The New York State Senate

                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

    S. 5040                                                  A. 7046

                       2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                      S E N A T E - A S S E M B L Y

                              April 4, 2019
                               ___________

IN  SENATE  --  Introduced  by Sens. BRESLIN, BIAGGI, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN,
  JACKSON, KRUEGER, LIU, MAY, METZGER, MYRIE, RIVERA, SALAZAR, THOMAS --
  read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
  the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development

IN  ASSEMBLY  -- Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred
  to the Committee on Housing

AN ACT to establish the "statewide tenant protection act of  2019";  and
  to amend the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four,
  in relation to expanding rent and eviction protections statewide

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
the "statewide tenant protection act of 2019."
  §  2.  Section  2  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:
  §  2.  Legislative  finding. The legislature hereby finds and declares
that a serious public emergency continues to exist in the housing  of  a
considerable  number of persons in the state of New York which emergency
was at its inception created by war, the effects of war and  the  after-
math  of  hostilities, that such emergency necessitated the intervention
of federal, state and local government in order to prevent  speculative,
unwarranted  and  abnormal  increases  in rents; that there continues to
exist in many areas of the state an acute shortage of  housing  accommo-
dations  caused  by  continued  high demand, attributable in part to new
household formations and decreased supply, in large measure attributable
to reduced availability of federal subsidies,  and  increased  costs  of
construction  and  other inflationary factors; that a substantial number
of persons residing in housing not presently subject to  the  provisions
of THIS ACT OR the emergency housing rent control law or the local emer-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                           LBD09638-01-9

S. 5040                             2                            A. 7046

gency  housing  rent control act OR THE NEW YORK CITY RENT STABILIZATION
LAW OF NINETEEN HUNDRED SIXTY-NINE, INCLUDING PERSONS RESIDING IN  LARGE
PARTS  OF  THE  STATE  THAT HAVE BEEN ARBITRARILY EXCLUDED FROM COVERAGE
UNDER  THIS  ACT  are  being charged excessive and unwarranted rents and
rent increases AND ARE SUBJECT TO UNJUST AND ARBITRARY  EVICTIONS;  that
preventive action by the legislature continues to be imperative in order
to  prevent  exaction  of  unjust, unreasonable and oppressive rents and
rental agreements and to forestall profiteering, speculation  and  other
disruptive  practices  tending  to produce threats to the public health,
safety and general welfare; that in order to prevent uncertainty,  hard-
ship  and  dislocation,  the  provisions  of  this act are necessary and
designed to protect the public health, safety and general welfare;  THAT
THE EXISTING LAW REGULATING RESIDENTIAL RENTS AND EVICTIONS WOULD BETTER
PROMOTE  EQUITY AND SERVE THE PUBLIC INTEREST IF CERTAIN AMENDMENTS WERE
MADE THERETO, INCLUDING THE REMOVAL OF ARBITRARY GEOGRAPHIC RESTRICTIONS
ON THE APPLICABILITY OF THIS ACT; that the transition from regulation to
a normal market of free bargaining between landlord  and  tenant,  while
the  ultimate objective of state policy, must take place with due regard
for such emergency; and  that  the  policy  herein  expressed  shall  be
subject  to determination of the existence of a public emergency requir-
ing the regulation of residential rents AND EVICTIONS within  any  city,
town  or  village  by  the  local legislative body of such city, town or
village.
  THE LEGISLATURE THEREFORE DECLARES THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT ARE
NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND GENERAL WELFARE.  THE
NECESSITY  IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST FOR THE PROVISIONS HEREINAFTER ENACTED
IS HEREBY DECLARED AS A MATTER OF LEGISLATIVE DETERMINATION.
  § 3. Section 14 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:
  § 14. Application of act. The provisions of this act shall  [only]  be
applicable:
  a. in the city of New York; and
  b.  in [the counties of Nassau, Westchester and Rockland] ALL COUNTIES
WITHIN THE STATE OF NEW YORK OUTSIDE THE CITY  OF  NEW  YORK  and  shall
become  and  remain  effective  only  in a city, town or village located
therein as provided in section three of this act.
  § 4. Separability clause. If any provision of this act or the applica-
tion there shall, for any reason be adjudged by any court  of  competent
jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such judgement shall not
affect,  impair  or  invalidate  the remainder of this act, but shall be
confined in its operation to the provision thereof directly involved  in
the  controversy  in  which  the  judgement  shall  have  been rendered;
provided, however, that in the event that  the  entire  system  of  rent
control  or stabilization shall be finally adjudged invalid or unconsti-
tutional by a court of competent jurisdiction because of  the  operation
of  any  provision  of  this act, such provision shall be null, void and
without effect, and all other provisions of this act which can be  given
effect  without  such  invalid  provision,  as well as provisions of any
other law, relating to the control of or stabilization of  rent,  as  in
effect  prior  to the enactment of this act as otherwise amended by this
act, shall continue in full force and effect for the  period  of  effec-
tiveness  set  forth  in  section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974,
constituting the emergency tenant protection act  of  nineteen  seventy-
four, as amended.

S. 5040                             3                            A. 7046

  §  5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
ments to sections 2 and 14 of the emergency  tenant  protection  act  of
nineteen  seventy-four  made by sections two and three of this act shall
expire on the same date as such act expires and  shall  not  affect  the
expiration  of such act as provided in section  17 of chapter 576 of the
laws of 1974, as amended.