OWNERS OF RESIDENTIAL APARTMENTS BUILDINGS
On December 2, 2020, Chapter 311 of the laws of 2020 was signed into law, requiring housing providers to “disclose to all tenants and prospective tenants of their right to request reasonable modifications and accommodations if they have a disability . . .”. The full legal requirements can be found at Human Rights Law § 296.2-b and § 296.18-a. These provisions became effective March 2, 2021.
Housing providers are required to:
Provide the written notice to all existing renters and prospective renters:
- within thirty days of the beginning of their tenancy, or
- thirty days from the effective date of this provision for current renters.
The deadline to comply with the new notice requirement is April 1, 2021. However, the Division of Human Rights has not adopted regulations providing instructions on compliance.
The Division of Human Rights has submitted a proposed regulation, which will be published in the New York State Register on April 14, 2021. The regulation is subject to a 60-day comment period and will not become effective until formally adopted thereafter.
NEWS REGARDING COMMERCIAL EVICTIONS
Governor Cuomo signed into law the “COVID-19 Emergency Protect Our Small Businesses Act of 2021”. The Act requires owners of commercial properties to provide commercial renters with a Declaration of Hardship prior to commencing a commercial eviction proceeding. All commercial proceedings relating to payment of rent are stayed until May 1, 2021. The Act includes a new “COMMERCIAL OWNER DELARATION OF COVID- 19 RELATED HARDSHIP” form.
We will provide you with further information as soon as we have obtained administrative guidance on the implementation of the Act. The full text of the Act (S471A/A3207) is available at: https://bit.ly/3l4E45R. The Administrative Order interpreting the Act was issued by Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks on March 15, 2021 and can be viewed here (PDF).
ANNUAL RENT REGISTRATION PERIOD BEGINS APRIL 1
We want to remind you that the window period to file the 2021 annual rent registration for rent stabilized apartments begins on April 1, 2021 and ends on July 31, 2021. Now is the time to review your rent ledgers and lease files to make sure that you have correctly calculated all rent increases and that the renters have been provided with all required lease riders and notices.
Compliance with the myriad of City, State and Federal laws reduces your exposure to litigation, and enhances the value of your portfolio. Borah Goldstein can assist you with compliance and rent registration. For questions about rent registration please contact David B. Cabrera, Esq. at [email protected].
