New York Rent Laws: Know Your Rights
Oksana Mironova
This summer, the State legislature passed the Housing Stability & Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA), the largest expansion of tenants’ rights in a generation. The Community Service Society advocated for this law in conjunction with the Upstate Downstate Housing Alliance, a coalition of more than 60 members, including tenant groups, community development organizations, homeless advocates, and unions.
As part of our advocacy, we published four reports, which provided an overview of rent regulation; examined rents, incomes, and rent burdens in stabilized and unregulated housing; used real tenant rent histories to illustrate how rent law loopholes work; and estimated the impact of the expansion of renter protections statewide.
The new law addresses rent stabilization loopholes advocates have been fighting against for decades, reversing previous legislative decisions that have weakened rent regulation, encouraging tenant harassment and resulting in the loss of 291,000 rent stabilized apartments. The vacancy bonus, Major Capital Improvements (MCI), Individual Apartment Improvements (IAIs), preferential rents, and vacancy decontrol all worked in tandem to push out low-income tenants and undermine neighborhood-level stability. With the passage of HSTPA, these loopholes have either been abolished or reformed.
Unregulated tenants are even more vulnerable to housing instability. The new law extends protections to all renters across New York State. HSTPA makes changes to eviction procedures, caps security deposits/fees, and allows municipalities across the state to opt-in to rent stabilization.
Whether you are a regulated or unregulated tenant, or a manufactured home community resident, you now have more rights. Click here for “Know Your Rights” factsheets, prepared by the Upstate Downstate Housing Alliance.
HSTPA is a major victory for New York State tenants. Stay tuned for CSS’s plans to support the law’s implementation and for our 2020 state housing policy priorities that will build on HSTPA’s success.