NY bill would reduce NYCHA rent if utilities are not working
NEW YORK (PIX11) -- A New York bill would allow NYCHA residents to have money taken off their rent for each day their heat, water, gas or electric service experiences any outages.
If Senate Bill S546, or the "NYCHA Utility Accountability Act," gets signed into law after several failed attempts in the New York State Assembly, it would require NYCHA to give a reduction of rent to tenants who experience interruptions to their utility services.
The bill reads that:
"NYCHA, at a minimum, reduce the amount of rent to be paid by tenants in the instance of a heat, water, gas, or electric service outage by either $75 prorated on a daily basis or the tenant's prorated daily cost of rent, whichever is more, for every day of utility outage."
State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-NY12) sponsored the bill, which passed in the New York State Senate in a 43-17 vote on Monday. The legislation will now head to the Assembly.
A version of the bill was introduced in 2020 but died in the Assembly before making it to the Senate. In 2021 and 2022, versions of the bill passed in the Senate but were sent back by the Assembly, where they both eventually died.
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Jonathan Rizk is a digital journalist who has covered local news in New York City and Washington, D.C. He has been with PIX11 since August 2022. See more of his work here, and follow him on X and Facebook @OfficialRizk. Get in touch at jonathan.rizk@pix11.com.