Title 9 Part 2100

L. 1964, ch. 244, as amd.

L. 1964, ch. 244

When used in this Subchapter, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context, the following terms shall mean and include:

Prior to July 1, 1964, the Temporary State Housing Rent Commission created by the act. Effective July 1, 1964, the Division of Housing and Community Renewal.

Any building or structure, permanent or temporary, or any part thereof, occupied or intended to be occupied by one or more individuals as a residence, home, sleeping place, boarding house, lodging house or hotel, together with the land and buildings appurtenant thereto, and all services, privileges, furnishings, furniture and facilities supplied in connection with the occupation thereof, including (1) entire structures or premises as distinguished from the individual housing accommodations contained therein, wherein 25 or less rooms are rented or offered for rent by any lessee, sublessee or other tenant of such entire structure or premises and (2) housing accommodations which were previously exempt, or not subject to control as a result of conversion or a change from a nonhousing to a housing use and which have subsequently been certified by a municipal department having jurisdiction to be a fire hazard or in a continued dangerous condition or detrimental to life or health but only so long as such illegal or hazardous condition continues and without further certification with respect thereto, and any plot or parcel of land which had been rented prior to May 1, 1950, for the purpose of permitting the tenant thereof to construct or place his own dwelling thereon, unless exempt or excluded from control pursuant to any other provision of this Subchapter.

Consideration, including any bonus, benefit or gratuity demanded or received for or in connection with the use or occupancy of housing accommodations or the transfer of a lease of such housing accommodations.

The maximum lawful rent for the use of housing accommodations. Maximum rents may be formulated in terms of rents and other charges and allowances.

An individual, corporation, partnership, association, or any other organized group of individuals or the legal successor or representative of any of the foregoing.

An owner, lessor, sublessor, assignee, proprietary lessee of a housing accommodation in a structure or premises owned by a co-operative corporation or association, or other person receiving or entitled to receive rent for the use or occupancy of any housing accommodation or an agent of any of the foregoing.

A tenant, subtenant, lessee, sublessee, or other person entitled to the possession or to the use or occupancy of any housing accommodation.

Records, books, accounts, correspondence, memoranda and other documents, and drafts and copies of any of the foregoing.

A city, town or village.

The Emergency Price Control Act of 1942, and as thereafter amended and as superseded by the Housing and Rent Act of 1947, and as the latter was thereafter amended prior to May 1, 1950, and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

Local Law No. 3 of the City of Buffalo for the year 1947.

An order shall be deemed to be final on the date of its issuance by the local rent administrator unless a protest is filed against such order as provided in section 2108.2, infra. Where a protest is filed, it shall be deemed to be final on the date of issuance of an order by the administrator either denying or granting the protest, in whole or in part. Notwithstanding the filing of a protest by either the landlord or the tenant an order adjusting, fixing or establishing a maximum rent shall continue to remain in effect until further order of the administrator.

L. 1964, ch. 244; L. 1971, ch. 371, 373, 374, 383, and 599.

Prior to July 1, 1964, the State rent administrator or such other person or persons as the administrator may designate to carry out the powers and duties delegated to him by the act. Effective July 1, 1964, the Commissioner of Housing and Community Renewal or such other person or persons as he may designate to carry out the powers and duties previously delegated to the State rent administrator by the act and now delegated to the Division of Housing and Community Renewal by chapter 244 of the Laws of 1964.

The Office of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal established by the Commissioner of Housing and Community Renewal to administer rent control under this Subchapter.

The office of the commissioner for a particular rent area as set forth in section 2100.8 of this Part.

Those essential services which the landlord was providing, or which he was obligated to provide, on March 1, 1950, and which were included with the maximum rent for the housing accommodations on that date. These may include, for example, any or all of the following: repairs, decorating and maintenance, the furnishing of light, heat, hot and cold water, telephone, elevator service, kitchen, bath and laundry facilities and privileges, maid service, linen service, janitor service and removal of refuse.

A room or rooms providing facilities commonly regarded in the community as necessary for a self-contained family unit but not including housing accommodations located in a rooming house or hotel.

In addition to its customary usage, a building or portion of a building, other than an apartment rented for single-room occupancy, in which housing accommodations are rented on a short term basis of daily, weekly or monthly occupancy to more than two paying tenants, not members of the landlord's immediate family provided that the landlord has satisfied all of the requirements of the authorities having jurisdiction over such establishments. The term shall include boarding houses, dormitories, trailers not a part of a motor court, residence clubs, tourist homes and all other establishments of a similar nature, except a hotel or a motor court. Where a landlord has not satisfied all of the requirements of the authorities having jurisdiction over such establishments, none of the housing accommodations within such establishment shall be deemed rooming house accommodations within the purview of this Subchapter.

Notwithstanding any order, finding, opinion or determination made or issued by the administrator at any time prior to June 30, 1959, any establishment which complies with the requirements for hotels of the public authorities having jurisdiction over such establishments, and which on March 1, 1950 was and still is commonly regarded as a hotel and in which at least an appreciable number of its occupants were and still are provided with customary hotel services such as maid service, furnishing and laundering of linen, telephone and secretarial or desk service, use and upkeep of furniture and fixtures, and bellboy service, or which services were and still are available with or without cost; provided, however, that the term hotel shall not include any establishment which is commonly regarded in the community as a rooming house, irrespective whether such establishment provides some services customarily provided by hotels, or is represented to be a hotel, or both. Any establishment not identified or classified as a “hotel”, “transient hotel” or “residential hotel” pursuant to the Federal act shall not be deemed to be a hotel.

A tenant, subtenant, lessee, sublessee or other person entitled to the possession or to the use or occupancy of any housing accommodation within a hotel in the city of Buffalo who has resided in such hotel continuously for 90 days or more prior to March 1, 1950.

Although no single factor shall be solely determinative, evidence which may be considered in determining whether a housing accommodation subject to this Subchapter is occupied as a primary residence shall include, without limitation, such factors as listed below:

This Subchapter shall become effective March 15, 1951.

L. 1964, ch. 244

Any provision of this Subchapter may be amended or revoked by the commissioner at any time.

Such amendment or revocation shall be filed with the Secretary of State and shall take effect upon the date of filing unless otherwise specified therein.

If any provision of this Subchapter or the application of such provisions to any persons or circumstances shall be held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this Subchapter and the applicability of such provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

L. 1964, ch. 244

Except as hereinafter provided in sections 2100.9 and 2100.10 of this Subchapter (which describe housing accommodations not subject to rent control and housing accommodations exempted by this Subchapter), this Subchapter shall apply to all housing accommodations located in the counties, cities, towns and villages listed below, and as same may be hereafter amended.

Footnotes

^* For areas decontrolled by order, see Part 2150 of this Title.

L. 1964, ch. 244

This Subchapter shall not apply to the following:

This Subchapter shall not apply to the following housing accommodations only so long as they meet the specific requirements hereinafter set forth:

Housing accommodations situated on a farm and occupied by a tenant who is engaged for a substantial portion of his time in farming operations thereon.

Dwelling space occupied by domestic servants, superintendents, caretakers, managers, or other employees to whom the space is provided as part or all of their compensation without payment of rent and who are employed for the purpose of rendering services in connection with the premises of which the dwelling space is a part.

Housing accommodations located in a resort community and customarily rented or occupied on a seasonal basis prior to October 1, 1945, which were not rented during any portion of the period beginning on November 1, 1943 and ending on February 29, 1944. This exemption shall apply only as long as the housing accommodations continue to be rented on a seasonal basis and shall be effective only from June 1 to September 30, inclusive.

Rooms in a bona fide club certified by the administrator as exempt. The administrator may so certify if on written request of the landlord the club establishes that it is a nonprofit organization and is recognized as such by written statement of the Bureau of Internal Revenue; that it rents rooms only to members, bona fide guests of members, and members of bona fide clubs with which the club has reciprocal arrangements for the exchange of privileges; and that it is otherwise operated as a bona fide club.

Rooms in a bona fide college fraternity or sorority house certified by the administrator as exempt. The administrator may so certify if, the landlord establishes that the fraternity or sorority is a bona fide organization operated for the benefit of students and not for profit as a commercial or business enterprise. This exemption shall not apply when the rooms are rented to persons who are not members of the fraternity or sorority.

Nothing in this Subchapter shall be construed to require any person to offer any housing accommodations for rent, but housing accommodations already on the rental market may be withdrawn only after an order is issued by the administrator under section 2104.9 of this Title, if such withdrawal requires that a tenant be evicted from such accommodations.

Any housing accommodation subject to this Subchapter which may be rented on or after May 1, 1955 for commercial or professional use shall continue to be subject to control and the landlord may not collect more than the maximum rent until an order is issued by the administrator exempting the housing accommodation from this Subchapter during the period of occupancy by the tenant. Such order shall be issued by the Administrator where he finds that the renting was made in good faith without any intent to evade the Act or this Subchapter and shall be effective as of the date of the commercial or professional renting.

The provisions of any lease or other rental agreement shall remain in force pursuant to the terms thereof, except insofar as those provisions are inconsistent with the Act or this Subchapter.

No payment of rent need be made unless the landlord tenders a receipt for the amount to be paid when so requested by a tenant.

An agreement by the tenant to waive the benefit of any provision of the Act or this Subchapter is void.

Parts 2100 to 2109, inclusive, of this Subchapter are applicable to housing accommodations within the city of Albany; provided, however, that wherever March 1, 1950 appears therein, April 1, 1962 shall be substituted, and wherever May 1, 1950 appears therein, June 30, 1963 shall be substituted.

Any housing accommodations on or after May 1, 1972 which are not occupied by the tenant in possession as his primary residence shall continue to be subject to rent control unless the administrator issues an order decontrolling such accommodation, which the administrator shall do upon application by the landlord, whenever it is established by any facts and circumstances which, in the judgment of the administrator, may have a bearing upon the question of residence, that the tenant maintains his primary residence at some place other than at such housing accommodation.