Bill > A01769

This bill establishes a comprehensive approach to addressing vacant residential housing units in New York State by creating three key mechanisms: a database of vacant housing, a tax on vacant units, and an affordable housing development program. The bill requires owners of multiple dwellings with six or more units to register vacant units that have been unoccupied for at least 180 days, particularly those previously rented at stabilized or subsidized rates. A new annual tax of $3,000 will be imposed on each vacant residential housing unit, with certain exemptions for non-profit organizations, government entities, and units under specific circumstances like repairs or owner occupation. The revenues from this tax will be collected in a new "affordable housing development fund" and used to provide rental subsidies for seniors and low-income households (defined as households earning $50,000 or less), as well as to acquire and rehabilitate multi-unit buildings where at least one-third of units are unoccupied. The bill aims to incentivize property owners to either rent or sell vacant units and to generate resources for creating more affordable housing options, with the database, tax, and fund mechanisms intended to work together to address housing availability and affordability challenges in the state.