NY Lawmakers Propose Housing Court, Eviction Law Fixes

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Good afternoon, let’s get into today’s news at the intersection of policy and real estate:

In this edition we mention State Sen. and housing committee chair Brian Kavanaugh, Executive Director of the New York Housing Conference Rachel Fee, State Sen. Leroy Comrie, and others.

We Heard

Housing court reforms: The chairs of the State Senate’s housing and judiciary committees want to create a new section of housing court in each of the five boroughs devoted to eviction cases due to nonpayment for tenants living in affordable housing or in buildings with ten or fewer units. State Sen. Brian Kavanaugh, with the support of State Sen. Luis Sepúlveda, introduced a bill Tuesday to do just that, with the goal of speeding up proceedings to stabilize tenants and resolve arrears for building owners. The policy nonprofit New York Housing Conference and more than 40 other policy and tenant groups are pushing the initiative and calling on lawmakers to include $17 million in this year’s state budget to fund dedicated case management staff in the housing court divisions. Such staffers would help resolve cases by assisting with emergency assistance applications and developing plans for tenants to pay arrears and afford rent moving forward, said Rachel Fee, the executive director of the NYHC; “This would take a lot of pressure off the whole housing court system and that has benefits for all parties.” Of the 120,000 eviction proceedings filed in the city’s housing courts in 2024, roughly 43,000 of those cases were filed by landlords of income-restricted apartments, per NYHC analysis. Kavanaugh said he’s in talks with the state Office of Court Administration about what new resources would be needed for the effort, but he pointed to the city’s Human Resources Administration as likely needing to kick in additional funds for rental assistance. “There'll be a lot of further conversations with the courts and the city about how to make this work, how to make resources available and who pays for what,” said Kavanaugh. He called the bill an “important priority” to get passed this session.

Eviction law tweaks: State Sen. Kavanaugh and Assembly member Linda Rosenthal, chair of her chamber’s housing committee, are looking to smooth technical kinks in the state’s Good Cause Eviction law through a new bill. For instance, one change would clarify annual rent increase limits for landlords, while another would address variations in how jurisdictions issue certificates of occupancy. “This is not an attempt to reopen the law to relitigate the rights of property owners versus tenants,” said Kavanaugh. “We're really just trying to clean up and clarify things that are oversights.” That said, he acknowledged that some property owners have reached out with worries that certain tweaks may have a more substantial impact on property owners.

NYCHA tenants to reject private management: Residents of NYCHA’s Stanley Isaacs Houses in Yorkville are on the verge of rejecting new funding models that would finance millions of dollars in repairs for the deteriorating complex. Monday wrapped a 30-day election period for tenants to vote on whether to join a program that would enable a private company to operate and maintain the buildings through a long-term lease, known as the RAD-PACT program, or to enter the New York City Public Housing Preservation Trust, which would raise money through bonds for major repair work. NYCHA would remain the complex’s landlord under both models. Tenants also have the option to stick with NYCHA’s traditional funding model, despite federal disinvestment that has failed to address a staggering backlog of repairs. The Stanley Isaacs Houses is NYCHA’s first Manhattan property to vote on new funding models. A preliminary vote shows that tenants cast 280 ballots to keep to the current model, 200 to switch to the Trust and just 12 voted to join RAD-PACT. The preliminary results speak to tenants' deep skepticism of the privatization of NYCHA — real or perceived. Roughly 60 percent of eligible tenants voted. Mail-in ballots are still being counted. NYCHA expects the final result on March 24.

A state Homeless Bill of Rights: State Sen. Leroy Comrie and Assembly member Phara Souffrant Forrest are pushing legislation that would create a statewide bill of rights for the homeless — including a provision that would bar landlords from rejecting tenants because they lack a permanent address. In short, denying someone housing because they are homeless would become explicitly illegal under state law. The measure follows a similar homeless bill of rights law enacted in New York City in 2023, and effectively builds on a 2019 state law banning discrimination against renters who use government housing vouchers. Interestingly, the proposal lands just as a state appeals court struck down New York’s law banning source-of-income discrimination as technically unconstitutional. The measure, if passed, could be a sort of back door for state lawmakers to strengthen protections for voucher holders searching for housing.

Have a tip or feedback? Reach me at caroline.spivack@therealdeal.com.

Bill Tracker

Bill Number	Lead Sponsor(s)	Summary	Committee	Last Action Date / Status	Next Scheduled Event
S9482	State Sen. Brian Kavanagh and State Sen. Luis Sepúlveda	Establishes a subpart of housing court in all five boroughs for eviction cases related to affordable housing providers and small landlords	Referred to the State Senate’s Committee on Judiciary	March 17	None yet
S8612/A9370	State Sen. Brian Kavanaugh/ Assembly member Linda Rosenthal	A series of technical changes to the Good Cause Eviction law passed in 2024	Referred to the housing committees of both chambers	Jan. 7	None yet
S4885/A10451	State Sen. Leroy Comrie/Assembly member Phara Souffrant Forrest	Established a statewide bill of rights for people who are homeless	Referred to the codes committee in the State Senate and the government operations committee in the Assembly	March 6	None yet

The Catch-Up

The Real Deal’s Kathryn Brenzel sat down with Ahmed Tigani, the new commissioner of the Department of Buildings, to talk priorities for the role and building policy.

New York City is beginning to see its first wave of enforcement actions under the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses Act, but there’s a big lag between complaints and action.

The Mamdani administration has reopened financing to help homeowners add ancillary dwelling units, ADUs, to their properties, writes The City.

Mayor Mamdani may poach the City Council’s finance division head to be the new commissioner of the Department of Finance, sources told the Daily News.

A City Council battle is brewing over a proposed $30-minimum wage in the five boroughs, reports Gothamist.

The U.S. central bank held interest rates steady on Wednesday and projected higher inflation and steady unemployment, Bloomberg reports.

The Kicker

“Mr. Mayor, I would choose you as an adversary any day of the week,” said City Council member and housing chair Pierina Sanchez during a Tuesday rally on expanding eligibility for the CityFHEPS voucher program.