Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019
On June 14, the New York State Legislature passed and Gov. Cuomo signed into law, the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (S6458).
Some of the law’s provisions are noted below:
- Repeal of vacancy decontrol and high-income deregulation: Vacancy decontrol (removal of a unit from rent-stabilization because the monthly rent has reached the threshold of $2,774.76 and it has become vacant) is repealed. High-income deregulation (removal of a unit from rent-stabilization because the tenant’s income is $200,000 or higher for the two years prior) is also repealed.
- Repeal of vacancy bonus and longevity bonus: The vacancy bonus, which allows property owners to increase rents by as much as 20 percent when a unit becomes vacant and the longevity bonus, which allows landlords to raise rents by additional amounts based on the duration of the previous tenancy are repealed.
- Reform of rent increases for Major Capital Improvements (MCIs): The annual increase that landlords will be allowed to charge tenants for MCIs (building-wide upgrades), will be lowered from 6 percent to 2 percent in New York City and from 15 percent to 2 percent in other counties. The MCI increases will be eliminated after 30 years, instead of being permanent. Furthermore, the rules on what spending may qualify for MCI increases will be tightened.
- Removal of geographic restrictions: The geographical restrictions related to rent stabilization laws will be removed, allowing any city or town in New York that has a vacancy rate of five percent or less to regulate rents.
- Reform the ‘owner use’ exception: Tenants who have lived in a rental unit for 15 or more years will be protected from eviction under the “owner use” provision, which allows owners to evict a tenant if they want to use the unit for themselves or their immediate family.
- Reform co-op/condo conversion: If a property owner wants to convert a building into co-ops or condos, 51 percent of tenants in the building must agree to purchase apartments before the conversion can be effective.
Source: am New York
Last Updated on June 16, 2019 by Ramin Seddiq