Griffo, Senate Republicans unveil legislation designed to deliver affordable homeownership in New York

New York State Sen. Joseph Griffo and members of the Senate Republican Conference recently unveiled a comprehensive package of housing legislation designed to help New Yorkers build homes that are affordable and keep homeowners in the Empire State.

The package includes affordability incentives for first time homeowners and lowers construction costs by removing regulatory burdens such as streamlining the environmental review process to build homes.

It also aims to increase housing supply by establishing a task force composed of local government officials, state agencies, and other stakeholders to develop best practices for local governments to encourage housing development.

Proposals in the package would:

S.538 – Means test rent-controlled apartments to ensure that people who need affordable housing are occupying them.

S.3545 – Streamlines the environmental review process to make it easier to build more homes.

S.529 – Establishes the local initiatives task force on housing to collaborate with local government officials, state agencies, and stakeholders to develop best practices for local governments to incentivize housing development.

S.576 – Create tax incentives for manufactured housing developers to build affordable homes in rural areas.

S.850 – Provides a first-time homebuyer tax credit for local property taxes.

S.8489 – Freezes real property taxes for three years to provide relief to New York homeowners. New York has some of the highest property taxes in the nation.

S.852 – Give homebuyers who rehabilitate dilapidated properties an exemption from property tax reassessment.

S.9270 – Establishes a new part of the housing court dedicated exclusively to buildings 35 units or less. The owners and tenants of these smaller buildings would benefit from faster resolution of issues.

S.1167 – Repeal the All-Electric Building Act. The all-electric mandate will increase the cost of the average single-family home by about $20,000.

S.8621– Allow building developers to comply with the less costly and less burdensome 2020 Energy Codes in lieu of the 2025 Energy Code. This would result in lowering the cost of an average single-family home by approximately $7,400.

“As housing costs continue to rise, the dream of homeownership has gotten more out of reach for many New Yorkers,” Sen. Griffo said. “Consequently, far too many residents and families have left for better and more opportunities in other states. We need meaningful action to improve the housing affordability crisis in New York, or else we will continue to see people flee. This package of legislation we have advanced will provide incentives for first-time homeowners, freeze burdensome property taxes, lower home construction costs, reduce onerous regulations and mandates, and encourage housing development. It will make our state more affordable and ensure future generations can live and prosper here.”

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