Article 7A (New York City housing code)

Last updated

Article 7A of the New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) enables that "a housing court judge appoints an administrator to collect the building's rents and use them for repairs" as an alternative to "fruitless rent strikes." [1] About 10% per year of those appointed in the 1980s were removed, and money accountability problems also occurred. [2] [3] This law can also help expedite repairs, such as after a fire. [4] [5]

Contents

It is operated by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and this is "intended to protect residential tentants from negligent landlords." [6]

History

7A was enacted in 1965. [7] Its use was uncommon until 1977, at which time payments to administrators became "sufficiently remunerative." In 1981, The New York Times cited that "city housing officials estimate that 300-some buildings" were in the program. [1]

While a building is under 7A, since "rents are going toward repairs, landlords must make tax and mortgage payments from other income during this period." One landlord commented that "It is an extreme measure, but the administrator functions as a conservator." [1] The New York Post wrote in 1988 that "critics of 7A say it is so poorly supervised that incompetent and even corrupt administrators have gotten away with years of mispending a building's rent roll." Their page and a half expose was followed by a quarter page "A success story" about one woman (who) "administers several buildings in the 7A program" and applied for government funding to supplement the rent roll. [6]

One change that strengthened its use was allowing HPD to go to court without awaiting complaints from the originally required one third of the tenants. [1] [6] In some cases, the building, after repairs have been made, goes "to a new owner who has bought the building in the interim." [8]

Attempts to permit tenants to be administrators were described as "a good idea in theory, but practically there are problems." [2]

By 1989, HPD was more actively involved, including "training and assisting 7A administrators and playing a role in helping judges to appoint them." Also, a "three-month, two-day-a-week training program" was instituted. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937, commonly known as Section 8, provides rental housing assistance to low-income households in the United States by paying private landlords on behalf of these tenants. Approximately 68% of this assistance benefits seniors, children, and individuals with disabilities. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) oversees Section 8 programs, which are administered locally by public housing agencies (PHAs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rent strike</span> Method of protest against landlords

A rent strike is a method of protest commonly employed against large landlords. In a rent strike, a group of tenants come together and agree to refuse to pay their rent en masse until a specific list of demands is met by the landlord. This can be a useful tactic of final resort for use against intransigent landlords, but carries the risk of eviction and lowered credit scores in some cases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Civil Court</span>

The Civil Court of the City of New York is a civil court of the New York State Unified Court System in New York City that decides lawsuits involving claims for damages up to $25,000 and includes a small claims part for cases involving amounts up to $10,000 as well as a housing part for landlord-tenant matters, and also handles other civil matters referred by the New York Supreme Court. The court has divisions by county (borough), but it is a single citywide court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Housing Authority</span> Public development corporation responsible for New York Citys public and leased housing

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is a public development corporation which provides public housing in New York City, and is the largest public housing authority in North America. Created in 1934 as the first agency of its kind in the United States, it aims to provide decent, affordable housing for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers throughout the five boroughs of New York City. NYCHA also administers a citywide Section 8 Leased Housing Program in rental apartments. NYCHA developments include single and double family houses, apartment units, singular floors, and shared small building units, and commonly have large income disparities with their respective surrounding neighborhood or community. These developments, particularly those including large-scale apartment buildings, are often referred to in popular culture as "projects."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Single-room occupancy</span> Low-cost housing format

Single-room occupancy (SRO) is a form of housing that is typically aimed at residents with low or minimal incomes, or single adults who like a minimalist lifestyle, who rent small, furnished single rooms with a bed, chair, and sometimes a small desk. SRO units are rented out as permanent residence and/or primary residence to individuals, within a multi-tenant building where tenants share a kitchen, toilets or bathrooms. SRO units range from 7 to 13 square metres. In some instances, contemporary units may have a small refrigerator, microwave, or sink.

Landlord harassment is the willing creation, by a landlord or their agents, of conditions that are uncomfortable for one or more tenants in order to induce willing abandonment of a rental contract. This is illegal in many jurisdictions, either under general harassment laws or specific protections, as well as under the terms of rental contracts or tenancy agreements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitchell–Lama Housing Program</span> Housing program in New York

The Mitchell–Lama Housing Program is a non-subsidy governmental housing guarantee in the state of New York. It was sponsored by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell and Assemblyman Alfred A. Lama. It was signed into law in 1955 as The Limited-Profit Housing Companies Act.

Rent regulation in New York is a means of limiting the amount of rent charged on dwellings. Rent control and rent stabilization are two programs used in parts of New York state. In addition to controlling rent, the system also prescribes rights and obligations for tenants and landlords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development</span> New York City government agency

The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for developing and maintaining the city's stock of affordable housing. Its regulations are compiled in title 28 of the New York City Rules. The Department is headed by a Commissioner, who is appointed by and reports directly to the Mayor. The current Commissioner of HPD is Adolfo Carrión Jr. appointed in January, 2022 by Mayor Eric Adams replacing Louise Carroll, who was appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio in May 2019. Other former Commissioners have included Maria Torres-Springer, Vicki Been, Jerilyn Perine, Richard Roberts and Shaun Donovan, among others. HPD is headquartered in Lower Manhattan, and includes smaller branch offices in each of the city's five boroughs.

The Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB), formed in 1974, is a city-wide non-profit housing and tenant advocacy group in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Landlord–tenant law</span> Law that details rights and duties of landlords and tenants

Landlord–tenant law is the field of law that deals with the rights and duties of landlords and tenants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Court</span> Apartment building in Manhattan, New York

Graham Court is a historic apartment building in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, along Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard between West 116th and 117th Streets. It was commissioned by William Waldorf Astor, designed by the architects Clinton and Russell, and constructed in 1899-1901 as part of the great Harlem real-estate boom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Belnord</span> Condominium building in Manhattan, New York

The Belnord is a condominium building at 225 West 86th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The 13-story structure was designed by Hiss and Weekes in the Italian Renaissance Revival style and occupies the full block between Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue, and 86th and 87th Streets. It was built between 1908 and 1909 by a syndicate of investors as a rental apartment building. The Belnord is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) is a trade association for the real estate industry in New York City. Formed in 1896, it has been dubbed "the leading trade group advocating on policy changes in the real estate industry". Its current president is James Whelan.

The history of rent control in England and Wales is a part of English land law concerning the development of rent regulation in England and Wales. Controlling the prices that landlords could make their tenants pay formed the main element of rent regulation, and was in place from 1915 until its abolition by the Housing Act 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet Freeman</span>

Janet Freeman was an American community organizer and activist for tenant's rights in New York City's lower Manhattan. On June 20, 2013, the corner of Elizabeth Street and Kenmare Street was co-named "Janet Freeman Way" by the New York City Council in her memory and to commemorate her activism on behalf of the community. According to NYC Streets in its listing of street names and their honorees, "Janet Freeman was a community organizer and tenant advocate. She founded the Croman Tenants Association; the Coalition to Protect Public Housing and Section 8; and Co-op Watch, to prevent evictions through phony conversions. She started campaigns to organize tenants against aggressive landlords, phony demolitions, and harassment in and around Chinatown and Little Italy."

The Costa–Hawkins Rental Housing Act ("Costa–Hawkins") is a California state law, enacted in 1995, which places limits on municipal rent control ordinances. Costa–Hawkins preempts the field in two major ways. First, it prohibits cities from establishing rent control over certain kinds of residential units, e.g., single-family dwellings and condominiums, and newly constructed apartment units; these are deemed exempt. Second, it prohibits "vacancy control", also called "strict" rent control. The legislation was sponsored by Democratic Senator Jim Costa and Republican Assemblymember Phil Hawkins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crown Heights Tenant Union</span> Tenant union in Brooklyn, New York

The Crown Heights Tenant Union (CHTU) is a tenants union created in October 2013 to unify old and new tenants against the gentrification of the neighborhood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York City. The CHTU has pushed for local collective bargaining agreements between tenants and landlords to be written into the deeds of buildings that would regulate rent increases and codify repair and renovation standards. They also assist individual tenants, educating them on their rights and how to enforce them, lobby in Albany for better rent laws, and participate in direct action, targeting predatory equity real-estate companies they believe to be involved in illegal evictions and harassment tactics.

The 421-a tax exemption is a property tax exemption in the U.S. state of New York that is given to real-estate developers for building new multifamily residential housing buildings in New York City. As currently written, the program also focuses on promoting affordable housing in the most densely populated areas of New York City. The exemption is granted for any buildings that add multiple new residential units, and typically lasts for 15 to 25 years after the building is completed. Longer exemption periods apply in less densely populated areas of the outer boroughs and upper Manhattan.

The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) is a New York state statute that introduced major changes to landlord-tenant law.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Jill Jonnes (June 21, 1981). "Courts Are Naming Administrators Now to Better Buildings". The New York Times . After a year and a half of a rent strike ... Article 7A of the city housing code
  2. 1 2 Alan S. Oser (February 5, 1984). "Tenant Management on Rise in Troubled Buildings". The New York Times .
  3. moneys lacking "records to show what had happened."
  4. Robert Pozarycki (May 25, 2017). "Elmhurst apartment fire victims take legal action to demand that their homes are quickly repaired". Queens Courier.
  5. Bill Parry (May 3, 2021). "Jackson Heights Council candidate introduces proposal for city response to help vacated tenants". Queens Courier.
  6. 1 2 3 Audrey Farolino (December 1, 1988). "Landlords in Limbo". New York Post . pp. 69, 80.
  7. NYS Executive Department (July 17, 1965), New York State bill jackets - L-1965-CH-0909, New York State Library , retrieved October 9, 2022
  8. 1 2 Alan S. Oser (June 11, 1989). "PERSPECTIVES: The Article 7A Program; Strengthening the Court's Appointees". The New York Times .

Further reading