N.Y. Multiple Dwelling Law § 280: Legislative findings

§ 280. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds and declares

that a serious public emergency exists in the housing of a considerable

number of persons in cities having a population of over one million,

which emergency has been created by the increasing number of conversions

of commercial and manufacturing loft buildings to residential use

without compliance with applicable building codes and laws and without

compliance with local laws regarding minimum housing maintenance

standards; that many such buildings do not conform to minimum standards

for health, safety and fire protection; that housing maintenance

services essential to maintain health, safety and fire protection are

not being provided in many such buildings; that as a consequence of the

acute shortage of housing as found and declared in the emergency tenant

protection act of nineteen seventy-four the tenants in such buildings

would suffer great hardship if forced to relocate; that as a result of

the uncertain status of the tenancy in question the courts have been

increasingly burdened with disputes between landlords and tenants

regarding their respective rights and obligations under the existing

circumstances; that some courts have declared such buildings "de facto"

multiple dwellings; that illegal and unregulated residential conversions

undermine the integrity of the local zoning resolution and threaten loss

of jobs and industry; that the intervention of the state and local

governments is necessary to effectuate legalization, consistent with the

local zoning resolution, of the present illegal living arrangements in

such "de facto" multiple dwellings, and to establish a system whereby

residential rentals can be reasonably adjusted so that residential

tenants can assist in paying the cost of such legalization without being

forced to relocate; that in order to prevent uncertainty, hardship, and

dislocation, the provisions of this article are necessary and designed

to protect the public health, safety and general welfare.