Res 0326-2018

By The Speaker (Council Member Johnson) and Council Members Cornegy, Chin, Rosenthal, Torres, Williams, Perkins, Rivera, Kallos and Constantinides Whereas, According to the 2017 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (HVS), New York City is current in an affordable housing crisis and has a vacancy rate of 3.65 percent; and Whereas, New York City has affordable housing programs to keep neighborhoods economically diverse and vibrant, and affordable for low and middle income New Yorkers; and Whereas, One affordable housing program is rent stabilization, which limits rent increases and provides tenants with eviction protections in privately owned buildings; and Whereas, HVS identified 966,000 rent stabilized units which are administered by the New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR); and Whereas, New York State law allows a property owner to charge tenants "preferential rent," which is rent that is less than the legal regulated rent under the rent stabilization program; and Whereas, Tenants are usually offered preferential rent at the initial lease because the legal regulated rent is more than the market can bear; and Whereas, When a tenant's lease is up for renewal, property owners may raise the rent back to the legal regulated rent, which may be significantly higher than the preferential rent the tenant was previously paying; and Whereas, Tenants who lose their preferential rent may be forced to vacate and may not be able to find another affordable apartment due to New York City's affordable housing crisis; and Whereas, S.6527, introduced by State Senator Krueger and pending in the New York State Senate, and companion bill A.6285, introduced by Assembly Member Cymbrowitz and pending in the New York State Assembly, would limit rent increases where landlords are charging a preferential rent and would only allow an increase from a preferential rent to a legal regulated rent upon vacancy of the unit, not at renewal; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.6527/A.6285, which limits rent increases on renewal of rent stabilized units where a preferential rent was being charged. LS # 5594 4/30/2018 11:06 AM JLC