Bill Text: NY S09123 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to the determination of the status of an interim multiple dwelling unit as a protected occupant's primary residence by the loft board or a court of competent jurisdiction, or by registration of with the loft board; provides factors for consideration for such findings; restores certain landlord-tenant relationships severed prior to the effective date.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-17 - PRINT NUMBER 9123B [S09123 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S09123-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9123--B IN SENATE April 29, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sen. GONZALEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development -- 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, in relation to the status of an interim multiple dwelling unit as a protected occupant's primary residence The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and 2 declares that the findings in section 280 of the multiple dwelling law 3 are reaffirmed; that the decision from the Appellate Division, First 4 Department, in One Double Nine Dashing LLC v New York City Loft Board et 5 al. (2022) misinterpreted the relationship of primary residence to 6 continued occupancy of potential protected occupants under article 7-C 7 of the multiple dwelling law; that the unique illegal living arrange- 8 ments of potential protected occupants prior to loft law coverage, with- 9 out rent and eviction protections and without the applicability of mini- 10 mum housing maintenance standards, necessitates a regulatory approach 11 which is not always the same as for other rent-regulated tenants; that 12 the loft board properly concluded that the primary residence requirement 13 in the statute is prospective from an application for protected occupan- 14 cy or from registration of the unit with the loft board; that the loft 15 board properly considered all relevant evidence and rejected a position 16 that statements on tax returns alone are determinative in making deter- 17 minations regarding primary residence; that prior to Dashing (2022) 18 neither the courts nor the loft board has looked at statements made on 19 tax returns as controlling when evaluating issues of primary residence 20 for loft tenants; that most loft tenants use for business purposes 21 portions of their lofts, which the loft law envisions as being legalized 22 and covered as joint live/work spaces, so long as the residential use is 23 the primary use of the unit; and that it is necessary for the legisla- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14985-05-4S. 9123--B 2 1 ture to correct the misinterpretation in Dashing (2022) and to clarify, 2 and to codify in the law, what has been loft board policy and precedent 3 based on the current law, loft board rules, and the loft board's deleg- 4 ated expertise for evaluating primary residence of potential protected 5 occupants in possible interim multiple dwelling units. 6 § 2. Paragraph (i) of subdivision 2 of section 286 of the multiple 7 dwelling law, as amended by chapter 4 of the laws of 2013, is amended 8 and a new subdivision 14 is added to read as follows: 9 (i) Prior to compliance with safety and fire protection standards of 10 article seven-B of this chapter, residential occupants qualified for 11 protection pursuant to this article shall be entitled to continued occu- 12 pancy, provided that, subsequent to the application for protected occu- 13 pancy with the loft board or a court of competent jurisdiction or regis- 14 tration with the loft board of the occupant's unit pursuant to this 15 article, the unit is their primary residence, and shall pay the same 16 rent, including escalations, specified in their lease or rental agree- 17 ment to the extent to which such lease or rental agreement remains in 18 effect or, in the absence of a lease or rental agreement, the same rent 19 most recently paid and accepted by the owner; if there is no lease or 20 other rental agreement in effect, rent adjustments prior to article 21 seven-B compliance shall be in conformity with guidelines to be set by 22 the loft board for such residential occupants within six months from the 23 effective date of this article. 24 14. In determining whether a unit qualifies for coverage pursuant to 25 this article, whether an occupant qualifies for protection under this 26 article, or whether a registered interim multiple dwelling unit is a 27 protected occupant's primary residence for all purposes under this arti- 28 cle, no single factor shall be solely determinative, including, without 29 limitation, statements made or actions taken in relation to federal, 30 state or city tax returns. Evidence which may be considered shall 31 include, but not be limited to, specification by an occupant of an 32 address other than such unit as a place of residence on any tax return, 33 motor vehicle registration, driver's license or other document filed 34 with a government agency. No waiver of rights otherwise protected by 35 this subdivision, made prior to the effective date of this subdivision, 36 shall be accorded any force or effect. 37 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to all 38 pending actions or proceedings, including appeals.
