BILL NUMBER: S3224

SPONSOR: SANDERS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to providing for retroactive benefit calculation for the senior
citizens rent increase exemption and disability rent increase exemption

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To provide retroactivity to the original date of eligibility for the
Senior Citizens Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) and the Disability Rent
Increase Exemption (DRIE) programs.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends Subsection 26-605 of the administrative code of the
City of New York by adding subdivision (c-1), which allows for any
eligible head of household who submits an application for a rent
increase exemption order pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of this
              

section to have their application deemed to have occurred on the:

-the date of the applicant's initial eligibility for a rent increase
order, if the date of submission is two years or less after such date of
initial eligibility; or

-the date of which is two years prior to the actual date of the
submission of the application, if such application is submitted more
than two years after the applicant's date of initial eligibility for a
rent increase exemption order.

Also provides that the rent increase exemption shall be based upon the
applicant's initial date of eligibility and not upon the date of appli-
cation, and that no prior rental payments attributable to rent increases
prior to the date of application shall be subject to recoupment.

Section 2: Sets forth an immediate effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The SCRIE program was established in 1970 to provide rent exemptions to
senior citizens impacted by rent increases. Under the SCRIE program,
eligible applicants age 62 and older have their rent frozen on the first
day of the month following the filing of their original application. The
SCRIE program also reimburses landlords with real property tax credits
equal to the amount in forgone rent.  Likewise, the DRIE program
provides an exemption against future rent increases for eligible disa-
bled persons living in rent-controlled, rent-stabilized, Mitchell-Lama
and other eligible apartments, beginning on the first of the month
following approval of the DRIE application.  Landlords of DRIE tenants
will also be given tax credits to make up the difference between the
frozen rent and what the DRIE tenants would be paying without the bene-
fit.

Under existing state law, municipalities have the option to provide
SCRIE and DRIE benefits to individuals with household incomes of up to
$50,000. In New York City in particular, rising living costs have
brought forth rent increases in rent-stabilized and rent-controlled
apartments, and rent regulated hotel units at a yearly rate of 3.75
percent for a one-year lease and 7.25 percent for a two-year lease.

According to the New York City Department of Finance, 47,475 senior
citizen renters were benefiting from the SCRIE program in 2012. Under
current program standards, SCRIE and DRIE only begins to freeze rent on
the first day of the month that an application is received regardless of
how far past the date of original eligibility that the applicant is at
the time of acceptance. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many senior
citizens and individuals with a disability were past eligibility at the
time of acceptance, but had continued to see their rent increase in the
years prior to their enrollment into the program.

To rectify this reoccurring problem, this bill would make sure that
applicants who enrolled in the SCRIE or DRIE programs after their
original date of eligibility will receive a rent reduction beginning
with the first day that they became eligible for such benefits. The
SCRIE and DRIE rollback would ensure that seniors and individuals with
disabilities receive benefits that they were entitled to, even though
they may have not been officially enrolled in the benefit programs
during a period where they were otherwise eligible to apply for them.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017 - S.5881 - New Bill
2015-2016 - A.3137 - Referred to Aging.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.