STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4267 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 1, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI, ENGLEBRIGHT, L. ROSENTHAL, GUNTHER, ARROYO, ROZIC, LAVINE, GIGLIO, D'URSO, GALEF, JOYNER, SIMON, RIVERA, TAYLOR, HUNTER, SEAWRIGHT, BICHOTTE, MOSLEY, NIOU, ORTIZ, BARRON, WILLIAMS, RICHARDSON, GOTTFRIED, EPSTEIN, WRIGHT -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to the termination of a residential lease by a victim of domestic violence; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 227-c of the real property law is REPEALED and a 2 new section 227-c is added to read as follows: 3 § 227-c. Termination of residential lease by victims of domestic 4 violence. 1. Lease or rental agreement. In any lease or rental agree- 5 ment covering premises occupied for dwelling purposes, where a tenant or 6 a member of the tenant's household is a victim of domestic violence as 7 defined by section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services law 8 and reasonably fears remaining in the leasehold premises because of 9 potential further domestic violence, such tenant shall be permitted to 10 terminate such lease or rental agreement and quit and surrender 11 possession of the leasehold premises and the land so leased or occupied 12 pursuant to the provisions of this section and to be released from any 13 liability to pay to the lessor or owner, rent or other payments in lieu 14 of rent for the time subsequent to the date of termination of such lease 15 in accordance with subdivision two of this section. 16 2. Lease termination procedure. (a) A tenant who meets the require- 17 ments in subdivision one of this section may terminate his or her lease 18 by notice in writing delivered to the lessor or owner of the premises 19 occupied by such person, or to the lessor's or owner's agent, and to any 20 co-tenants of such lessee or tenant other than the perpetrator of domes- 21 tic violence. The notice shall specify the termination date which shall EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01057-01-9A. 4267 2 1 be no earlier than thirty days after such notice is delivered. If the 2 notice is mailed via first class mail, it shall be deemed delivered five 3 days after mailing. If the tenant asserts that the lessor or owner is 4 the perpetrator of domestic violence, a person authorized by the tenant 5 may deliver such notice on the tenant's behalf. 6 (b) Such notice shall state that the tenant or a member of the 7 tenant's household has experienced domestic violence and reasonably 8 believes he or she, or the member of the tenant's household, is unable 9 to safely remain in the leased premises as a result of the domestic 10 violence. 11 (c) Within twenty-five days of such notice, the tenant shall provide 12 documentation demonstrating that the tenant or a member of the tenant's 13 household has been a victim of domestic violence as described in subdi- 14 vision one of this section. This documentation may include any one or 15 more of the following: 16 (i) A temporary or final order of protection issued by a court of 17 competent jurisdiction; 18 (ii) A record, complaint, or report from a federal, state, or local 19 law enforcement agency of an act of domestic violence as described in 20 section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services law or a family 21 offense as described in section eight hundred twelve of the family court 22 act, or certifying that the tenant or a member of the tenant's household 23 has been subjected to domestic violence; 24 (iii) A record from a health care provider for treatment related to 25 domestic violence as described in section four hundred fifty-nine-a of 26 the social services law or a family offense as described in section 27 eight hundred twelve of the family court act; 28 (iv) A written verification from any other qualified third party to 29 whom the tenant, or a member of the tenant's household reported the 30 domestic violence. 31 (A) "Qualified third party" shall include: any law enforcement offi- 32 cer; employee of a court of the state; attorney, physician, psychia- 33 trist, psychologist, social worker, registered nurse, therapist, or 34 clinical professional counselor licensed to practice in any state; 35 person employed by a government or non-profit agency or service that 36 advises or provides services to persons regarding domestic violence; or 37 any member of the clergy of a church or religious society or denomi- 38 nation. 39 (B) Written verification as described herein shall be satisfied by any 40 sworn or notarized statement including the required information. 41 (C) The following sample form shall satisfy the verification require- 42 ments but is not required. This sample form shall be posted to the New 43 York state unified court system's website, and shall be made available 44 in the state's family, civil, housing, criminal, and supreme courts: 45 Part I. Tenant/Legal Occupant Statement 46 I, (insert name of tenant), state as follows: 47 (Choose the next part (A, B, or C) that most accurately describes your 48 situation) 49 (A) I have been subject to domestic violence. Date(s) of recent 50 incident(s) happened on or about:A. 4267 3 1 (B) A member of my household has been subject to domestic violence. 2 Date(s) of recent incident(s) happened on or about: 3 (C) Both I and at least one member of my household have been subject to 4 domestic violence. Date(s) of recent incident(s) happened on or about: 5 The person I have asserted has perpetrated domestic violence is my 6 co-tenant, and I cannot safely give notice of my termination to my 7 co-tenant. (YES/NO) 8 I reasonably fear that I cannot safely remain in my current apartment. I 9 hereby terminate my lease effective (date at least thirty days after the 10 next rent payment is due). 11 _______________________ ___________ 12 (signature of tenant) (date) 13 Acknowledgement 14 State of _____________________) 15 )ss.: 16 County of ____________________) 17 On the ______ day of __________ in the year _____, before me, the under- 18 signed notary public, personally appeared _______________________, 19 personally known to me or proved to me on the basis of satisfactory 20 evidence to be the individual(s) whose name(s) is (are) subscribed to 21 the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed 22 the same in his/her/their capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their 23 signature(s) on the instrument, the individual(s), or the person upon 24 behalf of which the individual(s) acted, executed the instrument. 25 _________________________ 26 Notary Public 27 Part II. Qualified Third Party Statement 28 I, (insert name of qualified third party), state as follows: 29 My employer name/address/phone number/e-mail address are as follows: 30 I am: 31 ____ A law enforcement officer employed by the (insert law enforcement 32 agency). 33 ____ An employee of __________________________ court located in the 34 state of _______________. 35 ____ An attorney licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)). 36 ____ A physician licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)). 37 ____ A psychiatrist licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)). 38 ____ A psychologist licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)). 39 ____ A social worker licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)). 40 ____ A nurse licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)).A. 4267 4 1 ____ A therapist or clinical professional counselor licensed to practice 2 in (insert name of state(s)); 3 ____ Employed by a government or non-profit agency or service that 4 advises persons regarding domestic violence or refers them to 5 persons or agencies for services or advice. 6 ____ A member of the clergy of a church or religious society or denomi- 7 nation. 8 ____ Other (describe):_________________________________________________ 9 The person who signed the Tenant/Legal Occupant Statement above has 10 stated to me that he or she, or a member of his or her household, has 11 been subject to domestic violence. 12 This person further stated to me the incident(s) occurred on or about 13 the date(s) stated above. 14 I understand that the person who signed the Tenant/Legal Occupant State- 15 ment may use this document as a basis for terminating a lease with the 16 person's lessor. 17 __________________________________________ 18 (name of qualified third party) 19 __________________________________________ 20 (signature of qualified third party) 21 ______________ 22 (date) 23 Acknowledgement 24 State of ______________________) 25 )ss.: 26 County of _____________________) 27 On the _______ day of ___________ in the year _____, before me, the 28 undersigned notary public, personally appeared 29 _________________________, personally known to me or proved to me on the 30 basis of satisfactory evidence to be the individual(s) whose name(s) is 31 (are) subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that 32 he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their capacity(ies), and that 33 by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument, the individual(s), or 34 the person upon behalf of which the individual(s) acted, executed the 35 instrument. 36 ____________________________________________ 37 Notary Public 38 Part III. Statement of Interpretation/TranslationA. 4267 5 1 I am bilingual in English and ____________ and have translated or inter- 2 preted this document to the best of my ability for the signer above. 3 _________________________________________ 4 (name of interpreter/translator) 5 _________________________________________ 6 (signature of interpreter/translator) 7 ___________________ 8 (date) 9 Acknowledgement 10 State of ______________________) 11 )ss.: 12 County of _____________________) 13 On the _______ day of ___________ in the year _____, before me, the 14 undersigned notary public, personally appeared ________________, 15 personally known to me or proved to me on the basis of satisfactory 16 evidence to be the individual(s) whose name(s) is (are) subscribed to 17 the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed 18 the same in his/her/their capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their 19 signature(s) on the instrument, the individual(s), or the person upon 20 behalf of which the individual(s) acted, executed the instrument. 21 ____________________________________________ 22 Notary Public 23 3. Treatment of rent. (a) The tenant terminating the lease shall pay 24 rent, pro-rata, up to the lease termination date pursuant to this 25 section. 26 (b) The tenant terminating the lease shall be entitled to a refund for 27 any prepaid rent or other payments covering the period after the effec- 28 tive date of the lease termination, as long as the tenant has vacated 29 the premises. Such refund shall be provided within ten days of delivery 30 of the written notice as outlined in subdivision two of this section. 31 (c) A tenant who meets the requirements in subdivision one of this 32 section and submits proper notice pursuant to subdivision two of this 33 section shall have a defense in any action brought by a landlord against 34 such tenant to recover rent and/or damages for breach of lease and shall 35 not be liable for any rent after the effective termination date. 36 (d) The lessor or owner may withhold a security deposit in part or in 37 full to the extent allowed by the lease or statute, except for the early 38 termination granted by this section, and shall not withhold any part of 39 the security deposit due to the tenant's exercise of rights under this 40 section. 41 (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to be a defense against 42 an action for rent for a period of time before the tenant vacated the 43 premises and gave notice as required in subdivision two of this section. 44 4. Co-tenants and other occupants. Upon termination:A. 4267 6 1 (a) If the terminating tenant is the sole leaseholder, the premises 2 shall be delivered to the lessor or owner: 3 (i) free of all tenants and occupants, provided that the terminating 4 tenant shall not be responsible for ensuring that the abusive household 5 member is not present; and 6 (ii) in accordance with the terms of the lease relating to delivery of 7 the premises at the termination of the lease. 8 (b) If there are tenants on the lease other than the terminating 9 tenant: 10 (i) the landlord shall not, except upon consent of such additional 11 tenants, terminate or sever the co-tenancy. The landlord must provide 12 the remaining tenant at least thirty days from the termination date to 13 decide whether to consent to a termination or severance. 14 (ii) The remaining co-tenant or co-tenants hold the right to add an 15 additional occupant as defined by paragraph (b) of subdivision one of 16 section two hundred thirty-five-f of this article. 17 5. Confidentiality provisions. (a) Unless the terminating tenant 18 provides written authorization for the release of information or unless 19 required by law, court order, or statute, the information shall not be 20 released. Information that shall be kept confidential shall include 21 information obtained during the process of the tenant terminating his or 22 her lease in accordance with this section, such as: (i) the nature of 23 the termination, (ii) the status of the tenant or member of the tenant's 24 household as a victim of domestic violence, and (iii) any information 25 contained in documentation provided to demonstrate status as a victim of 26 domestic violence. 27 (b) Pursuant to this section, the landlord shall not divulge, 28 describe, or characterize the termination of the rental agreement as an 29 early termination by a current lessor to a prospective lessor or any 30 third party. 31 6. Violations. (a) Landlords who knowingly, or intentionally violate 32 any part of this section may be liable for liquidated damages, not to 33 exceed one thousand dollars, actual damages, costs and attorneys' fees. 34 (b) Any agreement by a lessee or tenant of premises occupied for 35 dwelling purposes waiving or modifying his or her rights as set forth in 36 this section shall be void as contrary to public policy. 37 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.