STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5462
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 12, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CYMBROWITZ, L. ROSENTHAL, HYNDMAN, ORTIZ, D'URSO,
BARNWELL, MOSLEY, O'DONNELL, SIMON, COLTON, ABBATE, CARROLL, COOK,
WILLIAMS, GOTTFRIED, DE LA ROSA, CRESPO, BARRON, WALKER, DAVILA --
Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. DenDEKKER -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to the
provision of rental assistance for low income elderly families, and to
amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to
imposing a tax on conveyances or transfers of residential real proper-
ty whose consideration is greater than two million dollars
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 654-b of the private housing finance law is
2 amended by adding a new subdivision 9 to read as follows:
3 9. The subsidiary corporation shall use the taxes described in subdi-
4 vision g of section 11-2102 of the administrative code of the city of
5 New York exclusively for the provision of the elderly rental assistance
6 program as described in article sixteen-B of this chapter.
7 § 2. The private housing finance law is amended by adding a new arti-
8 cle 16-B to read as follows:
9 ARTICLE 16-B
10 ELDER RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
11 Section 930. Statement of legislative findings and purpose.
12 931. Definitions.
13 932. Elder rental assistance program.
14 933. General and administrative provisions.
15 § 930. Statement of legislative findings and purpose. The legislature
16 hereby finds that the city of New York is experiencing an extreme short-
17 age of affordable housing that serves low income senior citizens. For
18 hundreds of thousands of senior citizens living on pensions, retirement
19 savings and other fixed incomes, the rapid rise in rents has threatened
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05900-01-9
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1 their ability to stay in their homes and neighborhoods. More than half
2 of seniors spend more on housing than they can afford and more than one
3 hundred thousand seniors have waited for seven years or more on an
4 affordable housing waitlist.
5 The legislature further finds that citywide, almost two-thirds of all
6 senior renter households are among the lowest income households in the
7 city, earning less than fifty percent of area median income. According-
8 ly, the legislature finds that legislation should be enacted to create
9 the elder rental assistance program, which will provide monthly finan-
10 cial assistance to rent-burdened seniors so they can live in dignity in
11 their own homes. This program will be financed through a marginal tax on
12 real estate transactions over two million dollars.
13 § 931. Definitions. As used in this article:
14 1. "Elderly family" shall mean a family, as defined in 24 C.F.R §
15 5.403, whose head (including co-head), spouse, or sole member is a
16 person who is at least sixty-two years of age. It may include two or
17 more persons who are at least sixty-two years of age living together, or
18 one or more persons who are at least sixty-two years of age living with
19 one or more live-in aides, as defined in 24 C.F.R § 5.403, and shall
20 incorporate any amendments made to this definition in 24 C.F.R § 5.403.
21 2. "Low income families" shall mean those families whose incomes do
22 not exceed eighty per centum of the median income for the New York
23 metropolitan statistical area, as determined by the secretary of the
24 federal department of housing and urban development with adjustments for
25 smaller and larger families.
26 § 932. Elder rental assistance program. 1. Subject to the availability
27 of funds generated by the taxes described in subdivision g of section
28 11-2102 of the administrative code of the city of New York, the housing
29 assistance corporation, established by section six hundred fifty-four-b
30 of this chapter, shall provide rental assistance to or on behalf of
31 low-income families whose members constitute an elderly family, who are
32 residents of the city of New York, and who pay more than thirty percent
33 of their monthly adjusted income as rent as calculated pursuant to 42
34 U.S.C § 1437a(a)(1)(A). The amount of rental assistance provided to or
35 on behalf of each such family pursuant to this subdivision shall be an
36 amount up to the difference between (i) a rent established by the
37 department of housing preservation and development on an annual basis
38 not to exceed the maximum monthly rent prescribed in 42 U.S.C.
39 §1437f(c)(1), or such lower rent as may be required by applicable law,
40 or as ordered pursuant to section four hundred sixty-seven-b or four
41 hundred sixty-seven-c of the real property tax law, if applicable and
42 (ii) thirty percent of each such family's monthly adjusted income as
43 calculated pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1437a(a)(1)(A).
44 2. To the extent a person or entity receives any such rental assist-
45 ance on behalf of a particular elderly family, such person or entity
46 shall credit such assistance against the rent of such family on a month-
47 ly basis.
48 3. The rental assistance provided pursuant to subdivision one of this
49 section shall continue upon the death or permanent departure of a member
50 of an elderly family who was at least sixty-two years of age, including
51 the head of such family (including co-head) or his or her spouse,
52 provided that such elderly family is otherwise eligible for such rental
53 assistance and a member of such elderly family who is at least sixty-two
54 years of age has resided in the dwelling unit receiving such rental
55 assistance for at least one hundred eighty days immediately preceding
56 such death or permanent departure.
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1 4. The rental assistance authorized by subdivision one of this section
2 may be provided either as tenant-based or as building-based assistance.
3 Such assistance may be used in conjunction with any governmental program
4 or project to develop or preserve housing.
5 5. A person who has obtained a rent increase exemption order granted
6 pursuant to section four hundred sixty-seven-b or four hundred sixty-
7 seven-c of the real property tax law may also be eligible to receive
8 rental assistance pursuant to subdivision one of this section if such
9 person is a member of an elderly family that is otherwise eligible for
10 such assistance.
11 § 933. General and administrative provisions. 1. The housing assist-
12 ance corporation and the department of housing preservation and develop-
13 ment shall have the authority to incur reasonable costs for adminis-
14 tration of the program authorized by section nine hundred thirty-two of
15 this article provided that no more than five percent of the taxes
16 collected pursuant to subdivision g of section 11-2102 of the adminis-
17 trative code of the city of New York shall be used for such costs.
18 2. The housing assistance corporation and the department of housing
19 preservation and development shall have the authority to promulgate such
20 rules as are necessary to carry out the provisions of section nine
21 hundred thirty-two of this article.
22 § 3. Section 11-2102 of the administrative code of the city of New
23 York is amended by adding three new subdivisions g, h and i to read as
24 follows:
25 g. In addition to the taxes imposed by subdivisions a and b of this
26 section, there is hereby imposed a tax on each deed or other instrument
27 or transaction conveying or transferring residential real property or an
28 economic interest therein, at the time of delivery by a grantor to a
29 grantee, when the consideration for such property and any improvement
30 thereon (whether or not it is included in the same deed) is greater than
31 two million dollars, or at the time of the transfer of such economic
32 interest by a grantor to a grantee, where the consideration for such
33 economic interest is greater than two million dollars. Except as other-
34 wise provided in this section, all the provisions of this chapter relat-
35 ing to or applicable to the administration, collection and determination
36 of the tax imposed by subdivisions a and b of this section shall apply
37 to the tax imposed by this subdivision with such modifications as may be
38 necessary to adapt such language to the tax so imposed. For purposes of
39 this section, "residential real property" shall include any premises
40 that are or may be used in whole or in part as a personal residence, and
41 shall include a one, two or three-family house, an individual residen-
42 tial condominium unit, or an individual residential cooperative apart-
43 ment. Such tax shall be at the rate of two and one-half percent of the
44 consideration in excess of two million dollars.
45 h. For purposes of this section, the determination of whether a
46 conveyance or transfer shall be subject to the taxes imposed by subdivi-
47 sions a, b and g of this section, and of the rate of such taxes, shall
48 be made prior to the application of subdivision f of this section and
49 paragraph eight of subdivision b of section 11-2106 of this chapter,
50 provided, however, that the amount of consideration subject to such
51 taxes shall be determined after the application of subdivision f of this
52 section and paragraph eight of subdivision b of section 11-2106 of this
53 chapter.
54 i. Any tax collected pursuant to subdivision g of this section shall
55 be used exclusively for the provision of rental assistance to low-income
56 families whose members constitute an elderly family, as described in
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1 subdivision nine of section six hundred fifty-four-b of the private
2 housing finance law. For purposes of this subdivision, "low-income fami-
3 lies" and "elderly family" shall have the same meaning as provided in
4 section nine hundred thirty-one of the private housing finance law.
5 § 4. Section 11-2104 of the administrative code of the city of New
6 York, as added by local law number 71 of the city of New York for the
7 year 1986, subdivision 4 as amended by local law number 59 of the city
8 of New York for the year 1989, subdivisions 5 and 6 as amended and
9 subdivision 7 as added by chapter 170 of the laws of 1994, is amended to
10 read as follows:
11 § 11-2104 Payment. The tax imposed [hereunder] pursuant to subdivi-
12 sions a and b of section 11-2102 of this chapter shall be paid by the
13 grantor to the commissioner of finance at the office of the register in
14 the county where the deed is or would be recorded within thirty days
15 after the delivery of the deed by the grantor to the grantee but before
16 the recording of such deed, or, in the case of a tax on the transfer of
17 an economic interest in real property, at such place as the commissioner
18 of finance shall designate, within thirty days after the transfer. The
19 grantee shall also be liable for the payment of such tax in the event
20 that the amount of tax due is not paid by the grantor or the grantor is
21 exempt from tax. The tax imposed pursuant to subdivision g of section
22 11-2102 of this chapter shall be paid by the grantee to the commissioner
23 of finance at the office of the register in the county where the deed is
24 or would be recorded within thirty days after the delivery of the deed
25 by the grantor to the grantee but before the recording of such deed, or,
26 in the case of a tax on the transfer of an economic interest in real
27 property, at such place as the commissioner of finance shall designate,
28 within thirty days after the transfer. The grantor shall also be liable
29 for the payment of the tax imposed pursuant to subdivision g of section
30 11-2102 of this chapter in the event that the amount of tax due is not
31 paid by the grantee or the grantee is exempt from payment of the tax.
32 All moneys received as such payments by the register during the preced-
33 ing month shall be transmitted to the commissioner of finance on the
34 first day of each month or on such other day as is mutually agreeable to
35 the commissioner of finance and the register.
36 a. From the moneys so received by him or her pursuant to subdivisions
37 a and b of section 11-2102 of this chapter, the commissioner of finance
38 shall set said in a special account:
39 (1) the total amount of taxes imposed pursuant to the provisions of
40 paragraph three of subdivision a of section 11-2102 of this chapter
41 including any interest or penalties thereon;
42 (2) fifty percent of the total amount of taxes imposed pursuant to the
43 provisions of paragraph four of subdivision a of section 11-2102 of this
44 chapter, including fifty percent of any interest or penalties thereon,
45 provided, however, that where such tax is measured by the consideration
46 for a conveyance without deduction for the amount of any mortgage or
47 other lien or encumbrance on the real property or interest therein which
48 existed before the delivery of the deed and remains thereon after the
49 delivery of the deed, the entire amount of tax imposed at the rate of
50 one percent on the portion of the consideration ascribable to such
51 nondeductible mortgage, lien or other encumbrance, including any inter-
52 est or penalties thereon, and fifty percent of the tax on the balance of
53 the consideration, including fifty percent of any interest or penalties
54 thereon, shall be set aside in such special account;
55 (3) fifty percent of the total amount of taxes imposed pursuant to the
56 provisions of subparagraph (iii) of paragraph seven of subdivision a of
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1 section 11-2102 of this chapter, including fifty percent of any interest
2 or penalties thereon;
3 (4) fifty percent of the total amount of taxes imposed pursuant to the
4 provisions of paragraph eight of subdivision a of section 11-2102 of
5 this chapter, including fifty percent of any interest or penalties ther-
6 eon;
7 (5) fifty percent of the total amount of taxes imposed at the rate of
8 two percent pursuant to the provisions of clause (ii) of subparagraph A
9 of paragraph one of subdivision b of section 11-2102 of this chapter
10 including fifty percent of any interest or penalties thereon;
11 (6) with respect to any conveyance of real property, transfer of an
12 economic interest therein, or any grant, assignment or surrender of a
13 leasehold interest in real property, made on or after August first,
14 nineteen hundred eighty-nine and taxable under this chapter, in each
15 instance where the tax rate is in excess of two percent, a portion of
16 the tax received equal to one percent of the consideration subject to
17 the tax plus any interest or penalty attributable to such portion of the
18 tax; and
19 (7) notwithstanding anything in [subdivision] paragraph six of this
20 subdivision to the contrary, in each instance where the tax rate imposed
21 pursuant to subdivision e of section 11-2102 of this chapter is in
22 excess of one percent, a portion of the tax received equal to one-half
23 of one percent of the total consideration for the real property or
24 economic interest therein conveyed or transferred, plus any interest or
25 penalty attributable to such portion of the tax.
26 Moneys in such account shall be used for payment by such commissioner
27 to the state comptroller for deposit in the urban mass transit operating
28 assistance account of the mass transportation operating assistance fund
29 of any amount of insufficiency certified by the state comptroller pursu-
30 ant to the provisions of subdivision six of section [eight-eight-a]
31 eighty-eight-a of the state finance law, and, on the fifteenth day of
32 each month, the commissioner of finance shall transmit all funds in such
33 account on the last day of the preceding month, except the amount
34 required for the payment of any amount of insufficiency certified by the
35 state comptroller and such amount as he or she deems necessary for
36 refunds and such other amounts necessary to finance the New York City
37 transportation disabled committee and the New York City paratransit
38 system as established by section fifteen-b of the transportation law,
39 provided, however, that such amounts shall not exceed six percent of the
40 total funds in the account but in no event be less than one hundred
41 seventy-five thousand dollars beginning April first, nineteen hundred
42 eighty-six, and further that beginning November fifteenth, nineteen
43 hundred eighty-four and during the entire period prior to operation of
44 such system, the total of such amounts shall not exceed three hundred
45 seventy-five thousand dollars for the administrative expenses of such
46 committee and fifty thousand dollars for the expenses of the agency
47 designated pursuant to paragraph b of subdivision five of such section,
48 and other amounts necessary to finance the operating needs of the
49 private bus companies franchised by the city of New York and eligible to
50 receive state operating assistance under section eighteen-b of the
51 transportation law, provided, however, that such amounts shall not
52 exceed four percent of the total funds in the account, to the New York
53 city transit authority for mass transit within the city.
54 b. The moneys received by the commissioner of finance pursuant to
55 subdivision g of section 11-2102 of this chapter shall be held for the
56 benefit of the housing assistance corporation for the provision of
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1 rental assistance to low-income families whose members constitute an
2 elderly family in accordance with subdivision i of such section, and
3 paid to the housing assistance corporation, in the same fiscal year or
4 as soon as practicable thereafter, for the purposes described in such
5 subdivision i. Such moneys shall be used to supplement, rather than
6 supplant, local funds that such city would have expended for the
7 provision of rental assistance to low-income families whose members
8 constitute an elderly family. For purposes of this subdivision, "low-in-
9 come families" and "elderly family" shall have the same meaning as
10 provided in section nine hundred thirty-one of the private housing
11 finance law.
12 § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
13 have become a law.