Bill Text: NY S05862 | 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 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S05862 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S05862-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5862 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 15, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development 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- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11538-01-9S. 5862 2 1 tration statement, (or, if more recently filed, the initial registration 2 statement) plus in each case any subsequent lawful increases and adjust- 3 ments. Where the amount of rent set forth in the annual rent registra- 4 tion statement filed four years prior to the most recent registration 5 statement is not challenged within four years of its filing, neither 6 such rent nor service of any registration shall be subject to challenge 7 at any time thereafter. (ii) As to complaints filed within ninety days 8 of the initial registration of a housing accommodation, the legal regu- 9 lated rent shall be deemed to be the rent charged on the date four years 10 prior to the date of the initial registration of the housing accommo- 11 dation (or, if the housing accommodation was subject to this chapter for 12 less than four years, the initial legal regulated rent) plus in each 13 case, any lawful increases and adjustments. Where the rent charged on 14 the date four years prior to the date of the initial registration of the 15 accommodation cannot be established, such rent shall be established by 16 the division. 17 § 2. The opening paragraph of paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 18 12 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, constituting the 19 emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, as amended by 20 chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows: 21 Subject to the conditions and limitations of this paragraph, any owner 22 of housing accommodations in a city having a population of less than one 23 million or a town or village as to which an emergency has been declared 24 pursuant to section three, who, upon complaint of a tenant or of the 25 state division of housing and community renewal, is found by the state 26 division of housing and community renewal, after a reasonable opportu- 27 nity to be heard, to have collected an overcharge above the rent author- 28 ized for a housing accommodation subject to this act shall be liable to 29 the tenant for a penalty equal to three times the amount of such over- 30 charge. In no event shall such treble damage penalty be assessed against 31 an owner based solely on said owner's failure to file a proper or timely 32 initial or annual rent registration statement. If the owner establishes 33 by a preponderance of the evidence that the overcharge was neither will- 34 ful nor attributable to his negligence, the state division of housing 35 and community renewal shall establish the penalty as the amount of the 36 overcharge plus interest at the rate of interest payable on a judgment 37 pursuant to section five thousand four of the civil practice law and 38 rules. Neither the adjustment of the rent or a refund by an owner after 39 the service of an overcharge complaint shall be a basis upon which the 40 state division of housing and community renewal may determine that the 41 overcharge was not willful. (i) Except as to complaints filed pursuant 42 to clause (ii) of this paragraph, the legal regulated rent for purposes 43 of determining an overcharge, shall be deemed to be the rent indicated 44 in the annual registration statement filed four years prior to the most 45 recent registration statement, (or, if more recently filed, the initial 46 registration statement) plus in each case any subsequent lawful 47 increases and adjustments. Where the amount of rent set forth in the 48 annual rent registration statement filed four years prior to the most 49 recent registration statement is not challenged within four years of its 50 filing, neither such rent nor service of any registration shall be 51 subject to challenge at any time thereafter. (ii) As to complaints filed 52 within ninety days of the initial registration of a housing accommo- 53 dation, the legal regulated rent for purposes of determining an over- 54 charge shall be deemed to be the rent charged on the date four years 55 prior to the date of the initial registration of the housing accommo- 56 dation (or, if the housing accommodation was subject to this act forS. 5862 3 1 less than four years, the initial legal regulated rent) plus in each 2 case, any lawful increases and adjustments. Where the rent charged on 3 the date four years prior to the date of the initial registration of the 4 accommodation cannot be established, such rent shall be established by 5 the division. Where the amount of rent set forth in the annual rent 6 registration statement filed four years prior to the most recent regis- 7 tration statement is not challenged within four years of its filing, 8 neither such rent nor service of any registration shall be subject to 9 challenge at any time thereafter. 10 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend- 11 ments to section 26-516 of chapter 4 of title 26 of the administrative 12 code of the city of New York made by section one of this act shall 13 expire on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the 14 expiration of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law; and 15 provided that the amendments to section 12 of section 4 of the emergency 16 tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four made by section two of 17 this act shall expire on the same date as such act expires and shall not 18 affect the expiration of such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 19 576 of the laws of 1974.
