A vote on a fourth extension on the already late New York State budget is scheduled for Thursday. The Governor’s proposed plan on housing continues to be a major roadblock to getting a deal done. State Senator Pam Helming hopes that some of the components of her housing plan will be included in the final state budget.
Senator Helming is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Housing, Construction, and Community Development. She, along with Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt and members of the Senate Republican Conference, unveiled a package of legislation to incentivize homeownership and improve access to affordable housing options in communities.
The package includes tax credits and incentives, removes regulatory burdens, and facilitates new construction as well as improvements to existing housing stock. It also addresses the problem of “squatters” who without consent inhabit homes owned by taxpaying property owners.
Proposals in the housing legislative package would:
- Create a first-time homebuyer tax credit to give new homeowners an income tax credit based on their local property taxes, making the American Dream more affordable for New Yorkers (S.8826, Helming)
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Create a home renovation tax exemption to provide five years of property tax relief to homeowners who invest in their property to incentivize the revitalization of existing housing stock (S.8838, Helming)
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Establish a housing infrastructure tax credit to provide a credit of up to 10 percent of costs for infrastructure projects related to the construction of new homes or multiple dwellings (S.8578, Helming)
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Establish a tax credit of up to $2,000 to incentivize the installation of manufactured homes and the expansion of manufactured home communities to provide more affordable housing opportunities (S.8458, Helming)
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Provide means-testing for rent-regulated housing to ensure that affordable housing units are occupied by those who need them (S.8887, Martins)
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Extend the successful 421-a tax incentive for developers (S.7560, Palumbo)
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Establish the crime of squatting as criminal trespass in the third degree (S.5979, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick)
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Expedite the method where a property owner may evict a squatter from residential property (S.8867, Mattera)
“Housing affordability is one of the biggest issues facing our state. Our conference has a plan to revitalize our existing housing stock by removing blight from our communities and replacing it with good quality housing units, to work with local communities on what housing strategies are best for them, to expand and create incentives for development, and to establish means-testing for rent-regulated housing to ensure that affordable housing units are occupied by those who truly need them. The legislative package we are putting forward today under the leadership of our housing ranker Senator Pam Helming will deliver affordable homeownership for the state of New York,” said Leader Rob Ortt.
“From the Bronx to Buffalo, the American Dream is unattainable for a large portion of our population. The good news is, this is a problem we can solve. Our Senate Republican Conference is again putting solutions on the table to increase access to affordable housing options for every New Yorker, from renters to first-time homebuyers to our workforce and seniors. Importantly, our solutions preserve local control and prioritize collaboration with municipalities to facilitate new builds and improve existing housing stock,” said Senator Pam Helming.
