NY S08011

Removes the cap limiting initial rents for combined, modified, or divided vacant housing accommodations under preservation regulatory agreements, allowing rents to be set by federal, state, or local agencies without restriction.

Requires owners claiming exemption from rent stabilization based on substantial rehabilitation initiated on or after January 1, 2024 to seek and obtain approval from the state division of housing and community renewal within one year of completion.

Denies substantial rehabilitation exemptions if the owner engaged in tenant harassment in the five years before rehabilitation, if the building was not in substandard condition, or on other regulatory grounds.

Allows use of records of any age or type to determine apartment status under rent stabilization law and permits courts or housing agencies to find fraudulent schemes based on totality of circumstances without requiring all common law fraud elements.

Applies fraud determination provisions to any action or proceeding pending on the effective date; sections one through three take effect with a related 2023 law, and sections four through five take effect with another related 2023 law.