A 1753: Enacts the residential structure fire prevention act; provides a tax credit to homeowners who remove cock loft fire hazards in their homes; provides an insurance discount for the installation of smoke detecting alarm devices in cock lofts; provides that the repair of cock lofts for the purpose of fire prevention and safety shall be qualifying expenditures under state housing programs.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1753 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RAJKUMAR -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Ways and Means AN ACT to amend the tax law, the insurance law and the executive law, in relation to enacting the residential structure fire prevention act of 2025 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "residen- 2 tial structure fire prevention act of 2025". 3 § 2. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection 4 (qqq) to read as follows: 5 (qqq) Credit for removing certain fire hazards. (1) Any resident owner 6 of real property as defined in section one hundred two of the real 7 property tax law shall be allowed a credit against the tax otherwise 8 imposed under this article in an amount equal to twenty-five percent of 9 the cost of removing fire hazards commonly known as cock lofts, provided 10 that such credit shall not exceed five thousand dollars. For purposes of 11 this section the term "cock loft" shall mean a completely enclosed space 12 between rafters and a suspended ceiling. 13 (2) If the amount of the credit allowed under this subsection for any 14 taxable year shall exceed the taxpayer's tax for such year, the excess 15 shall be treated as an overpayment of tax to be credited or refunded in 16 accordance with the provisions of section six hundred eighty-six of this 17 article, provided, however, that no interest shall be paid thereon. 18 § 3. Section 2346 of the insurance law is amended by adding a new 19 subsection 6 to read as follows: 20 6. The superintendent shall provide for an actuarially appropriate 21 reduction in the rates of fire insurance premiums or the fire insurance 22 component of homeowners insurance premiums applicable to residential 23 real property equipped with smoke detecting alarm devices in cock lofts. 24 The superintendent shall by regulation establish standards for smoke EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02354-01-5 
 A. 1753 2 1 detecting alarm devices in cock lofts, including the safe and secure 2 installation thereof. For the purposes of this subsection, "cock loft" 3 shall mean a completely enclosed space between rafters and a suspended 4 ceiling. 5 § 4. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 170-i to 6 read as follows: 7 § 170-i. Repair of certain fire hazards. Any state agency or authori- 8 ty, including but not limited to the New York state energy research and 9 development authority, division of housing and community renewal and 10 state of New York mortgage agency, that provides a housing program shall 11 include the repair of cock lofts for the purpose of fire prevention and 12 safety as a qualifying expenditure under any such program. For the 13 purposes of this section, "cock loft" shall mean a completely enclosed 14 space between rafters and a suspended ceiling. 15 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable 16 years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.