Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal has introduced a bill to repeal vacancy decontrol. The bill, A7416-A would affect apartments deregulated if the rent is or was less than $3500 per month on or after January 1, 2007.

Click on "read more" below for the Legislative Alert from Tenants & Neighbors, which described the bill in detail.

On Thursday, April 24, 2008 a bill that would repeal vacancy decontrol, A7416-A, was introduced in the New York State Assembly by Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal. The bill is on the agenda of the Assembly's housing committee for Tuesday, April 29.

This bill would repeal provisions of New York State and New York City statutes that remove apartments from rent stabilization or rent control when such apartments are vacated and could be rented under such statutes for monthly rents of $2,000 or more. It would also re-regulate apartments that were deregulated under vacancy decontrol on or after January I, 2007 or which were deregulated upon vacancy prior to January I, 2007 and which rented for less than $3,500 per month on or after January I, 2007.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is the second sponsor of A7416-A. The Chair of the Housing Committee, Vito Lopez, is also a sponsor. Other co-sponsors are Assembly Members Brennan; Brook-Krasny; Boyland; Powell; Lentol; Wright; Camara, Diaz, R; Bing; Greene; Lancman; Jeffries; Peralta; Schimel; Maisel; Mayersohn; and Dinowitz. Multi-sponsors are Assembly Members Benjamin; Bradley; Brodsky; Gottfried; Hooper; Latimer; Peoples; Perry; Spano; and Young.

This legislation is extremely important as it will help to protect New York City's affordable housing stock. Over 150,000 affordable apartments were lost under vacancy decontrol during the last decade, and unless vacancy decontrol is repealed we expect to lose close to 150,000 more by 2015. It will also help protect tenants. Currently, unscrupulous landlords are harassing tenants until they vacate their apartments and then getting the legal regulated rent to $2,000 and decontrolling the apartment. This legislation will eliminate the incentive to harass tenants and so help put an end to this practice.

A7416-A is being considered along with a package of other bills that would amend the rent laws, including a bill that would raise the threshold for high income decontrol, a bill that would limit a landlord's ability to take possession of units for his or her own primary residence, and a bill that would prohibit an owner from adjusting the amount of preferential rent upon the renewal of a lease.

Tenants & Neighbors strongly supports A7416-A, as well as the other bills currently on the housing committee's agenda. Our Board, staff, and members have been working with New York is Our Home and with the Real Rent Reform Campaign over the past few months to urge our legislators to repeal vacancy decontrol; we have already made two trips to Albany this year to lobby legislators on this issue. We held a community forum calling for the repeal of vacancy decontrol last week that was attended by close to 100 tenants-both rent regulated and market rate-as well as by city and state government representatives. And we will participate in a Real Rent Reform Campaign press conference on Thursday introducing a bill that will significantly reform the structure and functioning of the New York City Rent Guidelines Board.

Until vacancy decontrol is repealed in both the Assembly and the Senate, Tenants & Neighbors will continue to fight for such legislation.

For more information and/or to get involved in our efforts, please contact Andres Mares Muro, Rent Regulation Program Coordinator, by email at andres@tandn.org or by phone at 212-608-4320extension 316.