There are several bills, posed to The New York State Legislature, that are set to be voted on in the next two weeks.
Stuart Saft, Partner and Real Estate Practice Group Leader, of Holland & Knight LLP has broken down the pending legislation for us here.
The New York State Legislature is adjourning on June 2nd. Although we never know what the Legislature might enact until the last minute, this Alert is meant to summarize the Bills that might be voted upon in the next 2 weeks. As a result of the New York Court’s throwing out the Democrats’ Redistricting proposal and drastically changing district lines, impact on New York of the possible reversal of Roe v. Wade, the murders in Buffalo and Texas and the fact that the entire Legislature is up for election in November, it is possible that few, if any, of these proposals will be enacted this year, but they will be back in 2023 with a new Legislature.
The following is the subject of each of the Bills:
S-3082 -
Prohibition of Eviction Without Good Cause would apply to rental tenants, co-op shareholders and subtenants, and condo tenants and prohibits evictions of tenants for failure to pay rent increases that are greater than 3% or 1 1/2% of CPI or refusing to permit alterations and repairs without a Judge determining that they are necessary.
S-4199
A - Pied a Terre Tax, which would impact not just "billionaires buying $50 million apartments”, as claimed by its sponsors, but anyone ceasing to use their apartment as their primary residence, so it would impact retirees if their apartment is worth more than $4 million.
S-1112 -
Changes the basis for co-op and condo real property taxes from based on rentals in comparable buildings to based on the fair market value of a unit/apartment.
S-6834 -
Subtly removes the basis of co-op and condo tax assessments, which would change the system from being based on comparable rentals to fair market value.
S-2846* -
Fairness in Co-Op Homeownership Act would set strict deadlines for Board to review applications to purchase shares or the buyer is presumed to have been approved.
S-2874* -
Co-Op Admissions Bill which requires that Boards give reasons for a rejection.
S-4303
Permits subletting in co-ops and leasing in condos for less than thirty days, apparently regardless of their corporate or condominium documents.
S-4595 -
Creates new standards for co-ops and management companies to share information. It also requires approval by board of directors prior to conducting non-emergency capital improvements costing over $50,000, and requires financial reports to be written in “plain language” and itemized receipts of all expenditures. The accountants will refuse to do that so someone will have to be hired to do the translation.
S-3017 -
Residential Condominium Bill of Rights, which provides for notice of all Board meetings to residents and grants residents the right to attend the meetings.
S-7406 -
This Bill would require electric vehicle charging stations and electric vehicle capable parking spaces in buildings that undergo “substantial rehabilitation”. Requirements vary by building size and type with a maximum being multi-unit residential or commercial buildings with at least 11 parking spaces are required to have 100% of available parking spaces capable of electric vehicle charging, which shall include at least 40% as electric vehicle charging stations.
Pending New York City Council Proposals
Intro No. 115 would require residential building owners to provide certain minimum temperatures 68-70 degrees during the daytime, and 62 to 66 degrees at nighttime from October 1 to May 31, regardless of the amount of fossil fuel required to achieve that goal and would make it more difficult for owner to satisfy Local Law 97.
I understand that Council member Keith Powers is seeking to reintroduce legislation that would limit or make unlawful denial of housing based on criminal history (previously Intro. No. 2047): The Bill would prohibit housing discrimination in rentals, leases, subleases, or occupancy agreements in New York City, based on arrest or criminal record. Landlords and real estate brokers would be prohibited from inquiring about criminal record information at any stage in the process.
We are particularly hopefully that S-2874 passes, which will requires the Board to give a reason for a rejection. We are grateful to Stuart for breaking it down for us and we will continue to keep you updated if any of this legislation passes.
