February 2023

Weekly Report for February 24, 2023

NYC REALTOR® Call for Action – Oppose NYC “First opportunity to purchase” bill
The New York City Council is considering legislation Int. No. 196, which would establish a right of “first opportunity to purchase” for not-for-profit organizations. Specifically, the bill would require property owners of buildings with 3 or more units to notify New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) at least 180 days prior to listing a building for sale. Should a nonprofit submit a “notice of an intent to exercise an opportunity to purchase” during that time period, the sale could be delayed an additional 120 days. The property owner would be prohibited from accepting any offers outside of nonprofits approved by HPD during this time. Tell your NYC Council Member to oppose Int. No. 196 now by clicking here – deadline to respond to this CFA is this Monday, February 27.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has also expressed concerns with the bill at a public hearing that was held Thursday saying that the legislation is “very broad” and “risks significantly disrupting the housing market, potentially causing the most significant harm to small property owners.” Read more here.

Get the facts on New York’s proposals to require electrification of homes across the state
Governor Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature are considering legislation to prohibit new and existing fossil fuel hookups and systems in homes across the state. Get more information on New York State’s proposals to reduce carbon emissions through the electrification of residential and commercial buildings at NYSAR’s website www.NYelectrificationfacts.com. Estimated up-front costs for homeowners to retrofit their home to be all-electric could range from $12,000 – $50,000. Sign up to receive future alerts and updates here.

Joint State Legislative Budget hearing on Housing on March 1
The State Senate and Assembly will be holding their joint legislative budget hearing on Housing Wednesday, March 1, at 9:30 a.m. Following the hearings, the Senate and Assembly will release their respective one-house budgets, advancing negotiations toward a final budget, which is due April 1, 2023. The hearing can be streamed live here.

Weekly Report for February 17, 2023

Senate Democrats reject Governor Hochul’s chief judge candidate again
On Wednesday, the State Senate rejected Governor Hochul’s candidate Justice Hector LaSalle to lead the Court of Appeals in a 39-20 vote, marking the first time that lawmakers have refused a governor’s pick for chief judge. The full vote followed a lawsuit filed by Republican Senator Anthony Palumbo arguing that Senate Democrats violated the State Constitution by allowing a committee to kill the nomination of LaSalle without a full Senate floor vote. A new process for selecting a new chief judge will now begin. Read more here.

15 NYC Council Member leave Progressive Caucus
Last week, 15 NYC Council Members left the Council’s Progressive Caucus after refusing to sign a pledge to a “statement of principles,” leaving 20 members in the caucus and now losing its majority. There are 51 total members in the NYC Council. The City Council’s Progressive Caucus has called for a commitment to universal early childhood education, affordable housing and, most controversially, a reduction in “the size and scope of the NYPD. Read more here.

GSEs release new radon standards
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s (the Enterprises) multifamily radon standards. NAR commented on this proposal in 2021 to express concerns about the cost and regulatory burden of these requirements. The new standards will go into effect for loan applications received after June 30, 2023 with certain exemptions:

Requiring radon testing at multifamily Enterprise-backed properties, regardless of property location, subject to some exemptions and deferrals.
Increasing required testing from 10 percent of ground floor units to 25 percent of ground floor units.
Requiring the environmental professional or property representative to provide tenant notifications for radon testing.

Weekly Report for February 10, 2023

NYSAR 2023 Legislative Advocacy Agenda
This week, NYSAR’s Legislative Steering Committee approved its 2023 Legislative Advocacy Agenda, including support of additional measures and incentives to promote and increase homeownership, particularly for first-time homebuyers, a technical amendment to remove restrictions on the state’s telemarketing restrictions during states of emergency, and increased fair housing measures to combat discrimination in cooperative housing. NYSAR’s legislative agenda also includes opposition to proposals imposing “good cause” eviction standards in rental housing, prohibit landlords from collecting broker fees from tenants, and a requirement that all new residential and commercial construction be all electric beginning December 2025 along with a prohibition on the installation of fossil fuel space and water heating equipment in existing residential and multi-family buildings beginning in 2030. You can find a complete legislative agenda here, which will be posted on NYSAR’s website at a later date.

Appeals court affirms decision dismissing challenges to New York rent regulations
A state appeals court on Monday affirmed a decision to uphold New York’s rent regulations, in response to a NYSAR-supported lawsuit brought by landlord groups challenging the constitutionality of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019. Moving forward, the case could be brought before the U.S. Supreme Court. Read more here.

Weekly Report for February 3, 2023

Attend NYSAR’s MWBM Legislative Policy Forum February 8;

Guest Speaker: David Lombardo, host of The Capitol Pressroom
This year’s Legislative Policy Forum at NYSAR’s Mid-Winter Business Meetings will be held on Wednesday, February 8 at 9 a.m. in King Street Rooms 4-8 and will feature guest speaker David Lombardo, host of WCNY’s The Capitol Pressroom. David is an experienced journalist in state politics and previously served as Capitol reporter for the Albany Times Union. NYSAR Director of Government Affairs Mike Kelly will provide an update and analysis of state legislative issues facing REALTORS^® in the upcoming legislative session.

Gov. Hochul releases Executive Budget proposal
On Wednesday, February 1, Governor Kathy Hochul presented her FY 2023-24 Executive Budget proposal totaling $227 billion, a 2.4 percent increase in spending over last year. Governor Hochul reaffirmed her commitment to building 800,000 new homes (units) over the next decade as part of her “New York Housing Compact.” In her Executive Budget, Governor Hochul included new housing development target rates for regions of the state, new incentives for affordable housing development, requirements to authorize ADUs statewide, climate action mandates, and a new registry to address lead hazards in rentals outside of NYC. A summary of these topics and more can be read here. NYSAR will continue to analyze the Executive Budget proposal and will review the Senate and Assembly respective one-house budget proposals when they are released within the next month.

Gov. Hochul outlines climate proposals in her Executive Budget proposal

Learn more about the potential costs to homeowners at NYSAR’s website: www.NYelectrificationfacts.com
In her FY 2023-2024 Executive Budget proposal, Governor Kathy Hochul included language that would direct the NYS Fire Prevention and Building Code Council to:

Prohibit the installation of fossil fuel equipment and building systems in the construction of new one-family and multi-family residential buildings no more than three stories beginning December 31, 2025, and for new multi-family buildings higher than three stories and new commercial buildings starting on December 31, 2028.
Prohibit the installation of fossil fuel space and water heating equipment and related building systems when retrofitting existing residential and multi-family buildings no more than three stories beginning on January 1, 2030, and all multi-family and commercial buildings starting January 1, 2035.
Exempt from the ban, fossil fuel equipment and building systems installed and used for emergency back-up power in a manufactured homes and certain commercial buildings.

NYSAR is continuing to analyze the governor’s budget regarding her climate action proposals. While NYSAR supports a transition to renewable energy, there remains serious concerns over the cost and fiscal impact on current and future homeowners. Estimated up-front costs to retrofit a home to be all-electric range from $12,000 – $50,000 – Learn more about these issues and sign up to receive updates by going to our website: www.NYelectrificationfacts.com.