Bill Text: NY A10471 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits the early termination of a commercial lease by a small business or non-profit tenant employing 100 people or less during a state of emergency where the tenant's business has been subject to seating, occupancy or on-premises service limitations pursuant to an executive order issued by the governor during or six months after a declared state of emergency; the revenues of the tenant's business during any three-month period within the declared state of emergency or six months after are less than fifty percent of its revenues for the same period in the previous year or less than fifty percent of its aggregate revenues for the three months preceding the declared state of emergency; or the covered premises is unusable for sixty days or more; permits a tenant to terminate a lease or rental agreement up to six months after the expiration of such state of emergency.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-05-22 - referred to judiciary [A10471 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A10471-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10471 IN ASSEMBLY May 22, 2020 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Epstein) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to permitting the early termination of a lease by certain tenants during a state of emergency The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 2 227-g to read as follows: 3 § 227-g. Termination of certain commercial leases during a state of 4 emergency. 1. (a) For the purposes of this section, a "tenant" shall 5 mean a tenant that is (i) a small business, as defined by section one 6 hundred thirty-one of the economic development law, or (ii) a non-profit 7 organization employing less than one hundred people. 8 (b) In any lease or rental agreement covering premises occupied for 9 commercial purposes, where the tenant of such property no longer 10 requires use of the property for reasons including, but not limited to, 11 the cause of a declared state of emergency causing: (i) seating, occu- 12 pancy or on-premises service limitations at the tenant's business pursu- 13 ant to an executive order issued by the governor during a declared state 14 of emergency or the six months after the expiration of the state of 15 emergency; (ii) the revenues of the tenant's business during any three- 16 month period within the declared state of emergency or within the six 17 months after the expiration of the state of emergency to be less than 18 fifty percent of its revenues for the same period in the previous year 19 or less than fifty percent of its aggregate revenues for the three 20 months preceding the declared state of emergency; or (iii) the covered 21 premises to be unusable for sixty days or more, such tenant shall be 22 permitted to terminate such lease or rental agreement and quit and 23 surrender possession of the leasehold premises and the land so leased or 24 occupied pursuant to the provisions of this section and to be released 25 from any liability to pay to the lessor or owner, rent or other payments 26 in lieu of rent for the time subsequent to the date of termination of 27 such lease in accordance with subdivision two of this section. A tenant EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD16419-02-0A. 10471 2 1 shall be permitted to terminate such lease or rental agreement up to six 2 months after the expiration of such state of emergency. 3 2. Any lease or rental agreement covered by subdivision one of this 4 section may be terminated by notice in writing delivered to the lessor 5 or owner or to the lessor's or owner's agent by a tenant. Unless the 6 lease or rental agreement provides for an earlier termination date, such 7 termination shall be effective no earlier than thirty days after the 8 date on which the next rental payment subsequent to the date when such 9 notice is delivered is due and payable. Such notice shall be accompanied 10 by documentation of the reasons the tenant of such property no longer 11 requires use of the property. Such notice shall be deemed delivered five 12 days after mailing. 13 3. Any person who shall knowingly seize, hold, or detain the property 14 of any tenant who has lawfully terminated a lease or rental agreement 15 covered by this section, or in any manner interferes with the removal of 16 such property from the premises covered by such lease or rental agree- 17 ment, for the purpose of subjecting or attempting to subject any of such 18 property to a purported claim for rent accruing subsequent to the date 19 of termination of such lease or rental agreement, or attempts so to do, 20 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment 21 not to exceed one year or by fine not to exceed one thousand dollars, or 22 by both such fine and imprisonment. 23 4. Upon termination, the premises shall be delivered to the lessor or 24 owner in accordance with the terms of the lease relating to delivery of 25 the premises at the termination of the lease. 26 5. Any agreement by a tenant of premises occupied for commercial 27 purposes waiving or modifying his or her rights as set forth in this 28 section shall be void as contrary to public policy. 29 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
