What's happening
This bill requires the state to maintain and share rent-stabilized unit rental histories with elected officials, and to regulate illegally deregulated units.
Why it matters
Greater transparency for tenants and advocates. By making full rental histories of rent-stabilized units accessible to elected officials (upon request), the bill enables more effective oversight, helping to identify patterns of illegal rent increases or improper deregulation.
Long-term recordkeeping. Requiring the state to maintain rent histories for at least ten years helps ensure that long-term abuses or illegal practices are detectable, rather than being lost to time or poor record retention.
Crackdown on illegal deregulation. By mandating active regulation and oversight of units found to be illegally deregulated (such as through illegal construction, conversions, or improper removal from rent rolls), the bill aims to return unlawfully lost affordable housing stock to the regulated system, potentially increasing housing stability for tenants.
Improved enforcement tools. Elected officials will have access to more comprehensive data, allowing them to better advocate for constituents and pursue enforcement or policy changes when patterns of abuse or illegal activity are uncovered.
Albany, before your first meeting.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Open Rent Histories Access
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to housing
- Referred to housing
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
520
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, GOTTFRIED -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to available information pertaining to rental histories of rent-stabilized units
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 26-516 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new subdivision i to read as follows:
i. Complete rental histories for units regulated under this chapter shall be made available by the state division of housing and community renewal to local, county or state elected officials who submit an application for such information under the provisions of the state freedom of information law. Information shall be redacted as required under article six of the public officers law, entitled the state freedom of information law. Records obtained pursuant to this subdivision shall be used solely for the purposes stated in the application.
§ 2. Section 26-517 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new subdivision h to read as follows:
h. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the state division of housing and community renewal shall maintain rent histories of units regulated under this chapter for a minimum of ten years.
§ 3. Section 26-516 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new subdivision j to read as follows:
j. The state division of housing and community renewal shall regulate housing accommodations which, through a complaint, investigation, or violation process, have been established to be illegally de-regulated due to illegal use. For purposes of this section, illegal use shall consist of, but not be limited to notices of illegal construction, illegal conversion, illegal transient hotel, removal from rent rolls and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01774-01-7
A. 520 2
warehousing, or other purposes other than those authorized pursuant to this chapter.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amendments to chapter 4 of title 26 of the administrative code of the city of New York made by sections one, two and three of this act shall expire on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.