N.Y. MDW Law § 286 — New York Code / Act MDW / Article 7-C / Section 286
Tenant protection
Status: in_force

§ 286. Tenant protection. 1. It shall not be a ground for an action or\nproceeding to recover possession of a unit occupied by a residential\noccupant qualified for the protection of this article that the occupancy\nof the unit is illegal or in violation of provisions of the tenant's\nlease or rental agreement because a residential certificate of occupancy\nhas not been issued for the building, or because residential occupancy\nis not permitted by the lease or rental agreement.\n  2. (i) Prior to compliance with safety and fire protection standards\nof article seven-B of this chapter, residential occupants qualified for\nprotection pursuant to this article shall be entitled to continued\noccupancy, provided that the unit is their primary residence, and shall\npay the same rent, including escalations, specified in their lease or\nrental agreement to the extent to which such lease or rental agreement\nremains in effect or, in the absence of a lease or rental agreement, the\nsame rent most recently paid and accepted by the owner; if there is no\nlease or other rental agreement in effect, rent adjustments prior to\narticle seven-B compliance shall be in conformity with guidelines to be\nset by the loft board for such residential occupants within six months\nfrom the effective date of this article.\n  (ii) In addition to any rent adjustment pursuant to paragraph (i) of\nthis subdivision, on or after June twenty-first, nineteen hundred\nninety-two, the rent for residential units in interim multiple dwellings\nthat are not yet in compliance with the requirements of subdivision one\nof section two hundred eighty-four of this article shall be adjusted as\nfollows:\n  (A) Upon the owners' filing of an alteration application, as required\nby paragraphs (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), and (vii) of subdivision one\nof section two hundred eighty-four of this article, an adjustment equal\nto three percent of the rent in effect at the time the owner files the\nalteration application.\n  (B) Upon obtaining an alteration permit, as required by paragraphs\n(ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), and (vii) of subdivision one of section\ntwo hundred eighty-four of this article, an adjustment equal to three\npercent of the rent in effect at the time the owner obtains the\nalteration permit.\n  (C) Upon achieving compliance with the standards of safety and fire\nprotection set forth in article seven-B of this chapter for the\nresidential portions of the building, an adjustment equal to four\npercent of the rent in effect at the time the owner achieves such\ncompliance.\n  (D) Owners who filed an alteration application prior to the effective\ndate of this subparagraph shall be entitled to a prospective adjustment\nequal to six percent of the rent on the effective date of this\nsubparagraph.\n  (E) Owners who obtained an alteration permit prior to June\ntwenty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-two shall be entitled to a\nprospective adjustment equal to fourteen percent of the rent on June\ntwenty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-two.\n  (F) Owners who achieved compliance with the standards of safety and\nfire protection set forth in article seven-B of this chapter for the\nresidential portions of the building prior to June twenty-first,\nnineteen hundred ninety-two shall be entitled to a prospective\nadjustment equal to twenty percent of the rent on June twenty-first,\nnineteen hundred ninety-two.\n  (iii) Any rent adjustments pursuant to paragraph (ii) of this\nsubdivision shall not apply to units which were rented at market value\nafter June twenty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-two and prior to June\ntwenty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-two. This paragraph shall not\napply to units made subject to this article by subdivision five of\nsection two hundred eighty-one of this article.\n  (iv) Payment of any rent adjustments pursuant to paragraph (ii) of\nthis subdivision shall commence the month immediately following the\nmonth in which the act entitling the owner to the adjustment occurred.\n  3. Upon or after compliance with the safety and fire protection\nstandards of article seven-B of this chapter, an owner may apply to the\nloft board for an adjustment of rent based upon the cost of such\ncompliance. Upon approval by the loft board of such compliance, the loft\nboard shall set the initial legal regulated rent, and each residential\noccupant qualified for protection pursuant to this article shall be\noffered a residential lease subject to the provisions regarding\nevictions and regulation of rent set forth in the emergency tenant\nprotection act of nineteen seventy-four, except to the extent the\nprovisions of this article are inconsistent with such act.\n  4. The initial legal regulated rent established by the loft board\nshall be equal to (i) the rent in effect, including escalations, as of\nthe date of application for adjustment ("base rent"), plus, (ii) the\nmaximum annual amount of any increase allocable to compliance as\nprovided herein; and (iii) the percentage increase then applicable to\none, two or three year leases, as elected by the tenant, as established\nby the local rent guidelines board, and applied to the base rent,\nprovided, however, such percentage increases may be adjusted downward by\nthe loft board if prior increases based on loft board guidelines cover\npart of the same time period to be covered by the rent guidelines board\nadjustments.\n  5. An owner may apply to the loft board for rent adjustments once\nbased upon the cost of compliance with article seven-B of this chapter\nand once based upon the obtaining of a residential certificate of\noccupancy.  If the initial legal regulated rent has been set based only\nupon article seven-B compliance, a further adjustment may be obtained\nupon the obtaining of a residential certificate of occupancy. Upon\nreceipt of such records as the loft board shall require, the loft board\nshall determine the costs necessarily and reasonably incurred, including\nfinancing, in obtaining compliance with this article pursuant to a\nschedule of reasonable costs to be promulgated by it. The adjustment in\nmaximum rents for compliance with this article shall be determined\neither (i) by dividing the amount of the cash cost of such improvements\nexclusive of interest and service charges over a ten year period of\namortization, or (ii) by dividing the amount of the cash cost of such\nimprovements exclusive of interest and service charges over a fifteen\nyear period of amortization, plus the actual annual mortgage debt\nservice attributable to interest and service charges in each year of\nindebtedness to an institutional lender, or other lender approved by the\nloft board, incurred by the owner to pay the cash cost of the\nimprovements, provided that the maximum amount of interest charged\nincludable in rent shall reflect an annual amortization factor of\none-fifteenth of the outstanding principal balance. Rental adjustments\nto each residential unit shall be determined on a basis approved by the\nloft board. An owner may elect that the loft board shall deem the total\ncost of compliance with this article to be the amounts certified by the\nlocal department of housing preservation and development of such\nmunicipality in any certificate of eligibility issued in connection with\nan application for tax exemption or tax abatement to the extent such\ncertificate reflects categories of costs approved by the loft board as\nreasonable and necessary for such compliance. Rental adjustments\nattributable to the cost of compliance with this article shall not\nbecome part of the base rent for purposes of calculating rents adjusted\npursuant to rent guidelines board increases.\n  6. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a residential\ntenant qualified for protection pursuant to this chapter may sell any\nimprovements to the unit made or purchased by him to an incoming tenant\nprovided, however, that the tenant shall first offer the improvements to\nthe owner for an amount equal to their fair market value. Upon purchase\nof such improvements by the owner, any unit subject to rent regulation\nsolely by reason of this article and not receiving any benefits of real\nestate tax exemption or tax abatement, shall be exempted from the\nprovisions of this article requiring rent regulation if such building\nhad fewer than six residential units as of the effective date of the act\nwhich added this article, or rented at market value subject to\nsubsequent rent regulation if such building had six or more residential\nunits at such time. The loft board shall establish rules and regulations\nregarding such sale of improvements which shall include provisions that\nsuch right to sell improvements may be exercised only once for each unit\nsubject to this article, and that the opportunity for decontrol or\nmarket rentals shall not be available to an owner found guilty by the\nloft board of harassment of tenants.\n  7. The local rent guidelines board shall annually establish guidelines\nfor rent adjustments for the category of buildings covered by this\narticle in accordance with the standards established pursuant to the\nemergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four. The local rent\nguidelines board shall consider the necessity of a separate category for\nsuch buildings, and a separately determined guideline for rent\nadjustments for those units in which heat is not required to be provided\nby the owner, and may establish such separate category and guideline.\nThe loft board shall annually commission a study by an independent\nconsultant to assist the rent guidelines board in determining the\neconomics of loft housing.\n  8. Cooperative and condominium units occupied by owners or\ntenant-shareholders shall not be subject to rent regulation pursuant to\nthis article.\n  9. No eviction plan for conversion to cooperative or condominium\nownership for a building which is, or a portion of which is an interim\nmultiple dwelling shall be submitted for filing to the department of law\npursuant to the general business law until a residential certificate of\noccupancy is obtained as required by this article, and the residential\noccupants qualified for protection pursuant to this article are offered\none, two or three year leases, as elected by such persons, in accordance\nwith the provisions for establishment of initial legal regulated rent\ncontained herein. Non-eviction plans for such buildings may be submitted\nfor filing only if the sponsor remains responsible for compliance with\narticle seven-B and for all work in common areas required to obtain a\nresidential certificate of occupancy. Cooperative conversion shall be\nfully in accordance with section three hundred fifty-two-eeee of the\ngeneral business law, the requirements of the code of the local real\nestate industry stabilization association, and with the rules and\nregulations promulgated by the attorney general.\n  10. The functions of the local conciliation and appeals board of such\nmunicipality regarding owners and tenants subject to rent regulation\npursuant to this article shall be carried out by the loft board until\nsuch time as provided otherwise by local law.\n  11. Residential occupants qualified for protection pursuant to this\narticle shall be afforded the protections available to residential\ntenants pursuant to the real property law and the real property actions\nand proceedings law.\n  12. No waiver of rights pursuant to this article by a residential\noccupant qualified for protection pursuant to this article made prior to\nthe effective date of the act which added this article shall be accorded\nany force or effect; however, subsequent to the effective date an owner\nand a residential occupant may agree to the purchase by the owner of\nsuch person's rights in a unit.\n  13. The applicability of the emergency tenant protection act of\nnineteen seventy-four to buildings occupied by residential tenants\nqualified for protection pursuant to this article shall be subject to a\ndeclaration of emergency by the local legislative body. In the event\nsuch act expires prior to the expiration of this article, tenents in\ninterim multiple dwellings shall be included in coverage of the rent\nstabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine of the city of New\nYork.\n