Senate housing committee advances vacant-rental improvement program amid affordability concerns

The Senate Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development advanced S.1399 on Monday, a bill to codify the Vacant Rental Improvement Program and allow state funding of up to $75,000 per unit to return vacant units to the rental market.

Chair State Senator Brian Kalama, chair of the committee, said the bill codifies a program funded in the last two state budgets and administered by New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). "The bill allows for up to $75,000 — that's a maximum," Kalama said. "It would be the amount necessary to make repairs that will get the apartment in decent shape." He said the program is available statewide outside New York City and is intended to help return individual vacant units to service rather than fund building-wide gut rehabs.

Supporters say the program is designed to be a modest, cost-effective tool to increase the supply of rentable units, particularly in small, low-rise buildings where a single vacant unit can remove housing from the market. Kalama told the committee the program drew more proposals than funding in its first year: with $40 million available, HCR received roughly $65 million in requests. The committee also heard that the state again funded the program in the current budget.

Several members pressed for more affordability. One senator questioned whether $75,000 per unit in buildings of up to five units — a potential $375,000 per building — would yield meaningful long-term affordability if units are only required to be rented at 80% of area median income (AMI) for 10 years. Senator Cleary said she planned to vote for the bill but asked the sponsor and HCR to consider whether the affordability levels could be tightened. "80% is not affordable to a lot of people," Cleary said.

Committee discussion clarified program limits: the per-unit $75,000 figure is a statutory cap, not an automatic payment; HCR will evaluate proposals and award funds based on demonstrated need and scope of repairs. Kalama said the program targets units that are individually non-rentable but are part of otherwise habitable buildings, not buildings requiring full-scale reconstruction.

The committee recorded a motion from Senator Jackson, seconded by Senator Cleary, to report the bill to the Senate Finance Committee; the bill was reported out of committee. The transcript records no detailed roll-call tally in the committee minutes beyond recorded affirmative and some recorded ''AWR'' (answers with reservation) annotations; the committee clerk's record should be consulted for the official vote tally.

The bill text would amend the Private Housing Finance Law and related state finance provisions to codify the program. The committee asked staff to provide additional operational details from HCR on take-up, typical per-unit awards, and the geographic distribution of proposals.

Funding context noted in committee remarks: the program was funded in the previous year with $40 million and drew roughly $65 million in proposals; the state's budget also included larger capital housing investments generally, referenced at about $2.4 billion in this committee's capital package. The committee chair said more specific program data could be supplied to members.

The committee advanced S.1399 to Finance for further consideration.