The key points of this legislation are as follows:
- The bill provides that every tenant has a right to a renewal lease at a rent increase that cannot exceed the greater of 3% or 1½ times the increase in the Consumer Price Index;
- The bill would require a Judge to determine whether the Landlord has a good reason for evicting a tenant and the tenant’s failure to comply with the terms of the Lease would not necessarily be enough.
Unfortunately, the way the statute is drafted, Co-op Corporations were inadvertently included due to the fact the Corporation has a Landlord/Tenant relationship with their shareholders.
Their testimony clearly outlined the deleterious effects this bill would have on Co-op Corporations and essentially punish all shareholders for the acts of a few non-complying shareholders. Thankfully, during the course of this hearing both the Housing Chair, Senator Brian Kavanaugh, and the Bill Sponsor, Julia Salazar, both conceded on the record that this bill was not intended to include co-ops.
Mr. Hankin testified in his capacity as co-Chair of the Queens County Bar Association Co-op & Condo Law Committee and Mr. Mazel testified in his capacity of the President’s Co-op & Condo Council, a leading Co-op advocacy group in New York City.
Despite these encouraging words, our Firm will continue to follow this legislation to ensure that any final version of it does not include Co-op Corporations.
