1962 made by section one of this act shall not affect the expi-
ration of such paragraph and shall be deemed to expire therewith.