Bill Text: NY S00513 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to alternative hardship applications for properties subject to the rent stabilization code.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S00513 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-S00513-Introduced.html
                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                          513
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                   I N  S E N A T E
                                      (PREFILED)
                                    January 9, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced by Sen. ESPAILLAT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
         printed  to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and
         Community Development
       AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and  the
         emergency  tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in relation
         to hardship applications
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Paragraph  6-a  of subdivision c of section 26-511 of the
    2  administrative code of the city of  New  York  is  amended  to  read  as
    3  follows:
    4    (6-a)  provides  criteria  whereby  as  an alternative to the hardship
    5  application provided under paragraph six of this subdivision  owners  of
    6  buildings  acquired  by  the same owner or a related entity owned by the
    7  same principals [three] SIX years prior to the date of  application  may
    8  apply to the division for increases in excess of the level of applicable
    9  guideline increases established under this law based on a finding by the
   10  commissioner  that such guideline increases are not sufficient to enable
   11  the owner to maintain an annual gross  rent  income  for  such  building
   12  which  exceeds  the  annual operating expenses of such building by a sum
   13  equal to at least five percent of such gross rent. For the  purposes  of
   14  this  paragraph, operating expenses shall consist of the actual, reason-
   15  able, costs of fuel, labor,  utilities,  taxes,  other  than  income  or
   16  corporate  franchise taxes, fees, permits, necessary contracted services
   17  and non-capital repairs, insurance, parts and supplies, management  fees
   18  and  other  administrative costs and mortgage interest. For the purposes
   19  of this paragraph, mortgage interest shall be deemed to mean interest on
   20  a bona fide mortgage including an allocable portion of  charges  related
   21  thereto.  Criteria  to be considered in determining a bona fide mortgage
   22  other than an institutional mortgage shall  include;  condition  of  the
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD01927-01-3
       S. 513                              2
    1  property,  location of the property, the existing mortgage market at the
    2  time the mortgage is placed, the term of the mortgage, the  amortization
    3  rate, the principal amount of the mortgage, security and other terms and
    4  conditions  of  the  mortgage. The commissioner shall set a rental value
    5  for any unit occupied by the owner or a person related to the  owner  or
    6  unoccupied  at  the  owner's  choice for more than one month at the last
    7  regulated rent plus the minimum number of guidelines increases or, if no
    8  such regulated rent existed or is known, the commissioner shall impute a
    9  rent consistent with other rents in the building. The amount of hardship
   10  increase shall be such as may be required to maintain the  annual  gross
   11  rent  income as provided by this paragraph. The division shall not grant
   12  a hardship application under this paragraph or  paragraph  six  of  this
   13  subdivision  for  a period of three years subsequent to granting a hard-
   14  ship application under the provisions of this paragraph. The  collection
   15  of  any  increase  in the rent for any housing accommodation pursuant to
   16  this paragraph shall not exceed six percent in any year from the  effec-
   17  tive  date of the order granting the increase over the rent set forth in
   18  the schedule of gross rents, with collectability of  any  dollar  excess
   19  above  said  sum to be spread forward in similar increments and added to
   20  the rent as established or set in future years. No application shall  be
   21  approved unless the owner's equity in such building exceeds five percent
   22  of: (i) the arms length purchase price of the property; (ii) the cost of
   23  any  capital  improvements  for  which  the  owner  has  not collected a
   24  surcharge; (iii) any repayment of principal of any mortgage or loan used
   25  to finance the purchase of the property or any capital improvements  for
   26  which  the  owner has not collected a surcharge and (iv) any increase in
   27  the equalized assessed value of the property which  occurred  subsequent
   28  to  the first valuation of the property after purchase by the owner. For
   29  the purposes of this paragraph, owner's equity shall mean the sum of (i)
   30  the purchase price of the property less the principal of any mortgage or
   31  loan used to finance the purchase of the property, (ii) the cost of  any
   32  capital  improvement  for  which the owner has not collected a surcharge
   33  less the principal of any mortgage or loan used to finance said improve-
   34  ment, (iii) any repayment of the principal of any mortgage or loan  used
   35  to  finance  the purchase of the property or any capital improvement for
   36  which the owner has not collected a surcharge, and (iv) any increase  in
   37  the  equalized  assessed value of the property which occurred subsequent
   38  to the first valuation of the property after purchase by the owner.
   39    S 2. Paragraph 5 of subdivision d of section 6 of section 4 of chapter
   40  576 of the laws of 1974 enacting the emergency tenant protection act  of
   41  nineteen seventy-four, as amended by chapter 102 of the laws of 1984, is
   42  amended to read as follows:
   43    (5) as an alternative to the hardship application provided under para-
   44  graph four of this subdivision, owners of buildings acquired by the same
   45  owner or a related entity owned by the same principals [three] SIX years
   46  prior to the date of application may apply to the division for increases
   47  in  excess  of  the  level of applicable guideline increases established
   48  under this law based on a finding by the commissioner that  such  guide-
   49  line  increases  are  not  sufficient to enable the owner to maintain an
   50  annual gross rent income for such  building  which  exceeds  the  annual
   51  operating  expenses  of  such  building  by a sum equal to at least five
   52  percent of such gross rent. For the purposes of this paragraph,  operat-
   53  ing  expenses  shall  consist  of the actual, reasonable, costs of fuel,
   54  labor, utilities, taxes, other than income or corporate franchise taxes,
   55  fees, permits, necessary contracted services  and  non-capital  repairs,
   56  insurance,  parts and supplies, management fees and other administrative
       S. 513                              3
    1  costs and mortgage interest. For the purposes of this  paragraph,  mort-
    2  gage  interest  shall be deemed to mean interest on a bona fide mortgage
    3  including an allocable portion of charges related thereto.  Criteria  to
    4  be considered in determining a bona fide mortgage other than an institu-
    5  tional  mortgage  shall  include; condition of the property, location of
    6  the property, the existing mortgage market at the time the  mortgage  is
    7  placed,  the  term of the mortgage, the amortization rate, the principal
    8  amount of the mortgage, security and other terms and conditions  of  the
    9  mortgage.  The  commissioner shall set a rental value for any unit occu-
   10  pied by the owner or a person related to the owner or unoccupied at  the
   11  owner's  choice  for more than one month at the last regulated rent plus
   12  the minimum number of guidelines increases or, if no such regulated rent
   13  existed or is known, the commissioner shall  impute  a  rent  consistent
   14  with  other rents in the building. The amount of hardship increase shall
   15  be such as may be required to maintain the annual gross rent  income  as
   16  provided  by  this  paragraph.  The  division shall not grant a hardship
   17  application under this paragraph or paragraph four of  this  subdivision
   18  for  a  period of three years subsequent to granting a hardship applica-
   19  tion under the provisions of  this  paragraph.  The  collection  of  any
   20  increase  in  the  rent  for  any housing accommodation pursuant to this
   21  paragraph shall not exceed six percent in any year  from  the  effective
   22  date  of  the order granting the increase over the rent set forth in the
   23  schedule of gross rents, with collectability of any dollar excess  above
   24  said  sum  to  be  spread forward in similar increments and added to the
   25  rent as established or set in future  years.  No  application  shall  be
   26  approved unless the owner's equity in such building exceeds five percent
   27  of: (i) the arms length purchase price of the property; (ii) the cost of
   28  any  capital  improvements  for  which  the  owner  has  not collected a
   29  surcharge; (iii) any repayment of principal of any mortgage or loan used
   30  to finance the purchase of the property or any capital improvements  for
   31  which  the owner has not collected a surcharge; and (iv) any increase in
   32  the equalized assessed value of the property which  occurred  subsequent
   33  to  the first valuation of the property after purchase by the owner. For
   34  the purposes of this paragraph, owner's equity shall mean the sum of (i)
   35  the purchase price of the property less the principal of any mortgage or
   36  loan used to finance the purchase of the property, (ii) the cost of  any
   37  capital  improvement  for  which the owner has not collected a surcharge
   38  less the principal of any mortgage or loan used to finance said improve-
   39  ment, (iii) any repayment of the principal of any mortgage or loan  used
   40  to  finance  the purchase of the property or any capital improvement for
   41  which the owner has not collected a surcharge, and (iv) any increase  in
   42  the  equalized  assessed value of the property which occurred subsequent
   43  to the first valuation of the property after purchase by the owner.
   44    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the  amend-
   45  ments  to  section 26-511 of chapter 4 of title 26 of the administrative
   46  code of the city of New York made by  section  one  of  this  act  shall
   47  expire  on  the  same  date as such law expires and shall not affect the
   48  expiration of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law; and
   49  provided that the amendments  to  section  6  of  the  emergency  tenant
   50  protection  act of nineteen seventy-four made by section two of this act
   51  shall expire on the same date as such act expires and shall  not  affect
   52  the  expiration  of such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of
   53  the laws of 1974.
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