Bill Text: NY S05387 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides that no landlord shall deny access to a licensed professional engineer or licensed registered architect hired by any tenant or tenant association representing tenants of a multiple dwelling of six units or more for the purpose of conducting an inspection of a major capital improvement for which an application for a maximum rent adjustment has been filed by the landlord; provides that such inspection shall be conducted after notice to the landlord and during normal business hours; provides for the filing of such inspection report by such tenants with the New York city rent agency for consideration in such application's determination.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S05387 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S05387-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5387 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 3, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. PARKER, SEPULVEDA -- 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 inspection of major capital improvements for which rent increases are requested and in relation to extending the provisions of the rent stabilization law The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subparagraph (g) of paragraph 1 of subdivision g of section 2 26-405 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by 3 section 27 of part Q chapter 39 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read 4 as follows: 5 (g) There has been since July first, nineteen hundred seventy, a major 6 capital improvement essential for the preservation energy efficiency, 7 functionality, or infrastructure of the entire building, improvement of 8 the structure including heating, windows, plumbing and roofing but shall 9 not be for operational costs or unnecessary cosmetic improvements. The 10 temporary increase based upon a major capital improvement under this 11 subparagraph for any order of the commissioner issued after [the effec-12tive date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand nineteen that13amended this subparagraph] June 14, 2014 shall be in an amount suffi- 14 cient to amortize the cost of the improvements pursuant to this subpara- 15 graph [(g)] over a twelve-year period for buildings with thirty-five or 16 fewer units or a twelve and one-half year period for buildings with more 17 than thirty-five units, and shall be removed from the legal regulated 18 rent thirty years from the date the increase became effective inclusive 19 of any increases granted by the applicable rent guidelines board. Tempo- 20 rary major capital improvement increases shall be collectible prospec- 21 tively on the first day of the first month beginning sixty days from the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07022-01-1S. 5387 2 1 date of mailing notice of approval to the tenant. Such notice shall 2 disclose the total monthly increase in rent and the first month in which 3 the tenant would be required to pay the temporary increase. An approval 4 for a temporary major capital improvement increase shall not include 5 retroactive payments. The collection of any increase shall not exceed 6 two percent in any year from the effective date of the order granting 7 the increase over the rent set forth in the schedule of gross rents, 8 with collectability of any dollar excess above said sum to be spread 9 forward in similar increments and added to the rent as established or 10 set in future years. Upon vacancy, the landlord may add any remaining 11 balance of the temporary major capital improvement increase to the legal 12 regulated rent. No landlord shall deny access to a professional engi- 13 neer licensed to practice in the state of New York or a registered 14 architect licensed to practice in the state of New York hired by any 15 tenant, tenants or tenant association representing tenants of a multiple 16 dwelling of six units or more for the purpose of conducting an 17 inspection of a major capital improvement for which an application for 18 adjustment of maximum rent has been filed. Such inspection shall be 19 conducted after notice to the landlord and during normal business hours. 20 Such tenant may file the report of the inspection with the city rent 21 agency for consideration in the determination of such application. 22 Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, for any renewal lease 23 commencing on or after June 14, 2019, the collection of any rent 24 increases due to any major capital improvements approved on or after 25 June 16, 2012 and before June 16, 2019 shall not exceed two percent in 26 any year for any tenant in occupancy on the date the major capital 27 improvement was approved, or 28 § 2. Paragraph 6 of subdivision c of section 26-511 of the administra- 29 tive code of the city of New York, as separately amended by section 12 30 of part K of chapter 36 and section 28 of part Q of chapter 39 of the 31 laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 32 (6) provides criteria whereby the commissioner may act upon applica- 33 tions by owners for increases in excess of the level of fair rent 34 increase established under this law provided, however, that such crite- 35 ria shall provide (a) as to hardship applications, for a finding that 36 the level of fair rent increase is not sufficient to enable the owner to 37 maintain approximately the same average annual net income (which shall 38 be computed without regard to debt service, financing costs or manage- 39 ment fees) for the three year period ending on or within six months of 40 the date of an application pursuant to such criteria as compared with 41 annual net income, which prevailed on the average over the period nine- 42 teen hundred sixty-eight through nineteen hundred seventy, or for the 43 first three years of operation if the building was completed since nine- 44 teen hundred sixty-eight or for the first three fiscal years after a 45 transfer of title to a new owner provided the new owner can establish to 46 the satisfaction of the commissioner that he or she acquired title to 47 the building as a result of a bona fide sale of the entire building and 48 that the new owner is unable to obtain requisite records for the fiscal 49 years nineteen hundred sixty-eight through nineteen hundred seventy 50 despite diligent efforts to obtain same from predecessors in title and 51 further provided that the new owner can provide financial data covering 52 a minimum of six years under his or her continuous and uninterrupted 53 operation of the building to meet the three year to three year compar- 54 ative test periods herein provided; and (b) as to completed building- 55 wide major capital improvements, for a finding that such improvements 56 are deemed depreciable under the Internal Revenue Code and that the costS. 5387 3 1 is to be amortized over a twelve-year period for a building with thir- 2 ty-five or fewer housing accommodations, or a twelve and one-half-year 3 period for a building with more than thirty-five housing accommodations, 4 for any determination issued by the division of housing and community 5 renewal after [the effective date of the the chapter of the laws of two6thousand nineteen that amended this paragraph] June 14, 2019 and shall 7 be removed from the legal regulated rent thirty years from the date the 8 increase became effective inclusive of any increases granted by the 9 applicable rent guidelines board. Temporary major capital improvement 10 increases shall be collectible prospectively on the first day of the 11 first month beginning sixty days from the date of mailing notice of 12 approval to the tenant. Such notice shall disclose the total monthly 13 increase in rent and the first month in which the tenant would be 14 required to pay the temporary increase. An approval for a temporary 15 major capital improvement increase shall not include retroactive 16 payments. The collection of any increase shall not exceed two percent in 17 any year from the effective date of the order granting the increase over 18 the rent set forth in the schedule of gross rents, with collectability 19 of any dollar excess above said sum to be spread forward in similar 20 increments and added to the rent as established or set in future years. 21 Upon vacancy, the landlord may add any remaining balance of the tempo- 22 rary major capital improvement increase to the legal regulated rent. No 23 landlord shall deny access to a professional engineer licensed to prac- 24 tice in the state of New York or a registered architect licensed to 25 practice in the state of New York hired by any tenant, tenants or tenant 26 association representing tenants of a multiple dwelling of six units or 27 more for the purpose of conducting an inspection of a major capital 28 improvement for which an application for adjustment of maximum rent has 29 been filed. Such inspection shall be conducted after notice to the land- 30 lord and during normal business hours. Such tenant may file the report 31 of the inspection with the city rent agency for consideration in the 32 determination of such application. Notwithstanding any other provision 33 of the law, for any renewal lease commencing on or after June 14, 2019, 34 the collection of any rent increases due to any major capital improve- 35 ments approved on or after June 16, 2012 and before June 16, 2019 shall 36 not exceed two percent in any year for any tenant in occupancy on the 37 date the major capital improvement was approved or based upon cash 38 purchase price exclusive of interest or service charges. Where an appli- 39 cation for a temporary major capital improvement increase has been 40 filed, a tenant shall have sixty days from the date of mailing of a 41 notice of a proceeding in which to answer or reply. The state division 42 of housing and community renewal shall provide any responding tenant 43 with the reasons for the division's approval or denial of such applica- 44 tion. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, no 45 hardship increase granted pursuant to this paragraph shall, when added 46 to the annual gross rents, as determined by the commissioner, exceed the 47 sum of, (i) the annual operating expenses, (ii) an allowance for manage- 48 ment services as determined by the commissioner, (iii) actual annual 49 mortgage debt service (interest and amortization) on its indebtedness to 50 a lending institution, an insurance company, a retirement fund or 51 welfare fund which is operated under the supervision of the banking or 52 insurance laws of the state of New York or the United States, and (iv) 53 eight and one-half percent of that portion of the fair market value of 54 the property which exceeds the unpaid principal amount of the mortgage 55 indebtedness referred to in subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph. Fair 56 market value for the purposes of this paragraph shall be six times theS. 5387 4 1 annual gross rent. The collection of any increase in the stabilized rent 2 for any apartment pursuant to this paragraph shall not exceed six 3 percent in any year from the effective date of the order granting the 4 increase over the rent set forth in the schedule of gross rents, with 5 collectability of any dollar excess above said sum to be spread forward 6 in similar increments and added to the stabilized rent as established or 7 set in future years; 8 § 3. Paragraph 3 of subdivision d of section 6 of section 4 of chapter 9 576 of the laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection 10 act of nineteen seventy-four, as amended by section 26 of part Q of 11 chapter 39 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 12 (3) there has been since January first, nineteen hundred seventy-four 13 a major capital improvement essential for the preservation, energy effi- 14 ciency, functionality, or infrastructure of the entire building, 15 improvement of the structure including heating, windows, plumbing and 16 roofing, but shall not be for operation costs or unnecessary cosmetic 17 improvements. An adjustment under this paragraph shall be in an amount 18 sufficient to amortize the cost of the improvements pursuant to this 19 paragraph over a twelve-year period for a building with thirty-five or 20 fewer housing accommodations, or a twelve and one-half period for a 21 building with more than thirty-five housing accommodations and shall be 22 removed from the legal regulated rent thirty years from the date the 23 increase became effective inclusive of any increases granted by the 24 applicable rent guidelines board, for any determination issued by the 25 division of housing and community renewal after [the effective date of26the chapter of the laws of two thousand nineteen that amended this para-27graph] June 14, 2019. Temporary major capital improvement increases 28 shall be collectable prospectively on the first day of the first month 29 beginning sixty days from the date of mailing notice of approval to the 30 tenant. Such notice shall disclose the total monthly increase in rent 31 and the first month in which the tenant would be required to pay the 32 temporary increase. An approval for a temporary major capital improve- 33 ment increase shall not include retroactive payments. The collection of 34 any increase shall not exceed two percent in any year from the effective 35 date of the order granting the increase over the rent set forth in the 36 schedule of gross rents, with collectability of any dollar excess above 37 said sum to be spread forward in similar increments and added to the 38 rent as established or set in future years. Upon vacancy, the landlord 39 may add any remaining balance of the temporary major capital improvement 40 increase to the legal regulated rent. No landlord shall deny access to 41 a professional engineer licensed to practice in the state of New York or 42 a registered architect licensed to practice in the state of New York 43 hired by any tenant, tenants or tenant association representing tenants 44 of a multiple dwelling of six units or more for the purpose of conduct- 45 ing an inspection of a major capital improvement for which an applica- 46 tion for adjustment of maximum rent has been filed. Such inspection 47 shall be conducted after notice to the landlord and during normal busi- 48 ness hours. Such tenant may file the report of the inspection with the 49 city rent agency for consideration in the determination of such applica- 50 tion. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, the collection of 51 any rent increases for any renewal lease commencing on or after June 14, 52 2019, due to any major capital improvements approved on or after June 53 16, 2012 and before June 16, 2019 shall not exceed two percent in any 54 year for any tenant in occupancy on the date the major capital improve- 55 ment was approved, orS. 5387 5 1 § 4. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 2 it shall have become a law, provided that the amendments to section 3 26-405 of the city rent and rehabilitation law made by section one of 4 this act shall remain in full force and effect only so long as the 5 public emergency requiring the regulation and control of residential 6 rents and evictions continues, as provided in subdivision 3 of section 1 7 of the local emergency housing rent control act; and provided further 8 that the amendments to section 26-511 of the rent stabilization law of 9 nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by section two of this act shall expire 10 on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration 11 of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law. Effective 12 immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule and regu- 13 lation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective 14 date are authorized to be made on or before such date.
