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On June 15, the NYC Water Board held a public hearing concerning proposed rates and charges for the use of the city’s water and wastewater system. Ultimately, as a result of the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) made a formal recommendation to make no change to rates effective July 1, and to continue billing customers at current water and wastewater rates. On June 19, the Water Board voted in favor of a rate freeze for the new fiscal year starting July 1.
On May 14, when asked about canceling rent on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer show, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson called for federal financial assistance to help struggling residents pay their rent. He noted that a cancellation of rent could further disrupt the city’s budget, which is in crisis.
On April 20, the DHCR updated Advisory Opinion 2020-2 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidance with respect to processing and other procedures affecting the Office of Rent Administration (ORA) and Tenant Protection Unit (TPU).
All agency matters that weren’t final as of March 13, 2020, are extended, for the purposes of filing submissions, until June 2, 2020. The DHCR will be re-examining the need to further extend these deadlines as the situation evolves.
On April 7, State Senators Brad Hoylman and Liz Krueger along with Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz introduced the “Tenant Safe Harbor Act,” which would prohibit owners from evicting tenants for nonpayment of rent during New York’s current state of emergency and for six months after its eventual end. The bill is intended to postpone the inevitable rise in eviction cases once the current statewide moratorium on evictions expires in mid-June.
On April 14, New York State Senator Brian Kavanagh, Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, and over 200 state senators, Assembly members, City Council members, county executives, city-wide elected officials, tenant advocates, and owner organizations sent a letter to Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand along with the New York Congressional delegation. The group requested a substantial infusion of federal funds for rent subsidies.
Recently, a New York State judge temporarily blocked the state’s guidance that had effectively barred tenants from having to pay a broker fee. The judge’s order prevents legal action against brokers who collect a fee, until both sides can present their case on March 13, 2020.
City Comptroller Scott Stringer recently issued a policy brief calling for a “Tenant Bill of Rights” to be provided in every lease packet. He’s calling for legislation that would mandate this communication. Stringer believes current leases are confusing to tenants and can hide information due to fine print and obscure language. His solution is to incorporate with every lease a Bill of Rights that would serve as a reminder of the rights and expectations of tenants and owners.
The de Blasio administration recently announced the expansion of free legal services to more New York residents facing eviction. This expansion represents the next phase in the right-to-counsel initiative, originally passed in 2017 by the City Council, which became the first-in-the-nation plan to provide guaranteed free legal representation to tenants facing eviction in housing court.
As New York City grapples with record numbers of homeless people, city officials have agreed to force developers of designated low-income projects to set aside 15 percent of the units for the homeless. The requirement will be the centerpiece of a bill that has broad support among City Council members. The legislation, which applies to rental buildings with more than 40 units, is estimated to add roughly 1,000 new apartments for the homeless a year, almost doubling the 1,300 apartments that are currently under development.
The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) recently asked the city to help owners cover the costs of lead abatement in their buildings in testimony submitted to the City Council. The industry group argued that changes to the state’s rent law hinders owners’ abilities to pay for lead testing and mitigation. The group pointed to the law’s limiting of renovation costs that can be passed onto rent-stabilized tenants to $15,000 over 15 years.
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