For decades, New York’s housing laws unfairly favored landlords at the expense of millions of working families all across the state. Earlier this year, Speaker Heastie and his Assembly colleagues took action to right this historic wrong. The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 made the state’s tenant protections permanent and eliminated the vacancy bonus, which gave landlords a financial incentive to force out rent-stabilized tenants. It also limits rent increases from major capital improvements (MCIs), prohibits retaliatory eviction, prevents landlords from blacklisting potential tenants, limits security deposits to one month’s rent and bans lease application fees.
As the cost of living continues to rise and wages remain stagnant, it’s critical to ensure all New Yorkers have a safe, affordable place to call home, whether they are homeowners or renters. Speaker Heastie fought to increase access to affordable housing by securing a multi-year, $2.5 billion investment in 2016 to create and preserve New York’s affordable housing stock. To support the more than 400,000 residents of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) buildings, Heastie has secured over $500 million in capital funding since 2015. This funding is critical in ongoing efforts to address persistent habitability issues and update building infrastructure.