Bill Text: NY S03358 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Prohibits owners, lessors or agents thereof from assessing a lessee any fee for legal services in connection with any operation or rental of a residential unit unless the owner, lessor or agent has the legal authority to do so.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S03358 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S03358-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3358--A 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 6, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sens. JACKSON, BIAGGI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, the emergen- cy housing rent control law and the real property law, in relation to prohibiting charges for legal fees The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended 2 by adding a new section 26-416 to read as follows: 3 § 26-416 Unauthorized legal fees. An owner, lessor or agent thereof 4 shall be prohibited from assessing a lessee any fee, surcharge or other 5 charges for legal services in connection with the operation or rental of 6 a residential unit unless the owner, lessor or agent has the legal 7 authority to do so pursuant to a court order. Legal services include, 8 but are not limited to, court fees, legal representation, attorney fees, 9 notary public charges, and administrative fees incurred by the owner, 10 lessor or agent in connection with management of the building, including 11 actions and proceedings in a court of law. Any agreement or assessment 12 to the contrary shall be void as contrary to public policy. 13 § 2. Section 6 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, 14 constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy- 15 four, is amended by adding a new subdivision f-1 to read as follows: 16 f-1. An owner, lessor or agent thereof shall be prohibited from 17 assessing a lessee any fee, surcharge or other charges for legal 18 services in connection with the operation or rental of a residential 19 unit unless the owner, lessor or agent has the legal authority to do so 20 pursuant to a court order. Legal services include, but are not limited EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00648-02-9S. 3358--A 2 1 to, court fees, legal representation, attorney fees, notary public 2 charges, and administrative fees incurred by the owner, lessor or agent 3 in connection with management of the building, including actions and 4 proceedings in a court of law. Any agreement or assessment to the 5 contrary shall be void as contrary to public policy. 6 § 3. Section 26-512 of the administrative code of the city of New York 7 is amended by adding a new subdivision g to read as follows: 8 g. An owner, lessor or agent thereof shall be prohibited from assess- 9 ing a lessee any fee, surcharge or other charges for legal services in 10 connection with the operation or rental of a residential unit unless the 11 owner, lessor or agent has the legal authority to do so pursuant to a 12 court order. Legal services include, but are not limited to, court 13 fees, legal representation, attorney fees, notary public charges, and 14 administrative fees incurred by the owner, lessor or agent in connection 15 with management of the building, including actions and proceedings in a 16 court of law. Any agreement or assessment to the contrary shall be void 17 as contrary to public policy. 18 § 4. Subdivision 4 of section 4 of chapter 274 of the laws of 1946, 19 constituting the emergency housing rent control law, is amended by 20 adding a new paragraph (f) to read as follows: 21 (f) An owner, lessor or agent thereof shall be prohibited from assess- 22 ing a lessee any fee, surcharge or other charges for legal services in 23 connection with the operation or rental of a residential unit unless the 24 owner, lessor or agent has the legal authority to do so pursuant to a 25 court order. Legal services include, but are not limited to, court 26 fees, legal representation, attorney fees, notary public charges, and 27 administrative fees incurred by the owner, lessor or agent in connection 28 with management of the building, including actions and proceedings in a 29 court of law. Any agreement or assessment to the contrary shall be void 30 as contrary to public policy. 31 § 5. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 234-a to 32 read as follows: 33 § 234-a. Unauthorized legal fees. An owner, lessor or agent thereof 34 shall be prohibited from assessing a lessee any fee, surcharge or other 35 charges for legal services in connection with the operation or rental of 36 a residential unit unless the owner, lessor or agent has the legal 37 authority to do so pursuant to a court order. Legal services include, 38 but are not limited to, court fees, legal representation, attorney fees, 39 notary public charges, and administrative fees incurred by the owner, 40 lessor or agent in connection with management of the building, including 41 actions and proceedings in a court of law. Any agreement or assessment 42 to the contrary shall be void as contrary to public policy. 43 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that: (a) 44 section 26-416 of the city rent and rehabilitation law as added by 45 section one of this act shall remain in full force and effect only as 46 long as the public emergency requiring the regulation and control of 47 residential rents and evictions continues, as provided in subdivision 3 48 of section 1 of the local emergency housing rent control act; 49 (b) the amendments to section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974 50 constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy- 51 four made by section two of this act shall expire on the same date as 52 such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of such act as 53 provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974; 54 (c) the amendments to section 26-512 of chapter 4 of title 26 of the 55 administrative code of the city of New York, made by section three of 56 this act shall expire on the same date as such law expires and shall notS. 3358--A 3 1 affect the expiration of such law as provided under section 26-520 of 2 such law; and 3 (d) the amendments to section 4 of the emergency housing rent control 4 law made by section four of this act shall expire on the same date as 5 such law expires and shall not affect the expiration of such law as 6 provided in subdivision 2 of section 1 of chapter 274 of the laws of 7 1946.
