Senate Bill S1919

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1919

SPONSOR: KRUEGER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to eliminating fuel pass-along charges for occupants of rent
controlled housing accommodations

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill prohibits fuel pass-along charges for occupants of rent
controlled housing accommodations.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the administrative code of the city of New York by
adding a new section 26-407.1 to prohibit fuel pass-along increases in
rent for any tenant of any unit which is subject to rent control.

Section 2 contains the effective date.
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The majority of the tenants residing in rent controlled apartments are
senior citizens living on low fixed incomes. According to the 2017 New
York City Housing and Vacancy Survey, rent-controlled tenants have a
median age of 73 and the lowest average income of any group of renters
in privately-owned housing in the city, earning a median household
income of only $28,260. The survey found that rent controlled tenants
spend a median of 43.1% of their household income on rent; more than a
third of rent-controlled tenants spend at least 50% of their incomes on
rent. These tenants simply to not have incomes that can keep pace with
annual rent increases of 7.5% plus fuel surcharges. Many rent-controlled
tenants have already seen their rents more than double in recent years,
and struggle to pay for food and other essential services.

Residents in rent controlled apartments face a yearly fuel cost adjust-
ment, or pass-along, based on a percentage of the total amount of fuel
delivered to a building, and divided by the number of rooms in that
building. Tenants in rent stabilized and market rate units do not pay
fuel cost adjustments. Unlike both rent stabilized tenants and market
rate tenants, rent controlled tenants are in no way insulated from
sudden and catastrophic rent increases based on higher fuel costs. This
bill provides protection to the residents of units subject to rent
control, who are likelier to be older, more vulnerable, and less finan-
cially secure than tenants in other kinds of privately owned housing.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-2018: S.3189/A.5168

2015-2016: S.2826/A.7344

2013-2014: S.3151/A.343
2011-2012: A.1839

2009-2010: A.6904

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of September next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law; provided that the addition of
section 26-407.1 to the city rent and stabilization law made by section
one of this act shall remain in full force and effect only as 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.