Cal. Civ. Code § 14
Intent
Operative Text
§ 14. Intent. 1. It is the intention of this act to subject to control only those housing accommodations, as that term is defined herein, which were subject to rent control and for which a maximum rent was in effect on March first, nineteen hundred fifty, pursuant to federal or local laws, and in the discretion of the commission those housing accommodations for which a maximum rent was thereafter established, pursuant to the provisions of section four hereof. 2. Any reference made in this act to the local laws specified in chapter one of the laws of nineteen hundred fifty shall be deemed to be solely for the purposes of identification, and if any of such laws shall be held invalid, the reference made herein and any maximum rent established hereunder shall not be affected thereby. 3. The provisions of this section shall be deemed to supersede any other inconsistent provisions of this act. 4. Notwithstanding the decontrol of housing accommodations therein pursuant to this act, unless otherwise provided herein, no municipality shall have the power to adopt local laws with respect to the registration or control of rents or evictions or otherwise to the subject matter of this act.
Section 14 of New York's Emergency Housing Rent Control Law sets out the foundational scope of the statute: rent control under this law applies only to housing accommodations that were already subject to a maximum rent as of March 1, 1950, under federal or local law, plus any additional units the commission later brought under control under Section 4. The provision also clarifies that references to earlier local laws are purely for identification purposes and that the validity of those laws does not affect the rent ceilings established here. Notably, Section 14 bars municipalities from enacting their own local laws on rent registration, rent control, or eviction with respect to the subject matter covered by this act, even where specific units have been decontrolled.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under Section 14, property owners and managers operating in New York should understand that this law's rent-control framework was designed with a specific historical baseline — March 1, 1950 — and that only units meeting that threshold, or later brought in under Section 4, fall within its reach. Compliant operators generally maintain records that clarify whether a given unit was subject to a maximum rent at that baseline date, since that determination drives whether the statute applies at all. Because Section 14 also preempts conflicting municipal rent-regulation schemes, operators in jurisdictions that may have attempted local rent rules should be aware that this provision establishes a state-level ceiling on local authority in this area.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Section 14 defines which housing accommodations this rent-control law was ever meant to cover — primarily those with a maximum rent already in place on March 1, 1950 — so tenants in older New York buildings may find this provision relevant when evaluating whether their unit falls within the law's historical scope. If a tenant believes their housing accommodation should be subject to controls under this act, they can look to Section 14 as the starting point for understanding eligibility, and may consider reaching out to a local tenant-rights organization or a rent board with jurisdiction over their building for further guidance. Because Section 14 also addresses the preemption of local municipal laws on rent and eviction, tenants in municipalities that have attempted independent rent regulation may want to explore how this provision interacts with any local rules they have encountered.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated September 13, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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