Amd §§10-b & 12, Emerg Ten Prot Act of 1974; amd §8-a, Emerg Hous Rent Cont L
Requires an annual inspection and audit process which shall review five percent of individual apartment improvement notifications for rent stabilized apartments outside of the city of New York; requires additional audits where violations are found.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8898
SPONSOR: Burroughs TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen
seventy-four and the emergency housing rent control law, in relation to
audits of individual apartment improvements in rent regulated units
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To strengthen tenant protections in rent-regulated housing by mandating
annual audits and inspections of individual apartment improvements
(IAIs) outside of New York City, ensuring that costs claimed by land-
lords are legitimate and substantiated.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision (c) of section 10-b of the Emergency Tenant
Protection Act to require the Division of Housing and Community Renewal
(DHCR) to implement an annual audit process reviewing 5% of IAIs in
regulated units outside New York City. This includes physical
inspections and document verification. Overcharges found to be unsub-
stantiated shall be deemed willful.
Section 2 amends the Emergency Housing Rent Control Law by renumbering
an existing subdivision and adding two new subdivisions: Subdivision 3
mirrors Section 1 by requiring annual audits of 5% of IAIs for rent-
controlled units outside New York City. Subdivision 4 requires addi-
tional audits for all housing units owned by a landlord found to have
willfully overcharged tenants.
Section 3 amends section 12 of the Emergency Tenant Protection Act to
require further audits of all rent-regulated units under the ownership
of any landlord found to have willfully overcharged a tenant, in addi-
tion to existing penalties.
Section 4 provides for the bill to take effect immediately.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
This is the original version of the bill.
JUSTIFICATION:
While individual apartment improvements can justify rent increases in
regulated units, there has been widespread abuse and lack of oversight.
Landlords can currently claim unverified or inflated costs, leading to
illegal rent hikes and tenant displacement. This bill introduces crit-
ical accountability through random audits and physical inspections of.
IAIs in areas outside of New York City, where oversight is often weaker.
If overcharges are found, stronger enforcement through additional audits
and penalties will deter future misconduct and promote compliance.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
Potential administrative costs for DHCR to conduct audits and
inspections, but long-term savings through improved enforcement and
prevention of rent fraud.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8898
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 12, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BURROUGHS -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen
seventy-four and the emergency housing rent control law, in relation
to audits of 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. Subdivision (c) of section 10-b of section 4 of chapter 576
2 of the laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of
3 nineteen seventy-four, as added by section 6 of part K of chapter 36 of
4 the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
5 (c) The division shall establish, for regulated units located in any
6 city having a population of less than one million, or a town or village,
7 for which an emergency has been declared pursuant to section three of
8 this act, an annual inspection and audit process which shall review five
9 percent of individual apartment improvement notifications pursuant to
10 this section and the rules and regulations of the division. Such process
11 shall include individual inspections and document review to ensure that
12 owners complied with all obligations and responsibilities under the law
13 for individual apartment improvements. Inspections shall include in-per-
14 son confirmation that such improvements have been completed in such way
15 as described in the notification. In the event an audit finds that the
16 recoverable costs claimed by the landlord cannot be substantiated,
17 the resulting overcharge shall be considered to be willful.
18 (d) The division shall issue a notice to the landlord and all the
19 tenants sixty days prior to the end of the temporary major capital
20 improvement increase and shall include the initial approved increase and
21 the total amount to be removed from the legal regulated rent inclusive
22 of any increases granted by the applicable rent guidelines board.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13107-03-5
A. 8898 2
1 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 8-a of chapter 274 of the laws of 1946,
2 constituting the emergency housing rent control law is renumbered subdi-
3 vision 5 and two new subdivisions 3 and 4 are added to read as follows:
4 3. The division shall establish, for housing accommodations outside of
5 the city of New York, an annual inspection and audit process which shall
6 review five percent of individual apartment improvement notifications
7 pursuant to this section and the rules and regulations of the divi-
8 sion. Such process shall include individual inspections and document
9 review to ensure that owners complied with all obligations and
10 responsibilities under the law for individual apartment improvements.
11 Inspections shall include in-person confirmation that such improve-
12 ments have been completed in such way as described in the notification.
13 In the event an audit finds that the recoverable costs claimed by
14 the landlord cannot be substantiated, the resulting overcharge shall be
15 considered to be willful.
16 4. If the owner is found to have willfully overcharged a tenant as a
17 result of the conclusion of an audit pursuant to subdivision two or
18 three of this section, the division shall conduct additional audits of
19 all housing accommodations under their ownership in addition to the
20 penalties prescribed by this chapter.
21 § 3. Subdivision a of section 12 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the
22 laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nine-
23 teen seventy-four, is amended by adding a new paragraph 1-a to read as
24 follows:
25 (1-a) If the owner is found to have willfully overcharged a tenant as
26 a result of the conclusion of an audit conducted pursuant to subdivision
27 (b) or (c) of section ten-b of this act, the division shall conduct
28 additional audits of all rent regulated units under their ownership in
29 addition to the penalties prescribed by this section.
30 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
