Bill Text: NY S04099 | 2025-2026 | 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 or the state division of housing and community renewal for consideration in such application's determination.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-31 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S04099 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S04099-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4099 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 31, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. PARKER, JACKSON, 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, the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four and the emer- gency housing rent control law, 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 of chapter 39 of the laws of 2019, is amended to 4 read 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, 2019 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. LBD04468-01-5S. 4099 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 for the 16 purpose of conducting an inspection of a major capital improvement for 17 which an application for adjustment of maximum rent has been filed. Such 18 inspection shall be conducted after notice to the landlord and during 19 normal business hours. Such tenant may file the report of the inspection 20 with the city rent agency for consideration in the determination of such 21 application. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, for any 22 renewal lease commencing on or after June 14, 2019, the collection of 23 any rent increases due to any major capital improvements approved on or 24 after June 16, 2012 and before June 16, 2019 shall not exceed two 25 percent in any year for any tenant in occupancy on the date the major 26 capital improvement was approved, or 27 § 2. Paragraph 6 of subdivision c of section 26-511 of the administra- 28 tive code of the city of New York, as separately amended by section 12 29 of part K of chapter 36 and section 28 of part Q of chapter 39 of the 30 laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 31 (6) provides criteria whereby the commissioner may act upon applica- 32 tions by owners for increases in excess of the level of fair rent 33 increase established under this law provided, however, that such crite- 34 ria shall provide (a) as to hardship applications, for a finding that 35 the level of fair rent increase is not sufficient to enable the owner to 36 maintain approximately the same average annual net income (which shall 37 be computed without regard to debt service, financing costs or manage- 38 ment fees) for the three year period ending on or within six months of 39 the date of an application pursuant to such criteria as compared with 40 annual net income, which prevailed on the average over the period nine- 41 teen hundred sixty-eight through nineteen hundred seventy, or for the 42 first three years of operation if the building was completed since nine- 43 teen hundred sixty-eight or for the first three fiscal years after a 44 transfer of title to a new owner provided the new owner can establish to 45 the satisfaction of the commissioner that [he or she] they acquired 46 title to the building as a result of a bona fide sale of the entire 47 building and that the new owner is unable to obtain requisite records 48 for the fiscal years nineteen hundred sixty-eight through nineteen 49 hundred seventy despite diligent efforts to obtain same from predeces- 50 sors in title and further provided that the new owner can provide finan- 51 cial data covering a minimum of six years under [his or her] their 52 continuous and uninterrupted operation of the building to meet the three 53 year to three year comparative test periods herein provided; and (b) as 54 to completed building-wide major capital improvements, for a finding 55 that such improvements are deemed depreciable under the Internal Revenue 56 Code and that the cost is to be amortized over a twelve-year period forS. 4099 3 1 a building with thirty-five or fewer housing accommodations, or a twelve 2 and one-half-year period for a building with more than thirty-five hous- 3 ing accommodations, for any determination issued by the division of 4 housing and community renewal after [the effective date of the the chap-5ter of the laws of two thousand nineteen that amended this paragraph] 6 June 14, 2019 and shall be removed from the legal regulated rent thirty 7 years from the date the increase became effective inclusive of any 8 increases granted by the applicable rent guidelines board. Temporary 9 major capital improvement increases shall be collectible prospectively 10 on the first day of the first month beginning sixty days from the date 11 of mailing notice of approval to the tenant. Such notice shall disclose 12 the total monthly increase in rent and the first month in which the 13 tenant would be required to pay the temporary increase. An approval for 14 a temporary major capital improvement increase shall not include retro- 15 active payments. The collection of any increase shall not exceed two 16 percent in any year from the effective date of the order granting the 17 increase over the rent set forth in the schedule of gross rents, with 18 collectability of any dollar excess above said sum to be spread forward 19 in similar increments and added to the rent as established or set in 20 future years. Upon vacancy, the landlord may add any remaining balance 21 of the temporary major capital improvement increase to the legal regu- 22 lated rent. No landlord shall deny access to a professional engineer 23 licensed to practice in the state of New York or a registered architect 24 licensed to practice in the state of New York hired by any tenant, 25 tenants or tenant association representing tenants for the purpose of 26 conducting an inspection of a major capital improvement for which an 27 application for adjustment of maximum rent has been filed. Such 28 inspection shall be conducted after notice to the landlord and during 29 normal business hours. Such tenant may file the report of the inspection 30 with the state division of housing and community renewal for consider- 31 ation in the determination of such application. Notwithstanding any 32 other provision of the law, for any renewal lease commencing on or after 33 June 14, 2019, the collection of any rent increases due to any major 34 capital improvements approved on or after June 16, 2012 and before June 35 16, 2019 shall not exceed two percent in any year for any tenant in 36 occupancy on the date the major capital improvement was approved or 37 based upon cash purchase price exclusive of interest or service charges. 38 Where an application for a temporary major capital improvement increase 39 has been filed, a tenant shall have sixty days from the date of mailing 40 of a notice of a proceeding in which to answer or reply. The state divi- 41 sion of housing and community renewal shall provide any responding 42 tenant with the reasons for the division's approval or denial of such 43 application. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, 44 no hardship increase granted pursuant to this paragraph shall, when 45 added to the annual gross rents, as determined by the commissioner, 46 exceed the sum of, (i) the annual operating expenses, (ii) an allowance 47 for management services as determined by the commissioner, (iii) actual 48 annual mortgage debt service (interest and amortization) on its indebt- 49 edness to a lending institution, an insurance company, a retirement fund 50 or welfare fund which is operated under the supervision of the banking 51 or insurance laws of the state of New York or the United States, and 52 (iv) eight and one-half percent of that portion of the fair market value 53 of the property which exceeds the unpaid principal amount of the mort- 54 gage indebtedness referred to in subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph. 55 Fair market value for the purposes of this paragraph shall be six times 56 the annual gross rent. The collection of any increase in the stabilizedS. 4099 4 1 rent for any apartment pursuant to this paragraph shall not exceed six 2 percent in any year from the effective date of the order granting the 3 increase over the rent set forth in the schedule of gross rents, with 4 collectability of any dollar excess above said sum to be spread forward 5 in similar increments and added to the stabilized rent as established or 6 set in future years; 7 § 3. Paragraph 3 of subdivision d of section 6 of section 4 of chapter 8 576 of the laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection 9 act of nineteen seventy-four, as amended by section 26 of part Q of 10 chapter 39 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 11 (3) there has been since January first, nineteen hundred seventy-four 12 a major capital improvement essential for the preservation, energy effi- 13 ciency, functionality, or infrastructure of the entire building, 14 improvement of the structure including heating, windows, plumbing and 15 roofing, but shall not be for operation costs or unnecessary cosmetic 16 improvements. An adjustment under this paragraph shall be in an amount 17 sufficient to amortize the cost of the improvements pursuant to this 18 paragraph over a twelve-year period for a building with thirty-five or 19 fewer housing accommodations, or a twelve and one-half period for a 20 building with more than thirty-five housing accommodations and shall be 21 removed from the legal regulated rent thirty years from the date the 22 increase became effective inclusive of any increases granted by the 23 applicable rent guidelines board, for any determination issued by the 24 division of housing and community renewal after [the effective date of25the chapter of the laws of two thousand nineteen that amended this para-26graph] June 14, 2019. Temporary major capital improvement increases 27 shall be collectable prospectively on the first day of the first month 28 beginning sixty days from the date of mailing notice of approval to the 29 tenant. Such notice shall disclose the total monthly increase in rent 30 and the first month in which the tenant would be required to pay the 31 temporary increase. An approval for a temporary major capital improve- 32 ment increase shall not include retroactive payments. The collection of 33 any increase shall not exceed two percent in any year from the effective 34 date of the order granting the increase over the rent set forth in the 35 schedule of gross rents, with collectability of any dollar excess above 36 said sum to be spread forward in similar increments and added to the 37 rent as established or set in future years. Upon vacancy, the landlord 38 may add any remaining balance of the temporary major capital improvement 39 increase to the legal regulated rent. No landlord shall deny access to 40 a professional engineer licensed to practice in the state of New York or 41 a registered architect licensed to practice in the state of New York 42 hired by any tenant, tenants or tenant association representing tenants 43 for the purpose of conducting an inspection of a major capital improve- 44 ment for which an application for adjustment of maximum rent has been 45 filed. Such inspection shall be conducted after notice to the landlord 46 and during normal business hours. Such tenant may file the report of the 47 inspection with the state division of housing and community renewal for 48 consideration in the determination of such application. Notwithstanding 49 any other provision of the law, the collection of any rent increases for 50 any renewal lease commencing on or after June 14, 2019, due to any major 51 capital improvements approved on or after June 16, 2012 and before June 52 16, 2019 shall not exceed two percent in any year for any tenant in 53 occupancy on the date the major capital improvement was approved, or 54 § 4. Subparagraph 7 of the second undesignated paragraph of para- 55 graph (a) of subdivision 4 of section 4 of chapter 274 of the laws 56 of 1946, constituting the emergency housing rent control law as sepa-S. 4099 5 1 rately amended by section 14 of part K of chapter 36 and section 25 of 2 part Q of chapter 39 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 3 (7) there has been since March first, nineteen hundred fifty, a major 4 capital improvement essential for the preservation, energy efficiency, 5 functionality, or infrastructure of the entire building, improvement of 6 the structure including heating, windows, plumbing and roofing, but 7 shall not be for operational costs or unnecessary cosmetic improvements; 8 which for any order of the commissioner issued after [the effective date9of the chapter of the laws of two thousand nineteen that amended this10paragraph] June 14, 2019 the cost of such improvement shall be amortized 11 over a twelve-year period for buildings with thirty-five or fewer units 12 or a twelve and one-half year period for buildings with more than thir- 13 ty-five units, and shall be removed from the legal regulated rent thirty 14 years from the date the increase became effective inclusive of any 15 increases granted by the applicable rent guidelines board. Temporary 16 major capital improvement increases shall be collectible prospectively 17 on the first day of the first month beginning sixty days from the date 18 of mailing notice of approval to the tenant. Such notice shall disclose 19 the total monthly increase in rent and the first month in which the 20 tenant would be required to pay the temporary increase. An approval for 21 a temporary major capital improvement increase shall not include retro- 22 active payments. The collection of any increase shall not exceed two 23 percent in any year from the effective date of the order granting the 24 increase over the rent set forth in the schedule of gross rents, with 25 collectability of any dollar excess above said sum to be spread forward 26 in similar increments and added to the rent as established or set in 27 future years. Upon vacancy, the landlord may add any remaining balance 28 of the temporary major capital improvement increase to the legal regu- 29 lated rent. No landlord shall deny access to a professional engineer 30 licensed to practice in the state of New York or a registered architect 31 licensed to practice in the state of New York hired by any tenant, 32 tenants or tenant association representing tenants for the purpose of 33 conducting an inspection of a major capital improvement for which an 34 application for adjustment of maximum rent has been filed. Such 35 inspection shall be conducted after notice to the landlord and during 36 normal business hours. Such tenant may file the report of the inspection 37 with the state division of housing and community renewal for consider- 38 ation in the determination of such application. Notwithstanding any 39 other provision of the law, for any renewal lease commencing on or after 40 June 14, 2019, the collection of any rent increases due to any major 41 capital improvements approved on or after June 16, 2012 and before June 42 16, 2019 shall not exceed two percent in any year for any tenant in 43 occupancy on the date the major capital improvement was approved; 44 provided, however, where an application for a temporary major capital 45 improvement increase has been filed, a tenant shall have sixty days from 46 the date of mailing of a notice of a proceeding in which to answer or 47 reply. The state division of housing and community renewal shall provide 48 any responding tenant with the reasons for the division's approval or 49 denial of such application; or 50 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day 51 after it shall have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments 52 to section 26-405 of the city rent and rehabilitation law made by 53 section one of this act shall remain in full force and effect only so 54 long as the public emergency requiring the regulation and control of 55 residential rents and evictions continues, as provided in subdivision 3 56 of section 1 of the local emergency housing rent control act; andS. 4099 6 1 provided further that the amendments to section 26-511 of the rent 2 stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by section two of 3 this act shall expire on the same date as such law expires and shall not 4 affect the expiration of such law as provided under section 26-520 of 5 such law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal 6 of any rule and regulation necessary for the implementation of this act 7 on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before such effec- 8 tive date.
