Bill Text: NY A04960 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides that all residential leases shall contain a detailed description of tenant's statutory rights including among others, warranty of habitability, willful violation of lease, right to participate in tenants' associations, no eviction for good faith complaint, utility payment offset and sublet rights; grants tenant the right to install extra locks; sets out landlord obligations with respect to heating and oil delivery.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-10 - referred to judiciary [A04960 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-A04960-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4960 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN, SEAWRIGHT, REYES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the real property law, the multiple dwelling law, the multiple residence law, the real property actions and proceedings law and the general obligations law, in relation to requiring all residen- tial leases to disclose tenants' rights 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 2 235-k to read as follows: 3 § 235-k. Standard lease clause. 1. Every written residential lease 4 shall contain the following clauses: 5 a. "Warranty of habitability". The landlord promises that the apart- 6 ment and building are fit to live in and not dangerous to the life, 7 health or safety of the occupants. Unless the apartment or building 8 becomes unfit to live in due to the misconduct of the tenant or the 9 tenant's family or guests, the landlord will be held responsible if this 10 promise is broken, even if it is not the fault of such landlord. 11 Conditions which would violate this promise include, but are not 12 limited to: insect or rodent infestation, insufficient heat and plumbing 13 facilities, significantly dangerous electrical outlets or wiring, and 14 inadequate sanitation facilities. 15 If the promise is violated, the tenant may withhold from rent the loss 16 in the value of the apartment due to the violation. 17 b. "Willful violation of lease". If the landlord or such landlord's 18 employee or agent intentionally violates a provision of this lease or 19 intentionally interferes with the tenant's quiet enjoyment of the apart- 20 ment, the landlord is guilty of a criminal offense. 21 c. "Tenant's associations". The tenant has the right to organize and 22 participate in the activities of any group or association of tenants. 23 Tenant groups have the legal right to meet in common areas of the build- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07262-01-5A. 4960 2 1 ing at reasonable hours as long as these meetings do not interfere with 2 the right of others to enter, leave or move about the building. 3 The landlord will not punish, harass, or evict any tenant for exercis- 4 ing this right. 5 d. "No eviction for good faith complaint". The landlord may not evict 6 a tenant or refuse to renew the lease for one year in retaliation for 7 the tenant bringing a good faith complaint to a governmental authority 8 for an alleged violation of this lease or any law or regulation govern- 9 ing the apartment. 10 e. "Trial by jury". The landlord and tenant have the right to trial by 11 jury in any action for personal injury or property damage. 12 f. "Utility payment offset". If the landlord is responsible for 13 payment to a utility company, and in order to avoid a shut-off or to 14 restore service the tenant pays a portion of the utility bill directly 15 to the utility, the amount paid may be deducted from the rent. 16 2. Every written residential lease for a residence in a dwelling 17 having four or more residential units shall contain the following 18 clause: 19 "Sublet". The tenant has the right to turn over the apartment to 20 another qualified person for the time remaining under this lease. But 21 the tenant will still be responsible to the landlord if the other person 22 does not pay the rent or violates the lease in any other way. 23 The following steps must be taken if the tenant wants to turn over the 24 apartment to another person: 25 a. The tenant must send the landlord a letter by registered or certi- 26 fied mail asking permission to turn over the apartment. The letter 27 should have the name, business and home addresses of the person who will 28 take the apartment. 29 b. Within ten days after the request is mailed the landlord may ask 30 for additional information about the person who wants to take the apart- 31 ment. 32 c. The landlord has thirty days from either the mailing of the request 33 or the sending of the additional information, whichever is later, to 34 answer the tenant's request. If the landlord does not respond within 35 that time, the tenant may turn over the apartment. 36 d. If the landlord denies permission without good reason, the tenant 37 has the right to cancel the lease. 38 3. If a residential lease provides that the landlord may recover 39 attorneys' fees or expenses from the tenant for any action or proceeding 40 arising out of the lease, the lease shall contain the following clause: 41 "If the tenant is successful in the defense or prosecution of an 42 action or proceeding arising out of this lease, the tenant may recover 43 attorneys' fees and expenses from the landlord." 44 4. a. Every monthly tenant and tenant from month-to-month shall 45 receive from the landlord at the start of the tenancy, written notice of 46 their rights as a tenant. For the purposes of this section, adequate 47 notice shall be deemed to have been satisfied if the writing consists of 48 language used under the requirements for a written lease pursuant to 49 this section, section 5-907 of the general obligations law, section 50 eighty-five of the multiple dwelling law, section three hundred five-b 51 of the multiple residence law and section seven hundred eighty-four of 52 the real property actions and proceedings law for each section applica- 53 ble to the tenant. 54 b. Every landlord shall give the notice required under subdivision one 55 of this section to each of such landlord's tenants residing as of Janu- 56 ary first, two thousand twenty-six.A. 4960 3 1 c. A landlord is not required to give this notice to a tenant whose 2 month-to-month tenancy is created by section two hundred thirty-two-c of 3 this article. 4 5. A violation of any provision of this section or any other provision 5 requiring that residential leases contain specific language shall be 6 punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars. 7 § 2. The multiple dwelling law is amended by adding a new section 85 8 to read as follows: 9 § 85. Standard lease clauses. 1. Every written lease for an apartment 10 for which section fifty-one-c of this article applies shall contain the 11 following clause: "The tenant has the right to install an extra lock on 12 any entrance door to the apartment. The landlord may not refuse the 13 tenant permission to install the lock and may not charge a fee for the 14 right to install the lock. The tenant must provide the landlord with a 15 duplicate key to all extra locks installed by the tenant upon request." 16 2. Every written lease for an apartment for which section seventy- 17 eight of this title applies shall contain the following clause: 18 "Landlord shall keep every part of the building in good repair. Howev- 19 er, the tenant shall be responsible for damage caused by the misconduct 20 or negligence of the tenant, tenant's family or guests." 21 3. Every written lease for an apartment for which section eighty of 22 this title applies shall contain the following clause: 23 "Landlord shall keep every common area in the building, and the lot in 24 which it is situated, clean and free from vermin, garbage, dirt or other 25 matter dangerous to life or health." 26 4. Every written lease for an apartment for which section seventy-nine 27 of this title applies shall contain the following clause: 28 "Landlord must provide heat sufficient to maintain the minimum temper- 29 atures of _____ degrees Fahrenheit during the hours of _____ to _____ 30 and _____ degrees Fahrenheit during the hours of _____ to _____ between 31 the dates of _____ to ______" with the landlord filling in the lease 32 with the appropriate temperatures, hours, and dates required by local 33 law, ordinance, rule, or regulation or by the local public health offi- 34 cer. 35 5. Every written lease for an apartment for which section three 36 hundred two-c of this chapter applies shall contain the following 37 clause: 38 "If the landlord is responsible for paying for delivery of heating 39 oil, and there is a lack of heat because the landlord fails to have the 40 oil supplied, the tenant, alone or together with other tenants, may pay 41 for the oil delivery and deduct the payment from the rent. The following 42 procedures must be followed: 43 a. Reasonable efforts must first be made to inform the owner or such 44 owner's agent of the lack of oil and to have the normal fuel supplier to 45 the apartment deliver the oil (Note: the tenant need only comply with 46 this step if the landlord has conspicuously posted a notice with an 47 address and phone number where such landlord or their agent can be 48 contacted and with the name, address, and phone number of the normal 49 fuel supplier). 50 b. Delivery of fuel oil to the premises must be secured from a fuel 51 supplier regularly engaged in the business at a price within the range 52 of prices listed by the department charged with enforcing landlord-ten- 53 ant laws and regulations. 54 c. The fuel supplier from whom oil is secured must provide a written 55 statement containing the following: 56 (1) The name of the person or persons who requested the delivery; andA. 4960 4 1 (2) The date, time and premises to which delivery was made; and 2 (3) The amount, grade and price of the oil delivered; and 3 (4) A certification that the usable fuel supply was exhausted before 4 the delivery; and 5 (5) The charge, if any, for refiring the burner; and 6 (6) The amounts and from whom any payments were received." 7 § 3. The multiple residence law is amended by adding a new section 8 305-b to read as follows: 9 § 305-b. Standard lease clauses. 1. Every written lease for an apart- 10 ment for which section one hundred seventy-three of this chapter applies 11 shall contain the following clause: 12 "Landlord must provide heat sufficient to maintain the minimum temper- 13 atures of _____ degrees Fahrenheit, for the hours of _____ to _____ and 14 _____ degrees Fahrenheit during the hours of _____ to _____ between the 15 date of _____ to _____" with the landlord filling in the lease with the 16 appropriate temperatures, hours, and dates required by local law, ordi- 17 nance, rule, or regulation or by the local public health officer. 18 2. Every written lease for an apartment for which section one hundred 19 seventy-four of this chapter applies shall contain the following clause: 20 "Landlord shall keep every part of the building and the lot on which 21 it is situated in good repair, clean and free from vermin, rodents, 22 dirt, filth, garbage or other matter dangerous to life or health. Howev- 23 er, the tenant shall also be responsible for any damage caused by the 24 misconduct or negligence of the tenant, tenant's family or guests." 25 3. Every written lease for an apartment for which section three 26 hundred five-a of this article applies shall contain the following 27 clause: 28 "A rent-impairing violation is defined in New York Codes, Rules and 29 Regulations, Title 9, Part 1300. It includes, but is not limited to: 30 (a) failure to keep premises in good repair, clean and free from 31 vermin and rodents, (b) failure to provide an adequate supply of heat, 32 and (c) lack of artificial lights in every public hall and stair." 33 "If such a violation exists, the tenant should report it to the divi- 34 sion of housing and community renewal. If within six months after the 35 division cites the building for the violation the landlord does not 36 correct the violation or file a plan to correct it, the landlord may not 37 recover rent from any tenant whose apartment contains the violation. If 38 the violation is in an area common to all tenants, no rent may be 39 collected from any tenant." 40 "If the landlord sues to recover the rent withheld or to evict for 41 non-payment of rent, the tenant must deposit the rent sought with the 42 clerk of the court where the landlord's suit was brought. After deposit- 43 ing the rent, the tenant may not be evicted for non-payment of rent." 44 4. Every written lease for an apartment for which section three 45 hundred five-c of this article applies shall contain the following 46 clause: 47 "If the landlord is responsible for paying for delivery of heating 48 oil, and there is a lack of heat because the landlord fails to have the 49 oil supplied, the tenant, alone or together with other tenants, may pay 50 for the oil delivery and deduct the payment from the rent. The following 51 procedures must be followed: 52 a. Reasonable efforts must first be made to inform the owner or such 53 owner's agent of the lack of oil and to have the normal fuel supplier to 54 the apartment deliver the oil (Note: the tenant need only comply with 55 this step if the landlord has conspicuously posted a notice with an 56 address and phone number where such landlord or their agent can beA. 4960 5 1 contacted and with the name, address, and phone number of the normal 2 fuel supplier). 3 b. Delivery of fuel oil to the premises must be secured from a fuel 4 supplier regularly engaged in the business at a price within the range 5 of prices listed by the department charged with enforcing landlord-ten- 6 ant laws and regulations. 7 c. The fuel supplier from whom oil is secured must provide a written 8 statement containing the following: 9 (1) The name of the person or persons who requested the delivery; and 10 (2) The date, time and premises to which delivery was made; and 11 (3) The amount, grade and price of the oil delivered; and 12 (4) A certification that the usable fuel supply was exhausted before 13 the delivery; and 14 (5) The charge, if any, for refiring the burner; and 15 (6) The amounts and from whom any payments were received." 16 § 4. The real property actions and proceedings law is amended by 17 adding a new section 784 to read as follows: 18 § 784. Required lease provisions. Every written lease for an apartment 19 for which this article applies shall contain the following clause: 20 "Rent deposited in court". If there exists in any part of the building 21 a lack of running water, light, electricity, adequate sewage disposal 22 facilities, or any other condition dangerous to life, health or safety, 23 which has existed for five days, or an infestation by rodents, one-third 24 or more of the tenants living in the building may bring a special 25 proceeding in court. The court may order that the rents due and rents 26 due in the future be deposited with the court to be used exclusively to 27 remedy any of these conditions. 28 "No rent may be withheld or deposited or deposited with the court, 29 however, if the tenant or tenant's family or guests caused the condi- 30 tion." 31 § 5. The general obligations law is amended by adding a new section 32 5-907 to read as follows: 33 § 5-907. Standard lease clauses. 1. Every written residential lease 34 shall contain the following clause: 35 "Landlord's liability". The landlord is legally responsible for inju- 36 ries to people and property resulting from the negligence of such land- 37 lord or the negligence of such landlord's agents or employees in the 38 operation or maintenance of the building or the lot containing the 39 building. 40 2. Every written residential lease for an apartment for which subdivi- 41 sion two-a of section 7-103 of this chapter applies shall contain the 42 following clause: 43 "Security deposit". The landlord must put the security deposit into a 44 bank account paying the prevailing rate of interest. The landlord may 45 keep one percent a year for administrative expenses. The rest of the 46 interest will be paid to the tenant each year or treated as an addition 47 to the tenant's security deposit. 48 The security deposit will be located in 49 Bank___________________________ 50 Address_________________________, 51 with the landlord filling in how the interest will be disbursed and the 52 name and address of the bank holding the security deposit. 53 § 6. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 54 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
