Bill Text: NY A01874 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


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) 2020-01-08 - referred to social services [A01874 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A01874-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1874
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 17, 2019
                                       ___________
        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    § 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 or her family, such payment may  be  made  directly  by  the  public
     9  welfare 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 or she  has  knowledge
    12  that  there  exists  or  there  is  outstanding  any violation of law in
    13  respect to the building containing the housing  accommodations  occupied
    14  by  the person entitled to such assistance which is dangerous, hazardous
    15  or detrimental to life or health. A report of each such violation  shall
    16  be  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 may withhold  the  payment  of  any
    19  such  rent  in  any case where he or she has knowledge that there exists
    20  any legally uncontested outstanding  real  property  taxes  levied  with
    21  respect to the real property containing the housing accommodations occu-
    22  pied  by the person entitled to such assistance. Information relating to
    23  any such properties' paid or unpaid real property taxes shall  be  made,
    24  upon request, to the appropriate public welfare department by the appro-
    25  priate department or agency having jurisdiction over such payments.
    26    3.  Every  public welfare official shall have the power to initiate or
    27  to request the recipient to initiate before the appropriate housing rent
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01884-01-9

        A. 1874                             2
     1  commission any proper proceeding for  the  reduction  of  maximum  rents
     2  applicable to any housing accommodation occupied by a person entitled to
     3  assistance  in  the  form  of  a rent payment whenever such official has
     4  knowledge  that  essential  services  which  such  person is entitled to
     5  receive are not being maintained by the landlord or have  been  substan-
     6  tially reduced by the landlord.
     7    4.  The  public  welfare  department  may  obtain and maintain current
     8  records of violations in buildings where welfare recipients reside which
     9  relate to conditions which are dangerous, hazardous  or  detrimental  to
    10  life or health, and such information relating to the payment or non-pay-
    11  ment  of  real property taxes levied upon the owner of any real property
    12  containing housing accommodations  occupied  by  a  person  entitled  to
    13  assistance under this section.
    14    5. (a) It shall be a valid defense in any action or summary proceeding
    15  against  a  welfare  recipient  for non-payment of rent to show existing
    16  violations in the building wherein such welfare recipient resides  which
    17  relate  to  conditions  which are dangerous, hazardous or detrimental to
    18  life or health as the basis for non-payment.  It shall also be  a  valid
    19  defense  in  an action or summary proceeding against a welfare recipient
    20  for non-payment of rent under this section to show that the owner of the
    21  property occupied by a person entitled to assistance has legally  uncon-
    22  tested outstanding real property taxes connected to such property as the
    23  basis for non-payment.
    24    (b)  In  any such action or proceeding the plaintiff or landlord shall
    25  not be entitled to an order or judgment awarding him or  her  possession
    26  of  the  premises  or providing for removal of the tenant, or to a money
    27  judgment against the tenant, on the basis of non-payment of rent for any
    28  period during which there was outstanding any violation of law  relating
    29  to  dangerous  or hazardous conditions or conditions detrimental to life
    30  or health, or on the basis of non-payment of rent under this section for
    31  any period during which there were legally uncontested outstanding  real
    32  property  taxes connected to the occupied property.  For the purposes of
    33  this paragraph such violation of  law  shall  be  deemed  to  have  been
    34  removed  and  no  longer  outstanding  upon  the date when the condition
    35  constituting a violation was actually corrected, and such legally uncon-
    36  tested outstanding real property taxes shall be deemed paid upon receipt
    37  of payment, in whole or in part subject to an agreed to payment plan, by
    38  the appropriate department  or  agency  having  jurisdiction  over  such
    39  payments,  such  date  to  be  determined by the court upon satisfactory
    40  proof submitted by the plaintiff or landlord.
    41    (c) The defenses provided herein in relation to an action or  proceed-
    42  ing against a welfare recipient for non-payment of rent shall apply only
    43  with  respect  to  violations,  or  legally uncontested outstanding real
    44  property taxes reported to the appropriate public welfare department  by
    45  the   appropriate   department   or   agency  having  jurisdiction  over
    46  violations, or outstanding real property taxes.
    47    6. Nothing in this section shall prevent the public welfare department
    48  from making provision for payment of the rent which was withheld  pursu-
    49  ant  to  this  section  upon proof satisfactory to it that the condition
    50  constituting a violation was  actually  corrected,  or  the  outstanding
    51  taxes  due  have  been  paid,  or are being paid subject to an agreed to
    52  payment plan.  Where rents were reduced by order of the appropriate rent
    53  commission, the public welfare department may make provision for payment
    54  of the reduced rent in conformity with such order.
    55    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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