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Senate Bill S8653

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Creates a vacant property classification

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Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Local Government Committee

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2025-S8653 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:
Senate Local Government
Law Section:
Real Property Tax Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §1802, add §1805-c, RPT L

2025-S8653 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Creates a vacant property classification for vacant and blighted properties; allows for cities with a population of one million or more to levy an additional real property tax on vacant and blighted properties with funds raised from such taxes being used to address homelessness.

2025-S8653 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8653 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8653
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 7, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in  relation  to  creating  a
   vacant property classification
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Paragraph class four of subdivision 1 of  section  1802  of
 the real property tax law, as separately amended by chapters 123 and 529
 of  the laws of 1990, is amended and a new paragraph class five is added
 to read as follows:
   Class four: all other real property which is not designated  as  class
 one, class two, [or] class three[.], OR CLASS FIVE;
   CLASS  FIVE:  (A)  ALL  REAL  PROPERTY WHICH HAS REMAINED VACANT FOR A
 PERIOD OF NINETY DAYS OR LONGER DURING A  TAX  YEAR  AND  IS  NOT  UNDER
 CONSTRUCTION  OR  REHABILITATION;  AND  (B) ALL VACANT LOTS AND BLIGHTED
 PROPERTIES IN AREAS ZONED FOR COMMERCIAL AND MANUFACTURING OR INDUSTRIAL
 PURPOSES. THE FOLLOWING SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED  CLASS  FIVE:  (A)  LOTS
 DESIGNATED   AS   COMMUNITY  GARDENS;  (B)  REAL  PROPERTY  WITH  ACTIVE
 CONSTRUCTION; (C) REAL PROPERTY WHICH  HAS  AN  ACTIVE  BUILDING  PERMIT
 APPLICATION  PENDING; (D) REAL PROPERTY OWNED BY A NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPO-
 RATION OR A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION; AND (E) REAL PROPERTY WHICH  HAS  A
 SUBSTANTIALLY  COMPLETED APPLICATION FOR THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF
 CITY PLANNING.  FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS CLASS, THE TERM  "VACANT  LOTS"
 SHALL MEAN ALL PARCELS OF LAND UPON WHICH NO PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS HAVE
 BEEN  CONSTRUCTED  OR PLACED.   FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS CLASS, THE TERM
 "BLIGHTED PROPERTIES" SHALL MEAN PROPERTIES FOR WHICH THE ASSESSED VALUE
 OF IMPROVEMENTS IS FIFTEEN PERCENT OR LESS OF THE LAND VALUE.
   § 2. Section 1802 of the real property tax law is amended by adding  a
 new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
   4.  ANY  REAL  PROPERTY CLASSIFIED AS CLASS FIVE SHALL BE REDESIGNATED
 UPON SUCH PROPERTY NO LONGER QUALIFYING AS CLASS FIVE.
   § 3. The real property tax law is amended  by  adding  a  new  section
 1805-c to read as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14105-01-5

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