What's happening
This bill makes it illegal to intentionally withhold housing units from the market and imposes strong penalties for such "warehousing."
Why it matters
Directly targets the practice of keeping residential units vacant ("warehousing"). , making it illegal for landlords or property owners to intentionally withhold housing from the rental market—including cases where units are held for future co-op conversions. This addresses a key driver of New York’s housing shortage by aiming to bring more units into active use.
Establishes strong financial penalties for violators. , with fines starting at $2,000–$3,000 for a first offense and rising to $10,000–$11,000 for repeated offenses or violations involving multiple units. This creates a significant economic disincentive against warehousing, potentially making it cost-prohibitive for landlords to keep units empty.
Explicitly links warehousing to tenant harassment. , expanding the legal definition of harassment to include intentionally withholding housing. This could make it easier for tenants and the city to pursue legal action against landlords who use vacancy as a pressure tactic or speculative investment strategy.
Applies amendments to both rent-regulated and market-rate units under key housing laws. , ensuring broad coverage across different types of housing accommodations in New York City, and tying the law’s effect to ongoing declarations of housing emergency—meaning these measures stay in place as long as the city’s housing crisis persists.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Rent-regulated tenants
The bill would prohibit harassment aimed at forcing vacancies under New York City's rent-control law and extend anti-warehousing penalties under rent-stabilization and emergency tenant protection laws.
Landlords of covered apartments
Intentionally withholding apartments from the market would expose them to civil penalties of $2,000–$3,000 for a first offense and $10,000–$11,000 for subsequent offenses.
Owners planning co-op conversions
The bill explicitly targets withholding apartments from the market for future cooperative apartment conversions.
Rent-regulation administrators
The bill would authorize the commissioner to impose civil penalties for warehousing by administrative order after a hearing.
Headline styles
Ban Housing Warehousing
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2310
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 13, 2017
Introduced by Sen. ALCANTARA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in relation to warehousing of housing accommodations and penalties therefor
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds and declares that each person in the state shall have a right to be housed and that such right to housing is a basic human right.
The legislature further finds and declares that the practice of "warehousing", that is of intentionally withholding housing accommodations from the housing market, including the withholding of apartments for purposes of future co-operative apartment conversion, has contributed significantly to the shortage of housing in this state, especially in the city of New York.
The legislature further finds and declares that the practice of warehousing has violated the right to housing of many of the citizens and residents of this state.
It is thus the intent of the legislature to eliminate the practice of warehousing by providing strong penalties to deter such practice.
§ 2. Section 26-412 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new subdivision g to read as follows:
g. It shall be unlawful to harass a tenant to obtain vacancy of his or her housing accommodation or to have intentionally withheld a housing accommodation from the market, including withholding such accommodation for the purpose of future co-operative apartment conversion. For the purposes of this subdivision, harassment consists of engaging in a course of conduct or repeatedly committing acts which alarm or seriously
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07231-01-7
S. 2310 2
annoy a tenant or other person residing in the tenant's housing accommodation and which serve no legitimate purpose.
§ 3. Paragraph 2 of subdivision c of section 26-516 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by part A of section 23 of chapter 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
(2) to have harassed a tenant to obtain vacancy of his or her housing accommodation or to have intentionally withheld a housing accommodation from the market, including withholding such accommodation for the purpose of future co-operative apartment conversion, the commissioner may impose by administrative order after hearing, a civil penalty for any such violation. Such penalty shall be at a minimum in the amount of two thousand but not to exceed three thousand dollars for the first such offense, and at minimum in the amount of ten thousand but not to exceed eleven thousand dollars for each subsequent offense or for a violation consisting of conduct directed at the tenants of more than one housing accommodation.
§ 4. Paragraph 2 of subdivision c of section 26-516 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by part A of section 24 of chapter 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
(2) to have harassed a tenant to obtain vacancy of his or her housing accommodation or to have intentionally withheld a housing accommodation from the market, including withholding such accommodation for the purpose of future co-operative apartment conversion, the commissioner may impose by administrative order after hearing, a civil penalty for any such violation. Such penalty shall be at minimum in the amount of two thousand but not to exceed three thousand dollars for the first such offense, and at a minimum in the amount of ten thousand but not to exceed eleven thousand dollars for each subsequent offense or for a violation consisting of conduct directed at the tenants of more than one housing accommodation.
§ 5. Clause (ii) of paragraph 3 of subdivision a of section 12 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, as amended by section 27 of part A of chapter 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
(ii) to have harassed a tenant to obtain vacancy of his housing accommodation or to have intentionally withheld a housing accommodation from the market, including withholding such accommodation for the purpose of future co-operative apartment conversion, the commissioner may impose by administrative order after hearing, a civil penalty for any such violation. Such penalty shall be at minimum in the amount of two thousand but not to exceed three thousand dollars for the first such offense, and at minimum in the amount of ten thousand but not to exceed eleven thousand dollars for each subsequent offense or for a violation consisting of conduct directed at the tenants of more than one housing accommodation.
§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amendment to section 26-412 of the city rent and rehabilitation law made by section two of this act shall remain in full force and effect only as long as the public emergency requiring the regulation and control of residential rents and evictions continues, as provided in subdivision 3 of section 1 of the local emergency housing rent control act; and provided further that the amendment to section 26-516 of the rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by section three of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to section 46 of chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, as
S. 2310 3
amended, when upon such date the provisions of section four of this act shall take effect; provided, however that if section 26-516 of the rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine shall expire as provided under section 26-520 of the administrative code of the city of New York prior to the expiration pursuant to section 46 of chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, as amended, takes effect, sections three and four of this act shall not affect the expiration of such law as provided under section 26-520 and shall be deemed to expire therewith; and provided further that the amendment to clause (ii) of paragraph 3 of subdivision a of section 12 of the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four made by section five of this act shall not affect the expiration of such clause as provided in section 46 of chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, as amended and shall not affect the expiration of such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, as amended.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in relation to warehousing of housing accommodations and penalties therefor
Purpose or general idea of bill
To eliminate the practice of warehousing by providing strong penalties to deter such practice.
Summary of specific provisions
Amends section 26-412 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York by adding a new subdivision g; amends two sections of section 26-516 of the above code; amends chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, as amended by chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, constituting the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974.
Provides that penalties may be levied against a person who intentionally withholds a housing accommodation from the market, including for the purpose of future co-operative conversion.
Justification
The practice of warehousing, intentionally withholding apartments from the housing market, particularly for future cooperative apartment conversion, has contributed significantly to the shortage of housing in New York. This practice has violated the basic human rights of many citizens to affordable housing. This bill will make it illegal to harass a tenant to vacate his or her apartment or intentionally withhold an apartment from the rental market. This legislation will impose civil penalties of $1,000-$2,500 for the warehousing of suitable housing units to prevent the further diminution of this scarce resource.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately, with provisions.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.