Senate Bill S625

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S625

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to
additional information required in annual reports for limited-profit
housing companies

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

The purpose of this bill is to revise the requirements relating to the
Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR)'s annual report for
the Mitchell-Lama program.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

This bill would require the Division of Housing and Community Renewal
(DHCR) to include in its annual report relating to the Mitchell-Lama
program information regarding any limited-profit housing company that
has voluntarily dissolved in the preceding calendar year, as well as
any limited-profit housing company that has, in the current calendar
year, filed, with the commissioner and the supervising agency, a
notice of its intent to dissolve. Such information would include, but
not be limited to:

*The name and address of the development;
              

*The number of units in the development;

*A range of amounts of rent offered in the development;

*The number of tenants in the development;

*The current vacancy rate in the development;

*Income levels served by the development;

*How long the limited-profit housing company has participated in the
program; and

*Any sales or transfers that have occurred since the limited-profit
housing company was created.

This bill would also require DHCR to submit the annual report to the
State Comptroller and the Attorney General. Currently, DHCR only
submits its annual Mitchell-Lama program report to the Legislature.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Limited-profit housing companies (LPCs) are eligible to voluntarily
dissolve and withdraw from the Mitchell-Lama program upon prepayment
of the mortgage after 20 years from initial occupancy; or after 35
years from initial occupancy, in the case of developments aided by
loans prior to May 1, 1959. This process is often referred to as
dissolution or "buying out" of the program. When developments buy-out,
they are no longer subject to the Division of Housing and Community
Renewal (DHCR) regulations, or in the case of City-supervised
developments, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and
Development (HPD). Units which were once affordable under the
Mitchell-Lama program may then return to market rate prices. To date,
93 Mitchell-Lama LPCs, representing approximately 31,700 units, have
voluntarily dissolved.

In order to better understand the landscape of the current
Mitchell-Lama program and the rate at which LPCs are buying out of the
program, it is essential to have relevant information collected and
included in DHCR's annual Mitchell-Lama program report.  Considering
the devastating effects that buy-outs can have on tenants and
communities, with the conversion of affordable units to out-of-reach
units at market rate prices, the collection of such information would
aid in potential examinations of and modifications to the
Mitchell-Lama program.

The State Comptroller and the Attorney General are involved in the
oversight and effectiveness of the Mitchell-Lama program. For this
reason, DHCR submit its annual report relating to the program to the
State Comptroller and the Attorney General. Under current law, DHCR is
only required to submit such report to the Legislature.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2016: referred to rules

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

Small administrative cost to the State.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.