The Executive Committee of the PCCC is extremely pleased to provide you with our year-end legislative report. On the heels of our great victory in getting Co-ops included in the Paycheck Protection Program, in 2021 we were very successful getting legislation passed at both the State and City level which is of great benefit to the Co-op Community. In addition, there were several bills that are extremely harmful to the Co-op Community which did not make it out of committee. These are bills that are still in existence and must be closely monitored by the PCCC and other Co-op advocacy groups.
Summary:
In New York State the Governor recently signed two bills into law of great benefit to the Co-op Community:
- S. 2014 : Prohibits an owner, lessor or agent from assessing a lessee any fee, surcharge, or other charges for legal services in connection with the operation or rental of a residential unit, unless such legal fees were awarded pursuant to a court order. The bill applies to all rental housing regardless of regulatory status, and further provides that the restriction cannot be waived by agreement or assessment. However, at the urging of the PCCC and other Co-op advocacy groups, the Governor and Legislature have agreed to make an amendment to the bill to clarify that cooperative housing corporations can impose such fees on shareholders, while simultaneously clarifying that the shareholder cannot impose the fees on a tenant or subtenant living in a cooperative housing unit.
- S. 5105-C: Excludes shareholders and cooperative housing corporations from certain provisions of the Tenant Protection Act and rent reform laws in recognition that a tenant-landlord relationship is not in place in owner-occupied cooperatives. These were onerous laws that would have had a devasting effect on Co-ops and we were pleased to see it finally passed and signed into law. The PCCC was instrumental in the drafting and passing of this legislation.
In New York City:
- New York City extended the J-51 Tax Credit Program for Capital improvements through June, 2022. The PCCC took the lead on this issue and was the subject of a feature article in the Queens Courier. City Council approves Queens lawmaker’s bill extending the J-51 property tax exemption and abatement program – QNS.com
In addition to the great legislative victories above, there are several legislative initiatives that did not get voted upon this year, but the bills are sitting dormant in the legislative process.
These bills include the following:
- NY State- the so-called “Good Cause” Eviction bill, which would severely limit a Co-ops ability to collect arrears and limit annual maintenance increases; NY State Senate Bill S3082 (nysenate.gov); the so-called Co-op transparency Act (S4595), which would put onerous regulations on the operations of a Cooperative Corporation NY State Senate Bill S4595 (nysenate.gov) and the usual battle with various “Reasons” and “Timing” bills. We will continue to monitor these bills in the upcoming legislative session.
- NY City-Intro 2047 would have barred Co-ops from doing criminal background checks. This bill was vehemently opposed by the PCCC and various other Landlord and Tenants groups. Landlord Groups Fume As NYC Council Mulls Proposal To Prevent Criminal Background Checks Of Potential Tenants – CBS New York (motdave.com) As a result, the bill never made it out of committee.
We are extremely proud of the positive impact we are making in the Co-op community and look forward to providing a strong voice for the Co-op Community in 2022. Happy and Healthy New Year!