Bill Text: NY S07150 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Allows owners of buildings which are master metered for electricity and have rent inclusion of electricity to file applications to terminate the rent inclusion of electricity for such accommodations.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S07150 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S07150-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7150
                    IN SENATE
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 3, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- 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, the
          emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four and the emer-
          gency housing rent control law, in relation to the termination of rent
          inclusion of electricity for housing accommodations
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1.  Subdivision c of section 26-511 of the administrative code
     2  of  the city of New York is amended by adding a new paragraph 15 to read
     3  as follows:
     4    (15) provides that owners of buildings which are  master  metered  for
     5  electricity and have rent inclusion of electricity may file applications
     6  to  terminate  the  rent inclusion of electricity for the accommodations
     7  subject to this section.
     8    (a) The division of housing and community renewal shall formulate  and
     9  publish a schedule of rent adjustments or update the schedule of adjust-
    10  ments  within six months of the publication of a new housing and vacancy
    11  survey by the United States Census Bureau. The schedule or updated sche-
    12  dule of rent adjustments shall be based on the new survey data as  tabu-
    13  lated  by the New York city rent guidelines board, governing the rate by
    14  which the rent of regulated housing  accommodations  shall  be  adjusted
    15  upon  and  after  conversion  to  individual metering at the building by
    16  means of either direct metering or submetering. The division of  housing
    17  and  community  renewal  shall promulgate an operational bulletin and/or
    18  modify or amend its regulations as may be necessary to  give  effect  to
    19  the provisions of this paragraph.
    20    (b)  The  New  York city rent guidelines board shall provide staff and
    21  assistance to the division of housing and community renewal, by tabulat-
    22  ing the data of the triennial New York city housing and  vacancy  survey
    23  produced by the United States Census Bureau within ninety days of publi-
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01125-01-7

        S. 7150                             2
     1  cation  and  providing the division of housing and community renewal the
     2  data necessary to promulgate a schedule of rent adjustments.
     3    (c) The schedule of rent reductions shall apply to all rent stabilized
     4  accommodation  units  in  a  building  that converts from master utility
     5  metering to individual utility metering by means of either direct meter-
     6  ing or submetering, and shall take effect during the year in  which  the
     7  metering in the building is converted and continue each year thereafter.
     8    (d)  After  the conversion, all tenants shall be responsible for their
     9  own electric consumption except those who, on the  date  of  conversion,
    10  are  receiving  a senior citizen rent increase exemption or a disability
    11  rent increase exemption pursuant to section 26-509 of this chapter.  For
    12  such  tenants  the rent shall not be reduced and the cost of electricity
    13  shall remain included in the rent; however, the owner  may  install  any
    14  equipment  in  such  tenant's  housing  accommodation as is required for
    15  effectuation of the electrical conversion.  If  such  tenant  no  longer
    16  receives  such  benefit  or vacates the housing accommodation, the owner
    17  shall reduce the legal regulated rent for the housing  accommodation  in
    18  accordance  with the then-current schedule of rent reductions as promul-
    19  gated by the division of housing and community renewal.
    20    (e) Nothing in this paragraph shall  be  construed  to  permit  shared
    21  metering.
    22    § 2. Section 26-405 of the administrative code of the city of New York
    23  is amended by adding a new subdivision n to read as follows:
    24    n.  Schedule of rent reductions; individual electric metering.  Owners
    25  of buildings which are master metered  for  electricity  and  have  rent
    26  inclusion  of  electricity  may  file applications to terminate the rent
    27  inclusion of electricity for the accommodations subject to this section.
    28    (1) The city rent agency shall formulate and  publish  a  schedule  of
    29  rent adjustments or update the schedule of adjustments within six months
    30  of  the  publication  of  a new housing and vacancy survey by the United
    31  States Census Bureau. The schedule or updated schedule of  rent  adjust-
    32  ments shall be based on the new survey data as tabulated by the New York
    33  city  rent  guidelines  board,  governing  the rate by which the rent of
    34  regulated housing  accommodations  shall  be  adjusted  upon  and  after
    35  conversion  to  individual  metering  at the building by means of either
    36  direct metering or submetering. The city rent agency shall promulgate an
    37  operational bulletin and/or modify or amend its regulations  as  may  be
    38  necessary to give effect to the provisions of this subdivision.
    39    (2)  The  New  York city rent guidelines board shall provide staff and
    40  assistance to the city rent agency, by tabulating the data of the trien-
    41  nial New York city housing and vacancy survey  produced  by  the  United
    42  States Census Bureau within ninety days of publication and providing the
    43  city  rent  agency  the  data necessary to promulgate a schedule of rent
    44  adjustments.
    45    (3) The schedule of rent reductions shall apply to all rent controlled
    46  accommodation units in a building  that  converts  from  master  utility
    47  metering to individual utility metering by means of either direct meter-
    48  ing  or  submetering, and shall take effect during the year in which the
    49  metering in the building is converted and continue each year thereafter.
    50    (4) After the conversion, all tenants shall be responsible  for  their
    51  own  electric  consumption  except those who, on the date of conversion,
    52  are receiving a senior citizen rent increase exemption or  a  disability
    53  rent  increase exemption pursuant to section 26-406 of this chapter. For
    54  such tenants the rent shall not be reduced and the cost  of  electricity
    55  shall  remain  included  in the rent; however, the owner may install any
    56  equipment in such tenant's housing  accommodation  as  is  required  for

        S. 7150                             3
     1  effectuation  of  the  electrical  conversion.  If such tenant no longer
     2  receives such benefit or vacates the housing  accommodation,  the  owner
     3  shall  reduce  the maximum rent for the housing accommodation in accord-
     4  ance with the then-current schedule of rent reductions as promulgated by
     5  the city rent agency.
     6    (5)  Nothing  in  this subdivision shall be construed to permit shared
     7  metering.
     8    § 3. Subdivision d of section 6 of section 4 of  chapter  576  of  the
     9  laws  of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nine-
    10  teen seventy-four, is amended by adding a new paragraph  6  to  read  as
    11  follows:
    12    (6)  owners  of buildings which are master metered for electricity and
    13  have rent inclusion of electricity may file  applications  to  terminate
    14  the rent inclusion of electricity for the accommodations subject to this
    15  section.
    16    (i)  The division of housing and community renewal shall formulate and
    17  publish a schedule of rent adjustments or update the schedule of adjust-
    18  ments within six months of the publication of a new housing and  vacancy
    19  survey by the United States Census Bureau. The schedule or updated sche-
    20  dule  of rent adjustments shall be based on the new survey data as tabu-
    21  lated by the New York city rent guidelines board, governing the rate  by
    22  which  the  rent  of  regulated housing accommodations shall be adjusted
    23  upon and after conversion to individual  metering  at  the  building  by
    24  means  of either direct metering or submetering. The division of housing
    25  and community renewal shall promulgate an  operational  bulletin  and/or
    26  modify  or  amend  its regulations as may be necessary to give effect to
    27  the provisions of this paragraph.
    28    (ii) The New York city rent guidelines board shall provide  staff  and
    29  assistance to the division of housing and community renewal, by tabulat-
    30  ing  the  data of the triennial New York city housing and vacancy survey
    31  produced by the United States Census Bureau within ninety days of publi-
    32  cation and providing the division of housing and community  renewal  the
    33  data necessary to promulgate a schedule of rent adjustments.
    34    (iii)  The  schedule of rent reductions shall apply to all rent stabi-
    35  lized accommodation units in a building that converts from master utili-
    36  ty metering to individual utility metering by  means  of  either  direct
    37  metering  or submetering, and shall take effect during the year in which
    38  the metering in the building is converted and continue each year  there-
    39  after.
    40    (iv)  After the conversion, all tenants shall be responsible for their
    41  own electric consumption except those who, on the  date  of  conversion,
    42  are  receiving  a senior citizen rent increase exemption or a disability
    43  rent increase exemption pursuant to a local law, ordinance or resolution
    44  as authorized by section 467-b of the real property tax  law.  For  such
    45  tenants  the rent shall not be reduced and the cost of electricity shall
    46  remain included in the rent; however, the owner may install  any  equip-
    47  ment in such tenant's housing accommodation as is required for effectua-
    48  tion  of  the  electrical  conversion. If such tenant no longer receives
    49  such benefit or vacates  the  housing  accommodation,  the  owner  shall
    50  reduce the legal regulated rent for the housing accommodation in accord-
    51  ance with the then-current schedule of rent reductions as promulgated by
    52  the division of housing and community renewal.
    53    (v)  Nothing  in  this  paragraph  shall be construed to permit shared
    54  metering.

        S. 7150                             4
     1    § 4. Section 4 of chapter 274 of the laws of  1946,  constituting  the
     2  emergency  housing rent control law, is amended by adding a new subdivi-
     3  sion 9 to read as follows:
     4    9.    Owners of buildings which are master metered for electricity and
     5  have rent inclusion of electricity may file  applications  to  terminate
     6  the rent inclusion of electricity for the accommodations subject to this
     7  section.
     8    (1)  The division of housing and community renewal shall formulate and
     9  publish a schedule of rent adjustments or update the schedule of adjust-
    10  ments within six months of the publication of a new housing and  vacancy
    11  survey by the United States Census Bureau. The schedule or updated sche-
    12  dule  of rent adjustments shall be based on the new survey data as tabu-
    13  lated by the New York city rent guidelines board, governing the rate  by
    14  which  the  rent  of  regulated housing accommodations shall be adjusted
    15  upon and after conversion to individual  metering  at  the  building  by
    16  means  of either direct metering or submetering. The division of housing
    17  and community renewal shall promulgate an  operational  bulletin  and/or
    18  modify  or  amend  its regulations as may be necessary to give effect to
    19  the provisions of this subdivision.
    20    (2) The New York city rent guidelines board shall  provide  staff  and
    21  assistance to the division of housing and community renewal, by tabulat-
    22  ing  the  data of the triennial New York city housing and vacancy survey
    23  produced by the United States Census Bureau within ninety days of publi-
    24  cation and providing the division of housing and community  renewal  the
    25  data necessary to promulgate a schedule of rent adjustments.
    26    (3) The schedule of rent reductions shall apply to all rent controlled
    27  accommodation  units  in  a  building  that converts from master utility
    28  metering to individual utility metering by means of either direct meter-
    29  ing or submetering, and shall take effect during the year in  which  the
    30  metering in the building is converted and continue each year thereafter.
    31    (4)  After  the conversion, all tenants shall be responsible for their
    32  own electric consumption except those who, on the  date  of  conversion,
    33  are  receiving  a senior citizen rent increase exemption or a disability
    34  rent increase exemption pursuant to a local law, ordinance or resolution
    35  as authorized by section 467-b of the real property tax  law.  For  such
    36  tenants  the rent shall not be reduced and the cost of electricity shall
    37  remain included in the rent; however, the owner may install  any  equip-
    38  ment in such tenant's housing accommodation as is required for effectua-
    39  tion  of  the  electrical  conversion. If such tenant no longer receives
    40  such benefit or vacates  the  housing  accommodation,  the  owner  shall
    41  reduce the maximum rent for the housing accommodation in accordance with
    42  the then-current schedule of rent reductions as promulgated by the divi-
    43  sion of housing and community renewal.
    44    (5)  Nothing  in  this subdivision shall be construed to permit shared
    45  metering.
    46    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that:
    47    a. sections one, two, three and four of this act shall take effect  on
    48  the  first  of January next succeeding the date upon which it shall have
    49  become a law, and shall apply to all fiscal years commencing on or after
    50  such date;
    51    b. the amendments to section 26-511 of the rent stabilization  law  of
    52  nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by section one of this act shall expire
    53  on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration
    54  of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law;
    55    c.  the  amendments  to  section 26-405 of the city rent and rehabili-
    56  tation law made by section two of this act shall remain  in  full  force

        S. 7150                             5
     1  and effect only as long as the public emergency requiring the regulation
     2  and control of residential rents and evictions continues, as provided in
     3  subdivision  3  of section 1 of the local emergency housing rent control
     4  act;
     5    d.  the  amendments  to  subdivision  d  of section 6 of the emergency
     6  tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four made by section three  of
     7  this act shall expire on the same date as such act expires and shall not
     8  affect  the  expiration of such act as provided in section 17 of chapter
     9  576 of the laws of 1974; and
    10    e. the amendments to section 4 of the emergency housing  rent  control
    11  law  made  by  section four of this act shall expire on the same date as
    12  such law expires and shall not affect the  expiration  of  such  law  as
    13  provided  in  subdivision  2  of section 1 of chapter 274 of the laws of
    14  1946.
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