Aims To Keep Apts. Affordable
Assemblyman Mike Miller announced that the Assembly passed a package of bills to strengthen New York’s rent laws and protect tenants from unfair housing practices.
“Every year, thousands of rentregulated apartments become deregulated, leaving countless New Yorkers vulnerable to skyrocketing rent costs,” Miller said. “Without strong rent laws, many hardworking families would be forced out of their homes and would be unable to afford living in New York City.”
“During a time when many families are still fighting to make ends meet, the Assembly’s bills put protections in place to reverse outrageous rent increases and ensure housing is fairly priced,” he added. “We need to do whatever possible to make sure our neighborhoods remain affordable and ensure that working families can continue to live in their homes.”
The legislative package passed by the Assembly includes measures that would:
– make sure rent-controlled apartments are subject to the same formula for calculating rent as rent-stabilized apartments (A.1892-A);
– require that rent surcharges authorized for major capital improvements cease when the cost of the improvement has been recovered (A.2459-A);
– protect tenants living in former Mitchell-Lama buildings that have undergone a voluntary dissolution, regardless of the date of initial occupation (A.2750-A);
– extend rent and eviction protections to tenants living in former fed- eral Section 8 projects and multiple dwellings that are covered by the New York City Rent Stabilization Law (A.2994);
– limit a landlord’s ability to take possession of units for their own primary residence by permitting recovery of only one unit, and restricting that ability if the tenant has occupied the apartment for 20 or more years (A.3033);
– extend from 3 years to 6 years the length of time a landlord must own the rental property before the owner is eligible to apply for a hardship rent adjustment (A.2881);
– prohibit a rent guidelines board from adjusting rent in the absence of legislative authorization (A.7234-A);
– require city council consent to mayoral appointments to the Rent Guidelines Board (A.6394-B);
– repeal state and city laws that remove apartments from rent stabilization or rent control when those apartments are vacated and could be rented under such statutes for monthly rents of $2,000 or more (A.2430-A); and
– require an owner of a rent regulated unit to comply with an order issued more than four years prior to an overcharge complaint if the order has not been revoked (A.4900).
“Tenants deserve peace of mind to know that their rights are protected under the law,” Miller concluded. “The Assembly Majority has long fought to make sure tenants’ rights are protected, and this package of bills will ensure that renters in New York State are protected when it comes to the affordability of their home.”
