Good News For Eastwood/Roosevelt Landings Tenants - NY Assembly Passes Micah Kellner's Tenant Protection Bill On Electricity Submetering Charges
Received the following message from Assembly Member Micah Kellner:
Victory for Tenants: Kellner Submetering Bill Passes AssemblyThe bill still needs to pass the State Senate and be signed by the Governor before it becomes law.
When the management at the Eastwood housing complex on Roosevelt Island attempted to impose a potentially disastrous plan to directly charge tenants for their electricity use—a practice called submetering, which would have resulted in a massive de facto rent increase—I successfully worked with the building’s tenants to stop the scheme in its tracks. But the victory at Eastwood demonstrated the need to enshrine strong tenant protections into law, to ensure that residents of Eastwood and buildings across the state are never faced with this threat again.
The submetering plan at Eastwood presented a host of problems for tenants. The building’s poor insulation and clunky electric heat would have meant that under submetering, tenants would be paying enormous electric bills just to keep warm in the winter. And the electric charges would be deemed as rent in tenants’ leases–meaning that tenants could be taken to housing court and potentially evicted for nonpayment of their electric bills. Tenants faced the prospect of having to choose between paying the rent and heating their homes.
I am proud to report that the Assembly has passed a critical tenant protection bill which I introduced in response to this threat. The bill (A. 7353-A) prohibits landlords from deeming electrical charges as rent. The enactment of this legislation would mean that tenants would no longer be faced with the possibility of eviction in the event that they are unable to pay their electric bills. It will also help guarantee that tenants are able to exercise their rights as energy consumers, and, if necessary, get assistance in paying their bills.
More on Eastwood/Roosevelt Landings electricity submetering issues from earlier posts.
