What's happening
This bill requires the New York City Housing Authority to notify tenants about adding legal occupants to leases and provide related forms and information.
Why it matters
Empowers tenants by ensuring they are proactively informed of their right to add legal occupants. to their NYCHA lease, which could help families stay together, accommodate caregivers, or reflect changes in household composition.
Mandates timely and accessible communication from NYCHA. , requiring that forms and instructions for adding occupants be provided within seven days, and that the process is available in person, online, and via mobile app—making it easier for tenants to comply with rules and avoid informal or unauthorized occupancy.
Enhances transparency and accountability. by obligating NYCHA to confirm receipt of requests in writing, explain how tenants can check the status of their request, and provide an expected timeline for decisions—potentially reducing uncertainty and bureaucratic delays.
Protects tenant rights by informing them of grievance procedures. if their request to add an occupant is denied, giving tenants a clearer path to challenge decisions and assert their housing rights.
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Who cares
New York City Housing Authority
NYCHA would have to include a separate, conspicuous notice about adding legal occupants with every lease or renewal and provide application access, guidance and written acknowledgments.
Prospective and current NYCHA tenants
They would receive notice of their ability to add legal occupants in at least 16-point boldface type with lease offers and renewals.
NYCHA tenants seeking to add household members
They would receive application guidance within seven days of requesting a form, notice of their right to challenge a denial, and written confirmation and status information after applying.
Headline styles
Inform Tenants of Lease Add-Ons
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 14
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Substituted by A5410A
- Ordered to third reading cal.781
- Reported and committed to rules
- Print number 5342a
- Amend and recommit to housing, construction and community development
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Notify Tenants About Adding Occupants
Signed by Governor · Sponsor Steven Cymbrowitz
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5342--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 26, 2019
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development -- recommitted to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development in accordance with Senate Rule
6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the public housing law, in relation to requiring that the New York city housing authority include a notice informing a prospective tenant or tenant of the ability to add legal occupants to the lease or renewal lease, and provide, upon request, a tenant with a form to add additional legal occupants
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 402 of the public housing law is amended by adding a new subdivision 6-a to read as follows:
6-a. a. The New York city housing authority shall include with every lease or renewal lease offered to a prospective or current tenant, a separate, clear and conspicuous notice, in at least sixteen-point boldface type, concerning the tenant's ability to add additional legal occupants to the lease agreement.
b. Upon receipt of a tenant's request for a form to add an additional legal occupant to his or her lease agreement, the authority shall, within seven days, provide the tenant with clear information regarding how to apply in person or online, along with a notice informing the tenant of the right to grieve the denial of any occupancy permission request. Any form required by the authority to request such occupancy permission shall be made available for review and submission in person, on the authority's website, and through the authority's mobile application.
c. Upon receipt of a tenant's request to add an additional legal occupant to his or her lease agreement, the authority shall provide the tenant, in writing, with confirmation of receipt of the application,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09543-03-0
S. 5342--A 2
information regarding how the tenant may inquire as to the status of such request, and the expected date of the authority's response to such request.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public housing law, in relation to requiring that the New York city housing authority include a notice informing a prospective tenant or tenant of the ability to add legal occupants to the lease or renewal lease, and provide, upon request, a tenant with a form to add additional legal occupants
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this bill is to give NYCHA tenants notice of their abili- ty to add legal occupants to their leases, and to ensure that tenants can access documents to add additional legal occupants.
Summary of provisions
This bill would require NYCHA to include a notice informing a prospec- tive tenant or current tenant of the ability to add legal occupants to the lease or renewal lease. The notice shall be separate from the lease, clear and conspicuous, and written in boldface font, sixteen-point or greater. This bill would also require NYCHA to make any form required to add additional legal occupants to the lease available for review and submission in person, online, and through NYCHA's app; to acknowledge receipt of any application to add additional legal occupants; to instruct the tenant on how to check the status of their application; and to give an expected date of the authority's response to the request.
Difference between original and amended version (if applicable)
The amendments to this bill require the appropriate form to be made available for review and submission in person, online, and through NYCHA's app, rather than requiring the form to be delivered upon request. The amendments also require NYCHA to give clear direction on how to apply, acknowledge receipt of an occupancy permission applica- tion, inform residents on how to check the status of their request, and give an expected date of response.
Justification
Recognizing that, during the course of a NYCHA tenant's residency, fami- ly composition may change, NYCHA has a process through which a tenant may add a family member to the household lease for succession purposes. However, the applicable rules and procedures for adding such family members are not well known or understood by many NYCHA tenants. Through- out NYCHA housing, tenants' family members, who would ordinarily qualify for occupancy, have been evicted from units for being unaware of these rules and procedures. Further, instances have occurred wherein NYCHA staff has not sufficiently provided or explained to tenants information about the addition process, their obligations, and grievance rights, or has failed or refused to provide the requisite forms. This bill would address these issues.
Prior legislative history
New iteration in 2019.
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the 90th day after its enactment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.