Bill Text: NY S08783 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Establishes a program to address the legalization of specified basements and cellars and the conversion of other specified basements and cellars in a city with a population of one million or more.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-20 - PRINT NUMBER 8783B [S08783 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S08783-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         8783--B

                    IN SENATE

                                     April 18, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  KAVANAGH, CLEARE, FELDER, GOUNARDES, SEPULVEDA --
          read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
          the  Committee  on  Judiciary  --  committee discharged, bill amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and  recommitted  to  said  committee  --
          committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
          recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the  multiple  dwelling  law  and  the  private  housing
          finance  law,  in  relation  to  establishing a program to address the
          legalization of specified basements and cellars and the conversion  of
          other  specified  basements and cellars in a city with a population of
          one million or more

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. The multiple dwelling law is amended by adding a new arti-
     2  cle 7-D to read as follows:
     3                                 ARTICLE 7-D
     4            LEGALIZATION AND CONVERSION OF BASEMENTS AND CELLARS
     5  Section 288. Definitions.
     6          289. Basement and cellar local laws and regulations.
     7          290. Tenant protections in inhabited basements or cellars.
     8    § 288. Definitions. As used in this article,  unless  the  context  or
     9  subject  matter  requires  otherwise, the following terms shall have the
    10  following meanings:
    11    1. The term "inhabited basement or cellar" means a basement or  cellar
    12  unlawfully occupied as a residence by one or more tenants on or prior to
    13  the effective date of this article;
    14    2.  The term "rented" means leased, let, or hired out, with or without
    15  a written agreement; and
    16    3. The term "tenant" means an individual to whom an inhabited basement
    17  or cellar is rented.
    18    § 289. Basement and cellar local laws and regulations.    1.  Notwith-
    19  standing any other provision of state or local law to the contrary, in a
    20  city  with  a  population  of one million or more, the local legislative
    21  body may, by local law, establish a program to address, as  appropriate,

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14945-03-2

        S. 8783--B                          2

     1  and provided that safety is protected, (a) the legalization of specified
     2  inhabited basements and cellars in existence prior to the effective date
     3  of  this  article through conversion to legal dwelling units, or (b) the
     4  conversion  of  other specified basements and cellars in existence prior
     5  to the effective date of this article to legal dwelling units. The local
     6  law authorized by this section, and any rules or regulations promulgated
     7  thereunder, shall not be subject to environmental review.
     8    2. The program established by such local law may provide to  an  owner
     9  who  converts an inhabited basement or cellar in accordance with a local
    10  law authorized by this article or who otherwise abates the illegal occu-
    11  pancy of a basement or cellar amnesty from prosecution,  as  applicable,
    12  for  violations  of this chapter or other state law or local law, rules,
    13  and the zoning resolution of such city, and resolution of any  outstand-
    14  ing  judgments  issued  in  connection  with any violation of such laws,
    15  rules or zoning resolution issued before  the  effective  date  of  this
    16  article.
    17    3.  Such  local  law may provide that any provision of this chapter or
    18  any other state law or local law,  rule  or  regulation,  shall  not  be
    19  applicable,  as  necessary, to provide for the alterations necessary for
    20  the conversion of a specified inhabited  basement  or  cellar  or  other
    21  specified  basement or cellar into a lawful dwelling unit. Any amendment
    22  of the zoning resolution  necessary  to  enact  such  program  shall  be
    23  subject to a public hearing at the planning commission of such locality,
    24  and  approval  by such commission and the legislative body of such local
    25  government, but shall not require environmental review or any additional
    26  land use review.
    27    § 290. Tenant protections in inhabited basements or cellars.   1.  The
    28  program  authorized by this article shall require an application to make
    29  alterations to legalize an inhabited basement or cellar  be  accompanied
    30  by  a  certification indicating whether such unit was rented to a tenant
    31  on the effective date of this article, notwithstanding whether the occu-
    32  pancy of such unit was authorized by  law.  A  city  may  not  use  such
    33  certification  as  the basis for an enforcement action for illegal occu-
    34  pancy of such unit, provided that  nothing  contained  in  this  article
    35  shall  be  construed  to limit such city from issuing a vacate order for
    36  hazardous conditions, when appropriate.
    37    2. The local law authorized by  this  article  shall  provide  that  a
    38  tenant  in  occupancy at the time of the effective date of this article,
    39  who is evicted or otherwise removed from such unit as  a  result  of  an
    40  alteration  necessary  to  bring  an  inhabited  basement or cellar into
    41  compliance with the standards established by the local law authorized by
    42  this article, shall have a right of first refusal to return to such unit
    43  as a tenant upon its first lawful occupancy as a  legal  dwelling  unit,
    44  notwithstanding  whether the occupancy at the time of the effective date
    45  of this article was authorized by law. Such local law shall specify  how
    46  to determine priority when multiple tenants may claim such right.
    47    3.  A tenant unlawfully denied a right of first refusal to return to a
    48  legal dwelling unit, as provided pursuant to the local law authorized by
    49  this article, shall have a cause of action in  any  court  of  competent
    50  jurisdiction  for  compensatory  damages  or  declaratory and injunctive
    51  relief as the  court  deems  necessary  in  the  interests  of  justice,
    52  provided  that  such  compensatory  relief  shall  not exceed the annual
    53  rental charges for such legal dwelling unit.
    54    § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 472 of the private housing finance  law,
    55  as  amended  by  chapter  479 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as
    56  follows:

        S. 8783--B                          3

     1    1. Notwithstanding the provisions of any  general,  special  or  local
     2  law,  a  municipality,  acting  through an agency, is authorized: (a) to
     3  make, or contract to make, loans to low and moderate income  owner-occu-
     4  pants  of one to four unit existing private or multiple dwellings within
     5  its  territorial  limits,  subject to the limitation of subdivisions two
     6  through seven of this section, in such amounts as shall be required  for
     7  the rehabilitation of such dwellings, provided, however, that such loans
     8  shall  not  exceed sixty thousand dollars per dwelling unit, except that
     9  the limitation on the maximum amount of a loan,  as  described  in  this
    10  paragraph,  shall  not  apply to any such loan for, in whole or in part,
    11  rehabilitation of a specified inhabited  basement  or  cellar  or  other
    12  specified  basement  or  cellar for which such owner has sought a permit
    13  pursuant to the local law authorized pursuant  to  section  two  hundred
    14  eighty-nine  of  the  multiple dwelling law. Such loans may also include
    15  the refinancing of the outstanding indebtedness of such  dwellings,  and
    16  the  municipality may make temporary loans or advances to such owner-oc-
    17  cupants in anticipation of permanent loans for such purposes; and
    18    (b) to make or contract to make grants to any owner described in para-
    19  graph (a) of this subdivision, on the same terms as permitted under such
    20  paragraph for a loan.
    21    § 3. Section 472 of the private housing  finance  law  is  amended  by
    22  adding a new subdivision 1-a to read as follows:
    23    1-a.  As used in this article, the term "loan" shall include any grant
    24  made by a municipality pursuant to this article, provided, however, that
    25  provisions of this article concerning the repayment or  forgiveness  of,
    26  or  security  for,  a loan shall not apply to any grant made pursuant to
    27  this article.
    28    § 4. Subdivision 2 of section 473 of the private housing finance  law,
    29  as  added  by  chapter  786  of  the laws of 1987, is amended to read as
    30  follows:
    31    2. A municipality shall neither make nor participate in a loan  to  an
    32  owner-occupant  of  an existing private or multiple dwelling pursuant to
    33  this article unless the agency finds that the area in which such  dwell-
    34  ing is situated is a blighted, deteriorated or deteriorating area or has
    35  a blighting influence on the surrounding area, or is in danger of becom-
    36  ing  a  slum or a blighted area because of the existence of substandard,
    37  unsanitary, deteriorating or deteriorated conditions,  an  aged  housing
    38  stock, or other factors indicating an inability of the private sector to
    39  cause such rehabilitation to be made, except that any such finding shall
    40  not  be  required  for any such loan for, in whole or in part, rehabili-
    41  tation of a specified inhabited basement or cellar  or  other  specified
    42  basement  or cellar for which such owner has sought a permit pursuant to
    43  the local law authorized pursuant to section two hundred eighty-nine  of
    44  the multiple dwelling law.
    45    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
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