STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5623 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 20, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. FITZPATRICK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing AN ACT to amend the emergency housing rent control law, the local emer- gency housing rent control act, the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the de-regulation of rent-stabilized housing accommodations upon vacancy The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (i) of subdivision 2 of section 2 of chapter 274 2 of the laws of 1946, constituting the emergency housing rent control 3 law, as amended by chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, is amended to read 4 as follows: 5 (i) housing accommodations which become vacant on and after June 6 sixteenth, two thousand twenty-four, provided, however, that this 7 exemption shall not apply or become effective where the commission 8 determines or finds that the housing accommodations became vacant 9 because the landlord or any person acting on his behalf, with intent to 10 cause the tenant to vacate, engaged in any course of conduct (including, 11 but not limited to, interruption or discontinuance of essential 12 services) which interfered with or disturbed or was intended to inter- 13 fere with or disturb the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of the tenant 14 in his use or occupancy of the housing accommodations; [and further 15 provided that housing accommodations as to which a housing emergency has 16 been declared pursuant to the emergency tenant protection act of nine- 17 teen seventy-four shall be subject to the provisions of such act for the 18 duration of such emergency;] or 19 § 2. The second undesignated paragraph of subdivision 5 of section 1 20 of chapter 21 of the laws of 1962, constituting the local emergency 21 housing rent control act, as amended by chapter 82 of the laws of 2003, 22 is amended to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08524-01-3
A. 5623 2 1 Notwithstanding any local law or ordinance, housing accommodations 2 which [became] become vacant (a) on or after July first, nineteen 3 hundred seventy-one [or which hereafter become vacant], but before June 4 sixteenth, two thousand twenty-four shall be subject to the provisions 5 of the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, and (b) 6 on or after June sixteenth, two thousand twenty-four shall be exempt 7 from regulations and control; provided, however, that [this provision] 8 these exemptions shall not apply or become effective with respect to 9 housing accommodations which, by local law or ordinance, are made 10 directly subject to regulation and control by a city housing rent agency 11 and such agency determines or finds that the housing accommodations 12 became vacant because the landlord or any person acting on his behalf, 13 with intent to cause the tenant to vacate, engaged in any course of 14 conduct (including but not limited to, interruption or discontinuance of 15 essential services) which interfered with or disturbed or was intended 16 to interfere with or disturb the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of the 17 tenant in his use or occupancy of the housing accommodations. The 18 removal of any housing accommodation from regulation and control of 19 rents pursuant to the vacancy [exemption] exemptions provided for in 20 this paragraph shall not constitute or operate as a ground for the 21 subjection to more stringent regulation and control of any housing 22 accommodation in such property or in any other property owned by the 23 same landlord, notwithstanding any prior agreement to the contrary by 24 the landlord. The vacancy exemption provided for in subparagraph (a) of 25 this paragraph shall not arise with respect to any rented plot or parcel 26 of land otherwise subject to the provisions of this act, by reason of a 27 transfer of title and possession occurring on or after July first, nine- 28 teen hundred seventy-one, but before June sixteenth, two thousand twen- 29 ty-four, of a dwelling located on such plot or parcel and owned by the 30 tenant where such transfer of title and possession is made to a member 31 of the tenant's immediate family provided that the member of the 32 tenant's immediate family occupies the dwelling with the tenant prior to 33 the transfer of title and possession for a continuous period of two 34 years. 35 § 3. Subdivision a of section 5 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the 36 laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nine- 37 teen seventy-four, is amended by adding a new paragraph 3-a to read as 38 follows: 39 (3-a) housing accommodations which become vacant on or after June 40 sixteenth, two thousand twenty-four, provided, however, that this 41 exemption shall not apply to or become effective with respect to housing 42 accommodations which the commissioner determines or finds became vacant 43 because the landlord or any person acting on his or her behalf, with 44 intent to cause the tenant to vacate, engaged in any course of conduct 45 (including, but not limited to, interruption or discontinuance of 46 required services) which interfered with or disturbed or was intended to 47 interfere in his or her use or occupancy of the housing accommodations; 48 § 4. Section 26-504 of the administrative code of the city of New York 49 is amended by adding a new subdivision d to read as follows: 50 d. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this section or title or 51 any other provisions of law, this law shall not apply to any housing 52 accommodation which becomes vacant on or after June sixteenth, two thou- 53 sand twenty-four provided, however, that this exemption shall not apply 54 to or become effective with respect to housing accommodations which the 55 commissioner determines or finds became vacant because the landlord or 56 any person acting on his or her behalf, with intent to cause the tenant
A. 5623 3 1 to vacate, engaged in any course of conduct (including but not limited 2 to, interruption or discontinuance of required services) which interfer- 3 ed with or disturbed or was intended to interfere with or disturb the 4 comfort, repose, peace or quiet of the tenant in his or her use or occu- 5 pancy of the housing accommodations. 6 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 7 the amendments to the local emergency housing rent control act, made by 8 section two of this act, shall remain in full force and effect only so 9 long as the public emergency requiring the regulation and control of 10 residential rents and evictions continues, as provided in section 1 of 11 chapter 21 of the laws of 1962, as amended; and provided further that 12 the amendments to the rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty- 13 nine, made by section four of this act, shall expire on the same date as 14 such law expires and shall not affect the expiration of such law as 15 provided under section 26-520 of the administrative code of the city of 16 New York.