Council bill would cap storefront renewal rents at 10% for landlords

Council Member Gale Brewer’s Intro 90 would put new obligations on owners of ground-floor and second-floor retail space in New York City, and the Committee on Small Business heard it on Sept. 16 before laying it over.

Why it matters

For anyone who owns, leases or brokers street retail, the bill changes the sequence of a lease deal. Per the Legistar record, the measure is titled as a local law on lease agreements concerning storefront premises. It would require written leases for terms longer than one year, set renewal procedures, and allow a tenant extension of up to one year with a rent increase capped at 10 percent.

Local coverage reports additional owner duties before signing: a certificate of occupancy, two years of utility and tax costs, projected expenses and a 10-year violation and construction history. Those items come from press coverage of the bill text, not from the Legistar summary page, so check the full text before relying on them.

The hearing came as a string of longtime Upper West Side businesses closed, including Jake’s Dilemma, Good Enough to Eat, Edgar’s Cafe, Cheesy Pizza and Barzini’s, according to that coverage. No landlord or building owner is named in it, and we have not tied any of those closings to a lease record.

The numbers

• Introduced: Jan. 29, 2026, and referred to the Committee on Small Business.
• Hearing held and bill laid over: Sept. 16, 2026.
• Sponsors: Brewer plus nine others, including Farah Louis, Selvena Brooks-Powers, Shahana Hanif, Shirley Aldebol, Lynn Schulman, Carl Wilson, Virginia Maloney, Amanda Farias and Harvey Epstein.
• Renewal rent cap: 10 percent on a one-year extension, per the Legistar summary.

What’s next

Laid over means the bill stays in committee with no vote scheduled in the record we pulled. A proposal is not law: it would need a committee vote, a full Council vote and mayoral action. Owners and brokers with retail leases expiring in the next year should watch the Legistar file for a new hearing date or amended text. More New York coverage is on the New York hub.