A 8768: Prohibits temporary major capital improvement increases for buildings where the owner has demonstrated a pattern of violations unless the applicant shows by clear and convincing evidence that the proposed improvement will directly and substantially remedy those violations.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8768 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY June 2, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LASHER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing AN ACT to amend the emergency housing rent control law, in relation to major capital improvements and individual apartment improvements in rent regulated units The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs (d) and (e) of subdivision 1 of section 8-a of 2 chapter 274 of the laws of 1946, constituting the emergency housing rent 3 control law, as added by section 7 of part K of chapter 36 of the laws 4 of 2019, are amended and a new subdivision 4 is added to read as 5 follows: 6 (d) prohibit temporary major capital improvement increases for build- 7 ings with outstanding hazardous or immediately hazardous violations of 8 the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (Uniform Code), New York 9 City Fire Code, or New York City Building and Housing Maintenance Codes, 10 if applicable; and prohibit temporary major capital improvement 11 increases for buildings where the owner, or any person acting on the 12 owner's behalf, has, within the look-back period defined in subdivision 13 four of this section, demonstrated a pattern of violations meeting the 14 threshold set forth in subdivision four of this section, unless the 15 applicant shows by clear and convincing evidence that the proposed 16 improvement will directly and substantially remedy those violations; 17 (e) prohibit individual apartment improvement increases for housing 18 accommodations with outstanding hazardous or immediately hazardous 19 violations of the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (Uniform 20 Code), New York City Fire Code, or New York City Building and Housing 21 Maintenance Codes, if applicable; and prohibit individual apartment 22 improvement increases for housing accommodations where the owner, or any 23 person acting on the owner's behalf, has, within the look-back period 24 defined in subdivision four of this section, demonstrated a pattern of EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11970-01-5 
 A. 8768 2 1 violations meeting the threshold set forth in subdivision four of this 2 section, unless the applicant shows by clear and convincing evidence 3 that the proposed improvement will directly and substantially remedy 4 those violations; 5 4. For the purposes of this section: 6 (a) a "look-back period" shall mean the twenty-four-month period imme- 7 diately preceding the filing of an application for a major capital 8 improvement or individual apartment improvement increase. The commission 9 may, by regulation, extend the look-back period to no more than thirty- 10 six months if it determines that a longer window is necessary to capture 11 a sufficient history of violations; 12 (b) a "pattern of violations" shall be deemed to exist when, during 13 the look-back period, a municipal department having jurisdiction has 14 issued (i) three or more violations in any two of the categories listed 15 in paragraph (c) of this subdivision; or (ii) five or more violations in 16 any one such category, regardless of whether such violations remain open 17 on the date of filing; and 18 (c) qualifying violation categories are limited to the following: (i) 19 heat or hot-water violations classified as hazardous or immediately 20 hazardous; (ii) elevator or vertical-transportation violations classi- 21 fied as hazardous or immediately hazardous; (iii) fire-safety system 22 violations classified as hazardous or immediately hazardous; (iv) pest 23 or vermin infestation violations classified as hazardous or immediately 24 hazardous; (v) mold, moisture, lead-based paint, or other indoor envi- 25 ronmental hazards classified as hazardous or immediately hazardous; (vi) 26 structural instability or facade hazards classified as hazardous or 27 immediately hazardous. 28 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.