§ 4 — Establishment of rent guidelines boards; duties

§ 4. Establishment of rent guidelines boards; duties. a. In each\ncounty wherein any city having a population of less than one million or\nany town or village has determined the existence of an emergency\npursuant to section three of this act, there shall be created a rent\nguidelines board to consist of nine members appointed by the\ncommissioner of housing and community renewal upon recommendation of the\ncounty legislature, except that a rent guidelines board created\nsubsequent to the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two\nthousand nineteen that amended this section shall consist of nine\nmembers appointed by the commissioner of housing and community renewal\nupon recommendations of the local legislative body of each city having a\npopulation of less than one million or town or village which has\ndetermined the existence of an emergency pursuant to section three of\nthis act. Such recommendation shall be made within thirty days after the\nfirst local declaration of an emergency in such county; two such members\nshall be representative of tenants, two shall be representative of\nowners of property, and five shall be public members each of whom shall\nhave had at least five years experience in either finance, economics or\nhousing. One public member shall be designated by the commissioner to\nserve as chairman and shall hold no other public office. No member,\nofficer or employee of any municipal rent regulation agency or the state\ndivision of housing and community renewal and no person who owns or\nmanages real estate covered by this law or who is an officer of any\nowner or tenant organization shall serve on a rent guidelines board. One\npublic member, one member representative of tenants and one member\nrepresentative of owners shall serve for a term ending two years from\nJanuary first next succeeding the date of their appointment; one public\nmember, one member representative of tenants and one member\nrepresentative of owners shall serve for terms ending three years from\nthe January first next succeeding the date of their appointment and\nthree public members shall serve for terms ending four years from\nJanuary first next succeeding the dates of their appointment.\nThereafter, all members shall serve for terms of four years each.\nMembers shall continue in office until their successors have been\nappointed and qualified. The commissioner shall fill any vacancy which\nmay occur by reason of death, resignation or otherwise in a manner\nconsistent with the original appointment. A member may be removed by the\ncommissioner for cause, but not without an opportunity to be heard in\nperson or by counsel, in his defense, upon not less than ten days\nnotice. Compensation for the members of the board shall be at the rate\nof one hundred dollars per day, for no more than twenty days a year,\nexcept that the chairman shall be compensated at the rate of one hundred\ntwenty-five dollars a day for no more than thirty days a year. The board\nshall be provided staff assistance by the division of housing and\ncommunity renewal. The compensation of such members and the costs of\nstaff assistance shall be paid by the division of housing and community\nrenewal which shall be reimbursed in the manner prescribed in section\nfour of this act. The local legislative body of each city having a\npopulation of less than one million and each town and village in which\nan emergency has been determined to exist as herein provided shall be\nauthorized to designate one person who shall be representative of\ntenants and one person who shall be representative of owners of property\nto serve at its pleasure and without compensation to advise and assist\nthe county rent guidelines board in matters affecting the adjustment of\nrents for housing accommodations in such city, town or village as the\ncase may be.\n a-1. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of this section\nto the contrary, in each county that became subject to this act pursuant\nto the chapter of the laws of two thousand nineteen that amended this\nsection, the commissioner shall reconstitute the existing rent\nguidelines board subsequent to any initial local declaration of\nemergency within such county for the purpose of ensuring representation\nof all cities having a population of less than one million and all towns\nand villages within such county having determined the existence of an\nemergency in accordance with this act are represented, pursuant to rules\nand regulations promulgated by the division of housing and community\nrenewal.\n b. A county rent guidelines board shall establish annual guidelines\nfor rent adjustments which, at its sole discretion may be varied and\ndifferent for and within the several zones and jurisdictions of the\nboard, and in determining whether rents for housing accommodations as to\nwhich an emergency has been declared pursuant to this act shall be\nadjusted, shall consider among other things (1) the economic condition\nof the residential real estate industry in the affected area including\nsuch factors as the prevailing and projected (i) real estate taxes and\nsewer and water rates, (ii) gross operating maintenance costs (including\ninsurance rates, governmental fees, cost of fuel and labor costs), (iii)\ncosts and availability of financing (including effective rates of\ninterest), (iv) over-all supply of housing accommodations and over-all\nvacancy rates, (2) relevant data from the current and projected cost of\nliving indices for the affected area, (3) such other data as may be made\navailable to it. As soon as practicable after its creation and\nthereafter not later than July first of each year, a rent guidelines\nboard shall file with the state division of housing and community\nrenewal its findings for the preceding calendar year, and shall\naccompany such findings with a statement of the maximum rate or rates of\nrent adjustment, if any, for one or more classes of accommodation\nsubject to this act, authorized for leases or other rental agreements\ncommencing during the next succeeding twelve months. The standards for\nrent adjustments may be applicable for the entire county or may be\nvaried according to such zones or jurisdictions within such county as\nthe board finds necessary to achieve the purposes of this subdivision. A\nrent guidelines board shall not establish annual guidelines for rent\nadjustments based on the current rental cost of a unit or on the amount\nof time that has elapsed since another rent increase was authorized\npursuant to this chapter.\n The standards for rent adjustments established annually shall be\neffective for leases commencing on October first of each year and during\nthe next succeeding twelve months whether or not the board has filed its\nfindings and statement of the maximum rate or rates of rent adjustment\nby July first of each year. If such lease is entered into before such\nfiling by the board, it may provide for the rent to be adjusted by the\nrates then in effect, subject to change by the applicable rates of rent\nadjustment when filed, such change to be effective as of the date of the\ncommencement of the lease. Said lease must provide that, if the new\nrates of rent adjustment differ for leases of different terms, the\ntenant has the option of changing the original lease term to any other\nterm for which a rate of rent adjustment is set by the board, with the\nrental to be adjusted accordingly.\n Where a city, town or village shall act to determine the existence of\npublic emergency pursuant to section three of this act subsequent to the\nestablishment of annual guidelines for rent adjustments of the\naccommodations subject to this act, the rent guidelines board as soon as\npracticable thereafter shall file its findings and rates of rent\nadjustment for leases or other rental agreements for the housing\naccommodations in such a city, town or village, which rates shall be\neffective for leases or other rental agreements commencing on or after\nthe effective date of the determination.\n c. In a city having a population of one million or more, the rent\nguidelines board shall be the rent guidelines board established pursuant\nto the New York city rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred\nsixty-nine as amended, and such board shall have the powers granted\npursuant to the New York city rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred\nsixty-nine as amended.\n d. Maximum rates of rent adjustment shall not be established more than\nonce annually for any housing accommodation within a board's\njurisdiction. Once established, no such rate shall, within the one-year\nperiod, be adjusted by any surcharge, supplementary adjustment or other\nmodification.\n e. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, the adjustment for\nvacancy leases covered by the provisions of this act shall be determined\nexclusively pursuant to section ten of this act. Rent guidelines boards\nshall no longer promulgate adjustments for vacancy leases.\n