S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
4236
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
February 3, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and
Community Development
AN ACT in relation to protecting the rights of current and converted
Mitchell-Lama residents
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Protecting the rights of current and converted Mitchell-
Lama residents. 1. New York State Homes and Community Renewal, in
consultation with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation,
shall appoint an independent agency or office, which will solicit resi-
dent complaints and will provide unbiased grievance and complaint proce-
dures that are consistent with the administrative procedures act. The
independent agency or office will handle all Mitchell-Lama complaints
including, but not limited to, the following:
a. owner/management company/co-op board harassment and abuse;
b. enjoying the benefit of unnecessarily and financially unsupported
rent/carrying charge increases;
c. failure to adequately reconcile tenant rent/carrying charge
records;
d. failure to provide essential services on a consistent basis;
e. failure to provide a decent, sanitary and safe living environment;
f. failure to hold open and transparent co-op board elections;
g. failure to notify and include all residents of building/development
conversions; and
h. failure to lower rents/carrying charges for eligible residents,
when a subsidy program that is already in development will lower that
resident's rent/carrying charges.
2. The practice of approving refinancing and/or conversion "windfall"
deals shall be eliminated unless the ownership, managing agents, co-ops
boards, the New York city supervised Mitchell-Lama developments (HPD)
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05474-01-5
S. 4236 2
and the New York state supervised Mitchell-Lama developments (DHCR) can
produce verified financial documentation from the comptroller which
accounts for every dollar spent during the ten year period prior to the
application for refinancing and/or conversion.
3. All rent and carrying charge increases approved by HPD and DHCR
shall receive final approval from the respective New York city or New
York state comptroller and such respective comptroller shall have certi-
fied that the increase is financially necessary and supported by a comp-
troller-verified financial review of expenses, assets and income.
4. Unless the comptroller with the jurisdiction officially agrees to
monitor and confirm the validity and accuracy of future expenses or
losses, owners and co-op boards shall not be permitted to continue to
receive rent/carrying charge increases based on those projections.
5. Unless a resident's household income confirms that such resident is
subject to a surcharge, there shall be no audit surcharges.
6. Legal representation and adequate pro se litigant support shall be
provided by the state of New York for litigants in landlord/tenant
cases.
7. A comprehensive help desk shall be provided by the supreme courts
of the state of New York to support pro se litigants.
8. Judges and court staff with knowledge and experience with the Mitc-
hell-Lama law and regulations shall oversee all Mitchell-Lama related
cases.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.