Res. No. 463
Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.2451A/A.7729, allowing local governments to cap rent for SCRIE and DRIE enrollees at one-third of their total annual household income.
By Council Members Hanif, Brewer, Zhuang, Louis and Hudson
Whereas, The Senior Citizens Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) program was established by New York State law in 1970 for older tenants in rent-controlled and rent-stabilized apartments; and
Whereas, The Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) program was established in New York City (NYC) in 2005 through an amendment of the SCRIE law, in order to provide tenants with disabilities the same benefit as older New Yorkers; and
Whereas, To be eligible for SCRIE, a tenant must be at least 62 years old, live in and be named on the lease or rental agreement of a rent-controlled, rent-regulated, or rent-stabilized apartment, have a total annual household income less than $50,000, and pay more than one-third of their total household income towards rent; and
Whereas, To be eligible for DRIE, a tenant must meet all of the same requirements for SCRIE except that the age requirement is 18, and the tenant must have been awarded one of the following: (1) Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI); (2) Federal Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI); (3) U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs disability pension or compensation; or (4) disability-related Medicaid, if the tenant has received either SSI or SSDI in the past; and
Whereas, The current SCRIE and DRIE programs help protect eligible tenants from the uncertainty of the rental market by freezing the rent an enrollee pays at the rate the enrollee was paying upon entrance into the program; and
Whereas, According to data for 2023 from NYC’s Department of Finance (DOF), who is responsible for overseeing almost all of SCRIE and DRIE, there were a total of 61,260 enrollees in the programs in 2023; and
Whereas, Despite the availability of these benefits, the Office of the New York State Comptroller reports that, as of 2023, 60% of older tenants were rent burdened in NYC, spending 30% or more of their gross income on rent; and
Whereas, According to LiveOn NY, older tenants often pay more than 50% of their income on rent, even if they are enrolled in SCRIE or DRIE, because of the high amount of rent they were paying at the time they entered the program; and
Whereas, In order to change this and alleviate the burden of high rent, Senator Brian Kavanagh and Assembly Member Micah C. Lasher introduced S.2451A/A.7729, also known as the SCRIE and DRIE Rollback Act, which would allow for municipalities, including NYC, to cap the rent SCRIE and DRIE enrollees pay at one-third of a household’s combined income; and
Whereas, This bill would ensure that vulnerable New Yorkers do not just see their rent frozen at an already unbearable rate, but that the rate is lowered, allowing them to continue to live with dignity and financial security; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, that the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.2451A/A.7729, allowing local governments to cap rent for SCRIE and DRIE enrollees at one-third of their total annual household income.
JN
LS 6769 & 19770
7/1/2025