Bill Text: NY A03513 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to unlawful tenancies under the emergency tenant protection act of 1974; prohibits owners from entering or renewing leases where such owner has reason to know that such tenant will not occupy the housing accommodation as his or her primary residence.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to housing [A03513 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A03513-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3513

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 3, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Housing

        AN ACT to amend the emergency tenant protection act of  nineteen  seven-
          ty-four  and  the  administrative  code  of  the  city of New York, in
          relation to leasing to business and other entities

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974 constituting
     2  the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four is  amended
     3  by adding a new section 5-b to read as follows:
     4    § 5-b. Tenancy. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this act
     5  or  the  provisions of any contract, lease or rental agreement, no owner
     6  or any agent thereof shall enter into a lease, or other rental agreement
     7  for occupancy of a vacant housing accommodation subject to this  act  if
     8  the  owner  or any agent thereof has reason to know that the tenant will
     9  not occupy the housing accommodation as his or her primary residence, or
    10  the tenant is a corporation, partnership, or other business or  not-for-
    11  profit  entity, provided, however, if the tenant (i) is a not-for-profit
    12  corporation, pursuant to the not-for-profit  corporation  law,  that  is
    13  solely  engaged  in activities to provide housing and additional support
    14  services, if any, to low-income or vulnerable members of the population,
    15  as determined by the commissioner of the division of housing and  commu-
    16  nity  renewal,  or  (ii) is a corporation, partnership or other business
    17  that is providing an officer, partner, employee or other natural  person
    18  participating  in  the day-to-day operations with a dwelling unit, which
    19  shall be occupied as the individual's primary  residence,  an  owner  or
    20  agent  thereof  may  enter  into  a lease, or other rental agreement for
    21  occupancy of a vacant housing accommodation subject to this act.
    22    § 2. Clause (i) of paragraph 3 of  subdivision  a  of  section  12  of
    23  section  4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974 constituting the emergency
    24  tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, as amended by section 27

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01073-01-3

        A. 3513                             2

     1  of part A of chapter 20 of the laws of  2015,  is  amended  to  read  as
     2  follows:
     3    (i)  to  have  violated  an order of the division or section five-b of
     4  this act the commissioner may impose by administrative order after hear-
     5  ing, a civil penalty at minimum in the amount of one thousand but not to
     6  exceed two thousand dollars for the first such offense, and  at  minimum
     7  in  the  amount of two thousand but not to exceed three thousand dollars
     8  for each subsequent offense; or
     9    § 3. Section 26-512 of the administrative code of the city of New York
    10  is amended by adding a new subdivision h to read as follows:
    11    h. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law or the provisions
    12  of any contract, lease or rental agreement, no owner or any agent there-
    13  of shall enter into a lease, or other rental agreement for occupancy  of
    14  a  vacant  housing accommodation subject to this chapter if the owner or
    15  any agent thereof has reason to know that the tenant will not occupy the
    16  housing accommodation as his or her primary residence, or the tenant  is
    17  a  corporation, partnership, or other business or not-for-profit entity,
    18  provided, however, if the tenant (i) is  a  not-for-profit  corporation,
    19  pursuant  to  the not-for-profit corporation law, that is solely engaged
    20  in activities to provide housing and  additional  support  services,  if
    21  any,  to  low-income  or vulnerable members of the population, as deter-
    22  mined by the commissioner of  the  division  of  housing  and  community
    23  renewal, or (ii) is a corporation, partnership or other business that is
    24  providing  an officer, partner, employee or other natural person partic-
    25  ipating in the day-to-day operations with a dwelling unit,  which  shall
    26  be  occupied  as  the  individual's primary residence, an owner or agent
    27  thereof may enter into a lease, or other rental agreement for  occupancy
    28  of a vacant housing accommodation subject to this chapter.
    29    § 4. Paragraph 1 of subdivision c of section 26-516 of the administra-
    30  tive code of the city of New York, as amended by section 23 of part A of
    31  chapter 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
    32    (1)  to  have  violated  an  order of the division or subdivision f of
    33  section 26-512 of this chapter the commissioner may impose  by  adminis-
    34  trative order after hearing, a civil penalty at minimum in the amount of
    35  one  thousand  but not to exceed two thousand dollars for the first such
    36  offense, and at a minimum in the amount  of  two  thousand  but  not  to
    37  exceed three thousand dollars for each subsequent offense; or
    38    § 5. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application of
    39  any  provision of this act, is held to be invalid, that shall not affect
    40  the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of  this  act,  any
    41  other  application  of any provision of this act, or any other provision
    42  of any law or code amended by this act.
    43    § 6. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
    44  have  become a law; provided that, the amendments to sections 26-512 and
    45  26-516 of the administrative code of  the  city  of  New  York  made  by
    46  sections  three  and  four  of this act shall expire on the same date as
    47  such sections expire  and  shall  not  affect  the  expiration  of  such
    48  sections as provided in section 26-520 of such code.
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