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Democratic gubernatorial challenger Cynthia Nixon recently released her plan to overhaul rent regulations. Nixon is promising to work with state lawmakers to reclaim and protect all units that were removed from rent stabilization through vacancy decontrol. She is seeking to re-regulate all of the apartments that are still rentals and were lost as a result of vacancy decontrol.
In 2019, New York’s rent regulation laws are set to expire. Nixon points to five areas of focus for rent reform. She promises to work with lawmakers to:
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently proposed increasing the New York City water and sewer rates by 2.36 percent to the NYC Water Board. Water Board rates are based on the cost of providing utility services and servicing outstanding debts that relate to water and wastewater assets.
The City Council recently passed several resolutions calling on the State Legislature to strengthen rent laws. Although the state law on rent regulation doesn’t expire until next June, it’s possible that the State Legislature may pursue the renewal of rent laws before the end of its legislative session. And the City Council is urging the state to make the changes that are called for in the resolutions.
A judge recently ordered a Tribeca rent-stabilized artist to leave her apartment and pay a fine of $185,000 for illegally listing it on Airbnb. The tenant, who paid $1,500 a month for her rent-stabilized two-bedroom apartment, was sued by her landlord in 2014, who claimed she was earning about $4,500 a month from Airbnb guests.
The New York State Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL) established the standards for all buildings containing three or more dwelling units. The MDL flatly prohibits unhosted rentals of less than 30 days in “Class A” multiple dwellings. These are buildings occupied by three or more families living independently.
Some state lawmakers in Albany are considering amending the state human rights law to make it illegal to discriminate against tenants based on where they receive their income. The change would include a “lawful source of income” provision that would protect people using government assistance or other forms of non-wage income to pay their rent from housing discrimination.
Members of 32BJ SEIU, one of the city’s largest labor unions, reached a tentative agreement with the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, a group of building owners in the tristate area. Following a week of negotiations, a strike by janitors, porters, handymen, and doormen was averted after they secured an 11.3 percent pay rise over the next four years (with the increase in benefits, that number is 13.28 percent). The deal also includes better retirement plans and protections against harassment.
The New York City Council recently approved legislation effective April 1, 2019, intended to combat sexual harassment. The Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act mandates that private employers with 15 or more employees in New York City conduct annual sexual harassment training. The New York State Legislature recently passed legislation with a similar mandate for employers in New York State.
The city law provides that training must be conducted by employers with 15 or more employees in New York City, and that the training must:
HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer and Department of Finance Commissioner Jacques Jiha recently announced the suspension of 421-a benefits to more than 1,700 owners who haven’t complied with the requirements of the program. The suspensions are the latest phase of a multi-stage, multi-agency enforcement effort to ensure that properties that receive 421-a tax benefits comply with the rules.
HPD Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer recently released the initial results of the 2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (NYCHVS). The survey is required by state and city rent regulation laws to determine New York City’s overall vacancy rate for rental housing. It’s conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau at the request of the City of New York every three years. The sample of about 19,000 housing units was drawn from the 2010 decennial census conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and updated by HPD to include new construction, renovation, and conversion.
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