The legislation will allow HPD to target the root cause of repeat housing violations<\/p>\n
City Hall, NY – Today, the Council Committee on Housing and Buildings heard testimony on a bill that would allow the Department of Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD) to issue orders to property owners requiring them to repair underlying conditions that lead to repeat violations.<\/p>\n
The legislation, first proposed by Speaker Christine C. Quinn in her 2012 State of the City address and sponsored by Council Member Gale A. Brewer, would require property owners to address the root causes of reoccurring housing violations.<\/p>\n
“Our legislation will empower HPD inspectors to target the root cause of housing problems, not just surface conditions,” said Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “Now, instead of just painting over water damage or doing patchwork, landlords will have to repair the hole in the roof that’s causing it.”<\/p>\n
Currently, HPD issues violations for observed conditions, such as water damage, mold or lack of heat or hot water. This bill would allow HPD to go one step further when it is evident that an underlying condition must be addressed to truly correct a noted violation which has reoccurred and remains uncorrected.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bill we discussed today sends a clear message to landlords: when there is an underlying condition causing violations on their property, they need to fix the root of the problem. We can no longer allow half-hearted repairs that only worsen conditions for tenants. This legislation will give HPD the authority to order an owner to repair a leaky roof rather than just covering up water damage in a tenant\u2019s ceiling. Fixing underlying conditions will improve the safety of our city\u2019s housing stock, and better the lives of thousands of tenants. I want to thank Speaker Quinn and Chair Dilan for their assistance in moving this bill forward, and I look forward to working with my colleagues, HPD, and the advocacy community to make this legislation a reality,\u201d said Council Member Gale A. Brewer.<\/p>\n
“Often times underlying causes of housing violations go unidentified and unresolved, leading to repeat violations. Int. No. 967 will allow HPD to issue orders to property owners requiring them to correct these underlying conditions within a certain time frame or risk penalties for non-compliance,” stated Council Member Erik Martin Dilan, the Chair of the Committee on Housing & Buildings. “This bill is another example of the Council’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that New Yorkers live in the best housing conditions as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis legislation is an important expansion of the housing maintenance code to deal with reoccurring systematic problems tenants often face when landlords only make cosmetic repairs,\u201d said UHAB Executive Director Andrew Reicher. \u201cToo often residents are forced to live with chronic health and safety violations while landlords fail to responsibly manage their properties. UHAB is happy to see the City Council move to put this innovative mechanism in place where tenants can get the repairs needed to ensure their apartments remain in safe and decent condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Housing and Buildings Committee and members of the public also heard testimony from tenants who would be impacted by the bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the time I have lived in my apartment, numerous landlords have made insufficient repairs that cause ongoing problems in my home,\u201d testified Letha Hanes, a tenant at an apartment in Brooklyn. \u201cOver the years, these problems have included rats and mold, serious leaks, a lack of heat and hot water, and in the most severe case – a fire. Conditions in my apartment have continued to patch and paint over problems that need real attention and investment. My family and my neighbors would be safer and better off if landlords were required to enforce the housing code and make high-quality, lasting repairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting to the underlying condition is often the key to effective code enforcement. Some landlords take a short-term view of problems and fix the paint but not the underlying water leak, for example. But the City should not have its hands ties and only be able to write a violation on the symptom of the problem, and not the actual problem itself,\u201d said Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development Executive Director Benjamin Dulchin. \u201cThis bill takes a big step forward by giving the city the power to point to underlying conditions, and will help to make the City\u2019s code enforcement more effective and more efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe frequently hear from tenants who are frustrated with recurring violations in their apartments due repairs that fail to address the underlying problem causing the violations in the first place. No amount of paint over a water-damaged wall will stop a leak from causing water damage all over again. We are hopeful that this newly proposed legislation will help to ensure that the root causes of code violations are properly addressed, and will improve the overall enforcement of the housing code and with it the quality of housing for tenants throughout the city,\u201d said Emily Goldstein, Coordinator of Preservation Organizing and Policy at Tenants & Neighbors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe proposed legislation addresses one of the most vexing problems faced by tenants in New York \u2013 the tendency of landlords substitute patchwork repairs for correction of the defective systems that caused the violations in the first place,\u201d said Edward Josephson, Director of Litigation at Legal Services NYC. \u201cTenants and tenant organizations often become frustrated and demoralized when complaints to the city or to the housing court fail to correct a pattern of boiler breakdowns, water leaks, or mold infestations. The proposed bill will empower HPD to require owners to perform systemic repairs that will end the cycle of recurring violations and cosmetic repairs, and promote the long term stability of our affordable housing stock.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The legislation will allow HPD to target the root cause of repeat housing violations<\/p>\n
City Hall, NY – Today, the Council Committee on Housing and Buildings heard testimony on a bill that would allow the Department of Housing, Preservation and Development (HPD) to issue orders to property owners requiring them to repair underlying conditions that lead to repeat violations.<\/p>\n
…<\/p>\n