New York Assembly Bill A09783 Latest Draft

   
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9783--A  IN ASSEMBLY April 9, 2024 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GLICK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing -- 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 significant portions of their lofts, which the loft law envisions as 22 being legalized and covered as joint live/work spaces; and that it is 23 necessary for the legislature to correct the misinterpretation in Dash- 24 ing (2022) and to clarify, and to codify in the law, what has been loft 25 board policy and precedent based on the current law, loft board rules, 26 and the loft board's delegated expertise for evaluating primary resi- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD14985-02-4 
 A. 9783--A 2 1 dence of potential protected occupants in possible interim multiple 2 dwelling units. 3 § 2. Paragraph (i) of subdivision 2 of section 286 of the multiple 4 dwelling law, as amended by chapter 4 of the laws of 2013, is amended 5 and a new subdivision 14 is added to read as follows: 6 (i) Prior to compliance with safety and fire protection standards of 7 article seven-B of this chapter, residential occupants qualified for 8 protection pursuant to this article shall be entitled to continued occu- 9 pancy, provided that, subsequent to the application for protected occu- 10 pancy with the loft board or a court of competent jurisdiction or regis- 11 tration with the loft board of the occupant's unit pursuant to this 12 article, the unit is their primary residence, and shall pay the same 13 rent, including escalations, specified in their lease or rental agree- 14 ment to the extent to which such lease or rental agreement remains in 15 effect or, in the absence of a lease or rental agreement, the same rent 16 most recently paid and accepted by the owner; if there is no lease or 17 other rental agreement in effect, rent adjustments prior to article 18 seven-B compliance shall be in conformity with guidelines to be set by 19 the loft board for such residential occupants within six months from the 20 effective date of this article. 21 14. In determining whether a unit qualifies for coverage pursuant to 22 this article, whether an occupant qualifies for protection under this 23 article, or whether a registered interim multiple dwelling unit is a 24 protected occupant's primary residence for all purposes under this arti- 25 cle, no single factor shall be solely determinative, including, without 26 limitation, statements made or actions taken in relation to federal, 27 state or city tax returns. Evidence which may be considered shall 28 include, but not be limited to, specification by an occupant of an 29 address other than such unit as a place of residence on any tax return, 30 motor vehicle registration, driver's license or other document filed 31 with a government agency. No waiver of rights otherwise protected by 32 this subdivision, made prior to the effective date of this subdivision, 33 shall be accorded any force or effect. Any landlord-tenant relationship 34 severed contrary to this subdivision prior to the effective date of this 35 subdivision shall be restored to a tenant still in possession on such 36 effective date. 37 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to all 38 pending actions or proceedings, including appeals.