Enacts the "New York property rehabilitation protection act"

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Republican1

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Jamaal Bailey says this is needed

This bill would seek to provide protection to property owners after they have suffered a loss as a result of a fire, flood, storm or other catastrophic event that requires their property to undergo rehabili- tation. For decades it has become apparent that unscrupulous rehabilitation contractors have been using the mechanism of Assignment of Benefit Agreements to defraud and take advantage of residential property owners and their insurance companies. These unscrupulous rehabilitation contractors, who most often operate in the wake of natural disasters, fires, or other catastrophic events, have been found to use these Assignment of Benefit Agreements, to sign up impacted home owners, for inadequate, inordinately expensive, insufficient or unreliable home rehabilitation services, without appropriate consumer protections, express contractual provisions outlining what actual construction work will be performed and at what cost, based upon a fraudulent and/or misleading promise that all costs of such services will be paid for by such home owners' insurance company. These unscrupulous rehabilitation contractors, and their unreliable and often misleading Assignment of Benefit Agreements, can result in homeowners not receiving quality reha- bilitation services, and/or ultimately becoming responsible for enormous rehabilitation costs, without the benefit of the necessary rehabili- tation work. This problem, of the misuse of such Assignment of Benefit Agreements has not only happened in New York, but in many other states as well, causing such other states to limit or preclude the execution of such Assignment of Benefit Agreements, and mandating consumer protection for such destressed homeowners. In order to provide consumer protection for such distressed homeowners in New York State, it is necessary to limit and preclude the unscrupu- lous use of such Assignment of Benefit Agreements, as has been done in several other states. In order to accomplish such consumer protection, this New York Property Rehabilitation Protection Act, is sought to be enacted to address such limitations and preclusions with respect to Assignment of Benefit Agreements, executed prior to January 1, 2027, and to expressly prohibit the use of such agreements after January 1, 2027. By so doing, this New York Property Rehabilitation Protection Act, seeks to bring New York State and its homeowners and insurers, in conformance with similar protections and preclusions that have been enacted in other states, and that have provided such consumer protection to their home- owners and insurance companies.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.