Bill Text: NY A01244 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Authorizes public welfare officials to withhold rent from a landlord when real estate taxes for the rental property are unpaid.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-06-01 - print number 1244a [A01244 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-A01244-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         1244
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                    January 8, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  MAGNARELLI  -- read once and referred to the
         Committee on Social Services
       AN ACT to amend the social services  law,  in  relation  to  authorizing
         public  welfare  officials  to withhold rent from a landlord when real
         estate taxes for the rental property are unpaid
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Section 143-b of the social services law, as added by chap-
    2  ter  997 of the laws of 1962, subdivisions 5 and 6 as amended by chapter
    3  701 of the laws of 1965, is amended to read as follows:
    4    S 143-b. Avoidance of abuses in connection with rent checks.  1. When-
    5  ever a recipient of public assistance and care is eligible for or  enti-
    6  tled to receive aid or assistance in the form of a payment for or toward
    7  the  rental  of any housing accommodations occupied by such recipient or
    8  his family, such payment may be made  directly  by  the  public  welfare
    9  department to the landlord.
   10    2.  Every public welfare official shall have power to and may withhold
   11  the payment of any such rent in any case where  he  has  knowledge  that
   12  there  exists or there is outstanding any violation of law in respect to
   13  the building containing  the  housing  accommodations  occupied  by  the
   14  person  entitled  to  such  assistance  which is dangerous, hazardous or
   15  detrimental to life or health. A report of each such violation shall  be
   16  made  to  the  appropriate  public welfare department by the appropriate
   17  department or agency having jurisdiction over violations.
   18    2-A. EVERY PUBLIC WELFARE OFFICIAL SHALL WITHHOLD THE PAYMENT  OF  ANY
   19  SUCH  RENT  IN  ANY  CASE  WHERE  HE HAS KNOWLEDGE THAT THERE EXISTS ANY
   20  LEGALLY UNCONTESTED OUTSTANDING REAL PROPERTY TAXES LEVIED WITH  RESPECT
   21  TO  THE  REAL PROPERTY CONTAINING THE HOUSING ACCOMMODATIONS OCCUPIED BY
   22  THE PERSON ENTITLED TO SUCH ASSISTANCE. INFORMATION RELATING TO ANY SUCH
   23  PROPERTIES' PAID OR UNPAID REAL  PROPERTY  TAXES  SHALL  BE  MADE,  UPON
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD01140-01-5
       A. 1244                             2
    1  REQUEST, TO THE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC WELFARE DEPARTMENT BY THE APPROPRIATE
    2  DEPARTMENT OR AGENCY HAVING JURISDICTION OVER SUCH PAYMENTS.
    3    3.  Every  public welfare official shall have the power to initiate or
    4  to request the recipient to initiate before the appropriate housing rent
    5  commission any proper proceeding for  the  reduction  of  maximum  rents
    6  applicable to any housing accommodation occupied by a person entitled to
    7  assistance  in  the  form  of  a rent payment whenever such official has
    8  knowledge that essential services  which  such  person  is  entitled  to
    9  receive  are  not being maintained by the landlord or have been substan-
   10  tially reduced by the landlord.
   11    4. The public welfare  department  may  obtain  and  maintain  current
   12  records of violations in buildings where welfare recipients reside which
   13  relate  to  conditions  which are dangerous, hazardous or detrimental to
   14  life or health, AND SUCH INFORMATION RELATING TO THE PAYMENT OR NON-PAY-
   15  MENT OF REAL PROPERTY TAXES LEVIED UPON THE OWNER OF ANY  REAL  PROPERTY
   16  CONTAINING  HOUSING  ACCOMMODATIONS  OCCUPIED  BY  A  PERSON ENTITLED TO
   17  ASSISTANCE UNDER THIS SECTION.
   18    5. (a) It shall be a valid defense in any action or summary proceeding
   19  against a welfare recipient for non-payment of  rent  to  show  existing
   20  violations  in the building wherein such welfare recipient resides which
   21  relate to conditions which are dangerous, hazardous  or  detrimental  to
   22  life  or  health as the basis for non-payment.  IT SHALL ALSO BE A VALID
   23  DEFENSE IN AN ACTION OR SUMMARY PROCEEDING AGAINST A  WELFARE  RECIPIENT
   24  FOR NON-PAYMENT OF RENT UNDER THIS SECTION TO SHOW THAT THE OWNER OF THE
   25  PROPERTY  OCCUPIED BY A PERSON ENTITLED TO ASSISTANCE HAS LEGALLY UNCON-
   26  TESTED OUTSTANDING REAL PROPERTY TAXES CONNECTED TO SUCH PROPERTY AS THE
   27  BASIS FOR NON-PAYMENT.
   28    (b) In any such action or proceeding the plaintiff or  landlord  shall
   29  not  be  entitled to an order or judgment awarding him possession of the
   30  premises or providing for removal of the tenant, or to a money  judgment
   31  against  the  tenant, on the basis of non-payment of rent for any period
   32  during which there was outstanding any  violation  of  law  relating  to
   33  dangerous  or  hazardous conditions or conditions detrimental to life or
   34  health, OR ON THE BASIS OF NON-PAYMENT OF RENT UNDER  THIS  SECTION  FOR
   35  ANY  PERIOD DURING WHICH THERE WERE LEGALLY UNCONTESTED OUTSTANDING REAL
   36  PROPERTY TAXES CONNECTED TO THE OCCUPIED PROPERTY.  For the purposes  of
   37  this  paragraph  such  violation  of  law  shall  be deemed to have been
   38  removed and no longer outstanding  upon  the  date  when  the  condition
   39  constituting a violation was actually corrected, AND SUCH LEGALLY UNCON-
   40  TESTED OUTSTANDING REAL PROPERTY TAXES SHALL BE DEEMED PAID UPON RECEIPT
   41  OF PAYMENT, IN WHOLE OR IN PART SUBJECT TO AN AGREED TO PAYMENT PLAN, BY
   42  THE  APPROPRIATE  DEPARTMENT  OR  AGENCY  HAVING  JURISDICTION OVER SUCH
   43  PAYMENTS, such date to be determined  by  the  court  upon  satisfactory
   44  proof submitted by the plaintiff or landlord.
   45    (c)  The defenses provided herein in relation to an action or proceed-
   46  ing against a welfare recipient for non-payment of rent shall apply only
   47  with respect to violations,  OR  LEGALLY  UNCONTESTED  OUTSTANDING  REAL
   48  PROPERTY  TAXES reported to the appropriate public welfare department by
   49  the  appropriate  department  or   agency   having   jurisdiction   over
   50  violations, OR OUTSTANDING REAL PROPERTY TAXES.
   51    6. Nothing in this section shall prevent the public welfare department
   52  from  making provision for payment of the rent which was withheld pursu-
   53  ant to this section upon proof satisfactory to  it  that  the  condition
   54  constituting  a  violation  was  actually  corrected, OR THE OUTSTANDING
   55  TAXES DUE HAVE BEEN PAID, OR ARE BEING PAID  SUBJECT  TO  AN  AGREED  TO
   56  PAYMENT PLAN.  Where rents were reduced by order of the appropriate rent
       A. 1244                             3
    1  commission, the public welfare department may make provision for payment
    2  of the reduced rent in conformity with such order.
    3    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.