public advocate bill de blasio's safer housing for new york plan

8/7/2019 Public Advocate Bill de Blasio's Safer Housing for New York Plan

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

New York City has more apartments and

tenants than any other American city. Morethan 2.14 million New Yorkers rent and over 64% of all apartmentscitywide are rentals. Unfortunately, New York City is also home tothousands of broken down buildings where tenants live in deplorable andunsafe conditions.

Complaints of asthma-inducing mold, peeling lead paint, and brokenplumbing come in to 311 by the thousands every month. For four years ina row, housing and landlord complaints have been the number one reasonNew Yorkers call 311. More than 172,000 New Yorkers reported a lack ofheat this winter alone.

Its time to break the cycle of deteriorating housing. Given how many NewYorkers rent their apartments, we must do more to achieve a universalstandard of livability for every tenant. City government needs to use itsleverage to push landlords to act responsibly. We need to give bothtenants and landlords more tools and information to make sure buildingsget repaired faster. Finally, we need to extend and strengthen our rentregulation laws this year so more than one million families in rentstabilized apartments dont lose vital rent protections.

Last year, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio launched the NYCs WorstLandlords Watch List to mount public pressure on landlords who letviolations pile up year after year without consequence. The Watch Listtargets chronic bad actors, many of whom take advantage of loopholes inhousing laws. Since it was launched in August 2010, more than 400buildings owned by 331 landlords have been listed, many through directsubmissions from New Yorkers. In the past year, significant repairs have

been made to 67 buildings, resulting in their removal from the Watch List.Public Advocate de Blasio also wrote the Heat Enforcement for AllTenants (HEAT) Act, which was signed into law this March. The new lawincreases penalties for landlords who repeatedly fail to provide heat andhot water to their tenants.


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This year, Public Advocate de Blasio is launching an eight-point plan forprotecting livability in New York City. By empowering tenants andimproving dilapidated buildings, these efforts will keep the fabric of ourneighborhoods intact and make our homes safer. The plan includes

measures that focus on:1. Preventing bad landlords who consistently fail to repair their buildings

from receiving taxpayer dollars through City subsidies

2. Partnering with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services toprevent bad landlords from receiving leases from the City

3. Enhancing NYCs Worst Landlords Watch List, including listing theWatch List on Craigslist.org

4. Increasing organizing efforts with a goal of removing 20% of buildingscurrently on the Watch List by August 30, 2011

5. Assisting law-abiding landlords by connecting every Watch Listlandlord to City programs that can provide capital and support forbuilding repairs

6. Cutting needless red tape and streamlining the certification andinspection process for landlords in programs like Section 8, so thatresponsible landlords are not unfairly penalized

7. Launching an innovative pilot program that will bring in private sectorlawyers to provide pro bono legal assistance and help law-abidingtenants navigate housing court

8. Advocating for permanent reforms to the housing code on the statelevel, including establishing mandatory minimum fines for the mostsevere housing violations and extending and strengthening rentregulations.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasios plan for protecting livability will ensure thatevery New Yorkerregardless of where they live or how much money

they makehas a safe and well-maintained apartment.

We invite tenants, landlords and all New Yorkers to tell us their ideas onmaking our City more livable. Join us online atwww.advocate.nyc.gov/safehousing where you can comment on thePublic Advocates proposals and submit your own.


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TAXPAYER DOLLARS SHOULDNT

GO TO NEGLIGENT LANDLORDS

Too often, violations and fines alone are not enough to convince many ofthe citys most irresponsible landlords to make repairs to their buildings.The City has other tools at its disposal to put pressure on the worstactorsand it needs to use them. Housing assistance programs andleases for City office space are a major revenue source for landlords. NewYork City pays more than $1 billion in taxpayer dollars every year tolandlords as part of housing assistance programs for low-income tenants.These subsidies flow to good and bad landlords alike, even those with along list of hazardous violations. Leases with City agencies for officespace are issued on a similar basiswithout considering whether alandlords other buildings have serious repair problems. Even landlordswho have run up a debt with the City for expenses like emergency repairs(there are $2.9 million in outstanding fees in the Alternative EnforcementProgram alone) can secure a lucrative lease. We must make our housingpolicies more coherent and effective by utilizing these housing programsand leases as economic leverage, to compel landlords to fix their buildingsor risk losing City business.

Ban Chronic Slumlords from

Housing Programs

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is introducing City legislation that would banlandlords from receiving taxpayer funded subsidies, including Advantageand Section 8, if they have qualified forPublic Advocate de Blasios NYCs

Worst Landlords Watch list or the Department of Housing, Preservation &Developments (HPD) Alternative Enforcement Program for at least threeyears. Under this legislation, these landlords would need to first bring theirbuildings into a state of good repair in order to re-qualify to receivetaxpayer money. Tenants would be protected by law from eviction in thesecases.


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Stop City Leases to Chronically

Irresponsible Landlords

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is establishing a partnership with theDepartment of Citywide Administrative Services to create a City policy thatwould deny new leases to landlords identified on the NYCs WorstLandlords Watch List or the Alternative Enforcement Program. Inaddition, Public Advocate de Blasios office will be cross-referencing all

existing City leases against the Watch List and the Alternate EnforcementProgram to identify all bad landlords currently holding City leases. Theselandlords will receive joint notices from the Public Advocates Office andDCAS about their need to repair their buildings.


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INFORMING TENANTS ONLINE AND

ORGANIZING THEM ON THE GROUND

New York City tenants face numerous roadblocks when trying todetermine even basic information about their landlord and building. Whilea buildings records are available on the Department of HousingPreservation & Developments website, it is not possible to recognize thetrends among multiple buildings owned by the same landlord. Informationsuch as a pattern of housing code violations can help forewarn tenantsabout potential problems that could arise with a landlord. And for tenants

already living in dilapidated buildings, it is impossible to find informationabout other buildings owed by their landlord and connect with fellowtenants who may be facing similar problems.

Since the online NYCsWorst Landlords Watch

List launched in August

2010, the website hasbeen accessed morethan 50,000 times tolook up a building or alandlord. The Watch Listhas given a voice totenants, and has shined

a media spotlight onlandlords who previouslythrived in anonymity. In2011, the Watch List isvastly increasing theamount of informationtenants can access and

making it simpler forthem to take action.

NYCs Worst LandlordsWatch List is locatedonline at: www.LandlordWatchlist.com.


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NYCs Worst Landlords Watch List 2.0

Promoted on Craigslist.org

To put this tool in the hands of more tenants and help flag problemsbefore they sign a lease, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has partnered withCraigslist, which now links to NYCs Worst Landlords Watch List fromhousing listings on their New York City site. Craiglist.org is the seventhmost visited website in the United States and the initiative has alreadytripled traffic to the Watch List website.

Public Advocate de Blasio is also enhancing NYCs Worst Landlords

Watch List, making it a one-stop-shop where a tenant hunting for anapartment can not only look up the records of one building, but see everysingle building owned by the same landlord. Through the enhanced WatchList, the Public Advocate will work to make City data on buildings muchmore coherent and accessible.

In addition, the Office of the Public

Advocate will use NYCs WorstLandlords Watch List to shine aspotlight on the network of brokers,building managers and lenders thathelp bad landlords thrive. These actorsprovide financial backing for deals thatput buildings into financial distress and

support a system of building neglect.Through media pressure andinvestigations into the worst actors, thePublic Advocate will start holding thesepartners to a higher standard.

Organizing More Tenants

in Watch List Buildings

When tenants join together, they have a much better shot at forcing alandlord to make repairs. In the last two months, organizers from PublicAdvocate Bill de Blasios office partnered with community organizationsand knocked on hundreds of doors in Watch List buildings.

Total Buildings: 418

Manhattan: 201Brooklyn: 129Bronx: 71Queens: 16Staten Island: 2


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By August 30, 2011, the one-year anniversary of the launch of NYCsWorst Landlords Watch List, the Office of the Public AdvocatesCommunity Organizing department will have led organizing activities indozens of buildings. The goal is to secure repairs and remove 80 building

from the Watch List, or 20% of those currently listed. By partnering withcommunity-based organizations, Public Advocate de Blasios organizerswill knock on thousands of tenants doors in 2011 and engage in newpartnerships with the following advocacy groups to help identifyproblematic buildings in their neighborhoods.

o Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalitiono Make the Road New Yorko New York Communities for Changeo Asian Americans for Equalityo Committee Against Anti-Asian American Violence (CAAAV)o Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB)o Community Action for Safe Apartmentso Flatbush Development Corporationo Northern Manhattan Improvement Coalition


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HELPING LANDLORDS OF DISTRESSED

BUILDINGS MAKE REPAIRS

While there are certainly landlords who seek to profit from neglecting theirtenants needs, most landlords want to properly maintain their buildings.However, some need additional resources to make substantive repairs.HPD has loan and tax incentive programs set up to assist well-intentionedproperty owners, but more landlords can take advantage of theseprograms. Moving forward, the Office of the Public Advocate will providelandlords with information on programs to help them maintain their

properties.

Help Landlords Access

City Programs and Support

There are 11 tax incentive programs set up to help landlords, ranging from

421-a tax abatements for creating affordable housing to exemptions thatoffset the cost of repairs. Another dozen programs offer low-interest loansto replace outdated water, heating and insulation systems. HPD programslike Preservation Participation Loans, Home Improvements and SmallOwner Repairs range from $10,000 to $200,000, depending on thenumber of units per building and affordability restrictions, and they helplandlords make repairs without having to take out high-interest loans thatwill jeopardize their buildings financial future.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio will work to connect more landlords in needof these programs by engaging them directly and providing information forhow they can obtain support. Using a landlord tip guide developed byHPD, Public Advocate de Blasios office has compiled a comprehensiveLandlord Toolkit that details key support programs for landlords. Thistoolkit has been, and will continue to be, distributed to every landlord on

NYC Worst Landlords Watch List. In addition, the Public Advocatesoffice will work with HPD to distribute this toolkit to all applicable landlordsin its database.

Public Advocate de Blasios Constituent Services Department has alsoestablished a Help Desk to guide landlords to these programs and


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increase participation. The Help Desk will help landlords clear resolvedviolations from their record, liaise with tenants to coordinate times to makerepairs, and help landlords correct errors in City records that could costthem unnecessary fines. The help desk can be reached at

[email protected] or 212-669-7250.

Cut Needless Red Tape that Unfairly

Penalizes Landlords who Make Repairs

While housing programs like Section 8 can be better leveraged topressure bad landlords, we must also ensure that these programs do not

punish responsible property owners. More than 31,000 landlordsparticipate in NYCHAs Section 8 housing program. And while Section 8 isa critical safety net for low-income tenants, it can also be a burdensomeand occasionally costlyprogram for landlords. One of the mostfrustrating parts of the program for landlords is NYCHAs annualinspection for hazardous conditions. If problems are found, landlords aregiven 30 days to make and verify repairs before their Section 8 payments

are suspended. The process requires landlords to gain access to atenants apartment, make repairs and provide proof to NYCHA that theyare in compliance.

A significant portion of the 30-day period can be taken up by mailing formsand waiting at length for NYCHAs response. As a result, landlords whohave made repairs on time can still see their Section 8 subsidy

suspended. And once suspended, it can take months to restore payments,putting otherwise good buildings into financial distress. Public Advocatede Blasio will work with NYCHA to reduce the necessary paperwork andagency response times so that responsible landlords are not penalized.The Public Advocate will also advocate for changes to the system thatmake it simpler for landlords to demonstrate that repairs have been made,such as letting a licensed contractor certify repairs.


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HELPING LAW-ABIDING TENANTS

NAVIGATE HOUSING COURT

95% of landlords who walk into Housing Court have legal representation. Among tenants, the figure is a meager 5%. For the more than 13,000cases filed because repairs havent been made, less than 1% of tenantshave representation. Without legal counsel, many tenants show up tocourt unprepared and unaware of their rights.

Representing Tenants in CourtA Partnership with South Brooklyn

Legal Services

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and South Brooklyn Legal Services arelaunching an innovative pilot project to connect tenants in Brooklyn to probono representation from private sector law firms in repair cases. Public

Advocate de Blasio will recruit private law firms to take on cases pro bono,while South Brooklyn Legal Services will provide the firms with trainingand supervision. The lawyers will be recruited from major law firms, whereassociates can use Housing Court cases to gain valuable in-courtexperience.

Beginning in June 2011, the partnership will field a team of lawyers who

will each handle one case per month through the end of 2011. Tenantswill have a single lawyer working their case from start to finish who willoffer them legal advice and represent them in court proceedings.


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REFORMING THE HOUSING CODE

STATE LEGISLATION STRENGTHENING

ENFORCEMENT OF SEVERE VIOLATIONS

When someone is issued a ticket for double parking, they face a fine andescalating consequences if they fail to pay. Yet when a HousingDepartment inspector issues a violation to a landlord for failing to provideheat, the fine can simply be ignored without consequence. Housingviolations are decided in Housing Court where landlords too frequently

settle their cases for a fraction of the fines they actually owe. With 2.75million uncorrected housing violations on the Citys books, we need amore effective way to enforce the housing code and incentivize landlordsto make repairs.

State Legislative Reform: Mandatory

Minimums for Serious Violations and

Rent Regulation

New York States rent regulation laws expire in June 2011. If they are notrenewed, more than 1 million rent-regulated apartments are at risk ofbecoming unaffordable. We need to extend and strengthen rent regulationlaws so that New York City remains affordable to the middle class.Working with a broad coalition of reform-minded allies, Public Advocate deBlasio will push for reforms that prevent the year-by-year loss ofaffordable housing, and keep New Yorkers in their homes and in theirneighborhoods.

State laws also have a role in ensuring the safety of our housing stock. Toensure fines really stick for the most dangerous violations, Public Advocate de Blasio is advocating for new State legislation that will

establish firm minimum fines for the most serious class of housing codeviolationsconditions like peeling lead paint and lack of heat. If a series ofheating violations for $500-$1,000 were issued by HPD, a landlord couldno longer walk away paying anything less than $500 for each, as iscustomary today. Mandatory minimum fines could also generate additionalrevenue for the City.


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State Senator Liz Krueger will introduce legislation in the State Senatelater this year to establish mandatory minimums.

In addition, Public Advocate de Blasios office will work with stakeholders

citywide to examine other long-term reforms that will encourage landlordsto better maintain their buildings. The Public Advocate will push for asystem of administrative tribunals similar to those in Chicago, Washington,Dallas and Boston. Administrative tribunals treat housing violations likeparking tickets: a landlord can pay the fine or contest it before a tribunalwhich will process the case in a matter of minutes.

These reforms can ensure New York Citys housing is both safe andaffordable.


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Office of New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio

1 Centre Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10007

(212) 669-7200 | www.advocate.nyc.gov

public advocate bill de blasio's safer housing for new york plan

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