Data shows that from 1996-2021, the Hudson Valley region lost a net total of 146,763 people to out migration, which calculates out to 5% of the Hudson Valley’s population.
Elected officials, seeking to appease vocal constituents, frequently uphold restrictive zoning laws that favor single-family residences over more diverse housing options.
In 2023, the Rockland County Office of Consumer Protection investigated 617 complaints and returned $66,000 to homeowners.
The end of the New York State legislative session in Albany is at hand. The real estate industry was fortunate in not having several bills it strenuously opposed come up for a vote.
One particularly onerous bill with the misnomer “Good Cause” eviction, would have locked in a long-term lease and taken away the property owner’s ability to set the terms of the lease. It would also cap rent increases at 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less, regardless of increases in property taxes, fuel or any other cost increases related to the property. In essence the bill would have imposed de facto rent control across the state.
Another bill that will not now pass, and was a big win, is the independent contractor status bill. This bill could have potentially reclassified Realtors as employees instead of independent contractors. Luckily compromise versions of this proposal would not affect Realtors’ independent contractor status.
A defeat for our industry on the state level has been the failure, once again, of the New York State Legislature to pass co-op reform. New York State transfer and mortgage recording taxes were also not raised. Overall, our successes lie in helping to prevent bad bills from passing.
On a local level we diligently continued to pursue legislation requiring co-op boards to give a reason in writing stating why someone is being denied. The Westchester County Board of Legislators recently held a public hearing and the vote on the legislation is expected later this month. County Executive George Latimer has indicated he would sign the bill if it passes the Board of Legislators. At the public hearing on the bill, supporters of the bill vastly outnumbered opponents of the legislation.
Under the current law more than 500 purchase rejections have occurred. This is a significantly greater number than opponents of the original bill had predicted. We also do not know how many co-op boards have complied or not complied with the current law, as the declination notification to the human rights commission is self-regulating.
Please call your legislators if you have not already done so and urge them to pass the Westchester co-op disclosure bill. Stay tuned for further updates on this legislation.
A significant portion of our end-of-session efforts was focused on opposing legislative proposals that would have negatively impacted New York’s real estate sector.
It is important for an attorney to inform the seller the Property Condition Disclosure Statement does not require a seller to make any independent investigations relating to the subject matter contained in each of the questions contained therein.
NAR had several topics it wanted HGAR and the rest of the Realtor community on the Hill that day to hammer home.
This dispute could have far-reaching implications beyond the real estate industry, as the split-decision ruling from the Circuit Court conflicts with the existing precedent of both the D.C. Circuit Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
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