New York Enacts Affordable Housing Retention Act
New York Real Estate Practice Group Leader Stuart Saft authored an article for Westlaw Today about the New York Affordable Housing Retention Act (AHRA). The law reduces the percentage of sales required to convert a rental building to a condominium or cooperative from 51 percent of tenants to 15 percent of tenants and non-tenant purchasers. The goal of the legislation is to ensure affordability for income-restricted units and provide protections such as rent stabilization and eviction safeguards for non-purchasing tenants. Mr. Saft's article offers background on the law's drafting and passage, outlines the criteria for qualifying as an "eligible project" under it and details questions and issues it raises for project sponsors, such as the regulatory approvals needed, leasing and rent restrictions, and cost-sharing considerations.
Mr. Saft also published a Holland & Knight alert on this topic.