Bill Text: NY A09897 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Excludes squatters from tenant protections; extends the time period for tenancy rights from 30 days to 60 days of possession; adds squatting to the definition of criminal trespass in the third degree; clarifies lease provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-26 - referred to housing [A09897 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A09897-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9897

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     April 26, 2024
                                       ___________

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

        AN ACT to amend the real property actions and proceedings  law  and  the
          penal  law,  in  relation  to clarifying the definition of "tenant" to
          exclude squatters; and to amend the administrative code of the city of
          New York, in relation to bona fide lease agreements and evictions

          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 section 711 of the real property
     2  actions and proceedings law, as amended by section 12 of part M of chap-
     3  ter 36 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
     4    A tenant shall include an occupant of one or more rooms in  a  rooming
     5  house  or a resident, not including a transient occupant, of one or more
     6  rooms in a hotel who has been in possession for [thirty]  sixty  consec-
     7  utive  days  or  longer.   No tenant or lawful occupant of a dwelling or
     8  housing accommodation shall be  removed  from  possession  except  in  a
     9  special  proceeding.  A  special proceeding may be maintained under this
    10  article upon the following grounds:
    11    § 2. Section 711 of the real property actions and proceedings  law  is
    12  amended by adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows:
    13    7.  Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, for the purposes of
    14  this article, a tenant shall not include a person who enters  onto  real
    15  property  or  enters a building with the intent of squatting therein, or
    16  without title, right, and permission of the rightful owner,  or  payment
    17  of rent to the rightful owner pursuant to a bona fide lease agreement.
    18    § 3. Subdivision (g) of section 140.10 of the penal law, as amended by
    19  chapter 176 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
    20    (g)  where  the property consists of a right-of-way or yard of a rail-
    21  road or rapid transit railroad which has been designated  and  conspicu-
    22  ously posted as a no-trespass railroad zone; or
    23    (h)  with  the  intent of squatting in such building or upon such real
    24  property or otherwise occupies such building or  real  property  without
    25  title,  right,  and permission of the rightful owner, or payment of rent
    26  to the rightful owner pursuant to a bona fide lease agreement; provided,

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15043-01-4
        A. 9897                             2

     1  however, that in any prosecution under this subdivision it shall  be  an
     2  affirmative defense that the defendant is a tenant as defined in section
     3  seven hundred eleven of the real property actions and proceedings law.
     4    §  4.  The opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 26-521 of the
     5  administrative code of the city of  New  York  is  amended  to  read  as
     6  follows:
     7    It  shall  be  unlawful for any person to evict or attempt to evict an
     8  occupant of a dwelling unit who has lawfully occupied the dwelling  unit
     9  for  thirty  consecutive  days  or longer or who has entered into a bona
    10  fide lease agreement with the rightful owner with respect to such dwell-
    11  ing unit or has made a request for a lease for such dwelling unit pursu-
    12  ant to the hotel stabilization provisions of the rent stabilization  law
    13  except  to the extent permitted by law pursuant to a warrant of eviction
    14  or other order of a court of competent jurisdiction  or  a  governmental
    15  vacate order by:
    16    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.