Bill Text: NY A07737 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides that neither an adjustment of rent nor a refund by an owner after the service of an overcharge complaint shall be a basis upon which the state division of housing and community renewal may determine that the overcharge was not willful.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to housing [A07737 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A07737-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7737 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 17, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. EPSTEIN, MOSLEY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in relation to the determination of whether an overcharge of rent is willful The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 26-516 of 2 the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by chapter 3 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows: 4 Subject to the conditions and limitations of this subdivision, any 5 owner of housing accommodations who, upon complaint of a tenant, or of 6 the state division of housing and community renewal, is found by the 7 state division of housing and community renewal, after a reasonable 8 opportunity to be heard, to have collected an overcharge above the rent 9 authorized for a housing accommodation subject to this chapter shall be 10 liable to the tenant for a penalty equal to three times the amount of 11 such overcharge. In no event shall such treble damage penalty be 12 assessed against an owner based solely on said owner's failure to file a 13 timely or proper initial or annual rent registration statement. If the 14 owner establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the overcharge 15 was not willful, the state division of housing and community renewal 16 shall establish the penalty as the amount of the overcharge plus inter- 17 est. Neither the adjustment of the rent or a refund by an owner after 18 the service of an overcharge complaint shall be a basis upon which the 19 state division of housing and community renewal may determine that the 20 overcharge was not willful. (i) Except as to complaints filed pursuant 21 to clause (ii) of this paragraph, the legal regulated rent for purposes 22 of determining an overcharge, shall be the rent indicated in the annual 23 registration statement filed four years prior to the most recent regis- 24 tration statement, (or, if more recently filed, the initial registration EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11538-01-9A. 7737 2 1 statement) plus in each case any subsequent lawful increases and adjust- 2 ments. Where the amount of rent set forth in the annual rent registra- 3 tion statement filed four years prior to the most recent registration 4 statement is not challenged within four years of its filing, neither 5 such rent nor service of any registration shall be subject to challenge 6 at any time thereafter. (ii) As to complaints filed within ninety days 7 of the initial registration of a housing accommodation, the legal regu- 8 lated rent shall be deemed to be the rent charged on the date four years 9 prior to the date of the initial registration of the housing accommo- 10 dation (or, if the housing accommodation was subject to this chapter for 11 less than four years, the initial legal regulated rent) plus in each 12 case, any lawful increases and adjustments. Where the rent charged on 13 the date four years prior to the date of the initial registration of the 14 accommodation cannot be established, such rent shall be established by 15 the division. 16 § 2. The opening paragraph of paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 17 12 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, constituting the 18 emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, as amended by 19 chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows: 20 Subject to the conditions and limitations of this paragraph, any owner 21 of housing accommodations in a city having a population of less than one 22 million or a town or village as to which an emergency has been declared 23 pursuant to section three, who, upon complaint of a tenant or of the 24 state division of housing and community renewal, is found by the state 25 division of housing and community renewal, after a reasonable opportu- 26 nity to be heard, to have collected an overcharge above the rent author- 27 ized for a housing accommodation subject to this act shall be liable to 28 the tenant for a penalty equal to three times the amount of such over- 29 charge. In no event shall such treble damage penalty be assessed against 30 an owner based solely on said owner's failure to file a proper or timely 31 initial or annual rent registration statement. If the owner establishes 32 by a preponderance of the evidence that the overcharge was neither will- 33 ful nor attributable to his negligence, the state division of housing 34 and community renewal shall establish the penalty as the amount of the 35 overcharge plus interest at the rate of interest payable on a judgment 36 pursuant to section five thousand four of the civil practice law and 37 rules. Neither the adjustment of the rent or a refund by an owner after 38 the service of an overcharge complaint shall be a basis upon which the 39 state division of housing and community renewal may determine that the 40 overcharge was not willful. (i) Except as to complaints filed pursuant 41 to clause (ii) of this paragraph, the legal regulated rent for purposes 42 of determining an overcharge, shall be deemed to be the rent indicated 43 in the annual registration statement filed four years prior to the most 44 recent registration statement, (or, if more recently filed, the initial 45 registration statement) plus in each case any subsequent lawful 46 increases and adjustments. Where the amount of rent set forth in the 47 annual rent registration statement filed four years prior to the most 48 recent registration statement is not challenged within four years of its 49 filing, neither such rent nor service of any registration shall be 50 subject to challenge at any time thereafter. (ii) As to complaints filed 51 within ninety days of the initial registration of a housing accommo- 52 dation, the legal regulated rent for purposes of determining an over- 53 charge shall be deemed to be the rent charged on the date four years 54 prior to the date of the initial registration of the housing accommo- 55 dation (or, if the housing accommodation was subject to this act for 56 less than four years, the initial legal regulated rent) plus in eachA. 7737 3 1 case, any lawful increases and adjustments. Where the rent charged on 2 the date four years prior to the date of the initial registration of the 3 accommodation cannot be established, such rent shall be established by 4 the division. Where the amount of rent set forth in the annual rent 5 registration statement filed four years prior to the most recent regis- 6 tration statement is not challenged within four years of its filing, 7 neither such rent nor service of any registration shall be subject to 8 challenge at any time thereafter. 9 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend- 10 ments to section 26-516 of chapter 4 of title 26 of the administrative 11 code of the city of New York made by section one of this act shall 12 expire on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the 13 expiration of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law; and 14 provided that the amendments to section 12 of section 4 of the emergency 15 tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four made by section two of 16 this act shall expire on the same date as such act expires and shall not 17 affect the expiration of such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 18 576 of the laws of 1974.
