Bill Text: NY A06595 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes a rental assistance loan-to-grant program to assist landlords of small rental properties who have lost rental income due to the inability of the landlords' tenants to pay rent during the COVID-19 state disaster emergency.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to housing [A06595 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A06595-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6595 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 19, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SMULLEN, J. A. GIGLIO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing AN ACT to establish a rental assistance loan-to-grant program to assist landlords of small rental properties who have lost rental income due to the inability of the landlords' tenants to pay rent during the COVID-19 state disaster emergency; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. 1. (a) There shall be established in the New York Division 2 of Housing and Community Renewal a rental assistance loan-to-grant 3 program ("the program") to assist landlords of small rental properties 4 who have lost rental income due to the inability of the landlord's 5 tenants to pay rent during the period of the COVID-19 state disaster 6 emergency declared pursuant to executive order 202 of 2020. The program 7 shall be administered by the Commissioner of the New York Division of 8 Housing and Community Renewal. 9 (b) The program shall provide loans to landlords of residential prop- 10 erties containing up to six rental units for the purpose of covering 11 rent arrearages owed by tenants of the building who were unable to pay 12 rent during the COVID-19 state disaster emergency due to unemployment or 13 medical emergency and accrued during the state disaster emergency 14 declared pursuant to executive order 202 of 2020. If a tenant subse- 15 quently pays the landlord the arrearages in rent, in whole or in part, 16 the landlord shall pay such funds to the program as full or partial 17 repayment of the loan. If a tenant does not pay the landlord the arrear- 18 ages in rent, that portion of the loan from the program shall be 19 converted by the Division of Housing and Community Renewal into a grant 20 to the landlord and the landlord shall be held harmless from any obli- 21 gation to repay such portion of the loan, absent any fraud. 22 2. The program shall be funded with monies from the following sources: 23 (a) all funds received by the state of New York from the federal Emer- 24 gency Rental Assistance program; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10350-01-1A. 6595 2 1 (b) any funds remaining from monies allocated to the state of New York 2 from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) 3 Act of 2020 (P.L. 116-136) for the Emergency Rent Relief Act of 2020, 4 pursuant to chapter one hundred twenty-five of the laws of two thousand 5 twenty, such that the sum of such funds actually expended pursuant to 6 such chapter and that such funds reallocated and expended pursuant to 7 this article shall equal one hundred million dollars; and 8 (c) any additional funds allocated by the federal government to the 9 state of New York for emergency rental or utility assistance related to 10 the COVID-19 pandemic. 11 3. The Commissioner of the New York State Division of Housing and 12 Community Renewal will promulgate rules and regulations for the imple- 13 mentation and administration of the program including, but not limited 14 to: 15 (i) standards of eligibility for the program; 16 (ii) application procedures; 17 (iii) a verification process for eligibility for the program; 18 (iv) a process for distribution of program funds to eligible land- 19 lords; 20 (v) a verification process for payment by a tenant of rent arrearages 21 or of the tenant's failure to do so; 22 (vi) time frames for the processing of applications and the distrib- 23 ution of funds under the program; 24 (vii) procedures for and methods of repayment of loans in whole or in 25 part by landlords; and 26 (viii) procedures for the conversion of loans to grants, in whole or 27 in part. 28 4. Nothing in this act shall be construed to relieve any tenant of any 29 obligation to pay rent to a landlord pursuant to a valid rental agree- 30 ment or understanding. 31 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire on the 32 later of December 31, 2021 or the date on which none of the provisions 33 that closed or otherwise restricted public or private businesses or 34 places of public accommodation, or required postponement or cancellation 35 of all non-essential gatherings of individuals of any size for any 36 reason in executive order numbers 202.3, 202.4, 202.5, 202.6, 202.7, 37 202.8, 202.10, 202.11, 202.13 or 202.14 of two thousand twenty, as 38 extended by executive order numbers 202.28 and 202.31 of two thousand 39 twenty and as further extended by any future executive order, issued in 40 response to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to apply anywhere in the 41 state, when upon such date the provisions of this act shall be deemed 42 repealed; provided that the state commissioner of social services shall 43 notify the legislative bill drafting commission upon the date on which 44 none of the provisions that closed or otherwise restricted public or 45 private businesses or places of public accommodation, or required post- 46 ponement or cancellation of all non-essential gatherings of individuals 47 of any size for any reason in executive order numbers 202.3, 202.4, 48 202.5, 202.6, 202.7, 202.8, 202.10, 202.11, 202.13 or 202.14 of two 49 thousand twenty, as extended by executive order numbers 202.28 and 50 202.31 of two thousand twenty and as further extended by any future 51 executive order, issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic continue to 52 apply anywhere in the state, in order that the commission may maintain 53 an accurate and timely effective data base of the official text of the 54 laws of the state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the 55 provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the 56 public officers law.
