Bill Text: NY S01918 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to unlawful tenancies under the emergency tenant protection act of 1974; prohibits owners from entering or renewing leases where such owner has reason to know that such tenant will not occupy the housing accommodation as his or her primary residence.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S01918 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S01918-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1918
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 17, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sens. KRUEGER, HOYLMAN, MONTGOMERY, SERRANO -- 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 emergency tenant protection act of  nineteen  seven-
          ty-four  and  the  administrative  code  of  the  city of New York, in
          relation to leasing to business and other entities
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974 constituting
     2  the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four is  amended
     3  by adding a new section 5-b to read as follows:
     4    § 5-b. Tenancy. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this act
     5  or  the  provisions of any contract, lease or rental agreement, no owner
     6  or any agent thereof shall enter into a lease, or other rental agreement
     7  for occupancy of a vacant housing accommodation subject to this  act  if
     8  the  owner  or any agent thereof has reason to know that the tenant will
     9  not occupy the housing accommodation as his or her primary residence, or
    10  the tenant is a corporation, partnership, or other business or  not-for-
    11  profit  entity, provided, however, if the tenant (i) is a not-for-profit
    12  corporation, pursuant to the not-for-profit  corporation  law,  that  is
    13  solely  engaged  in activities to provide housing and additional support
    14  services, if any, to low-income or vulnerable members of the population,
    15  as determined by the commissioner of the division of housing and  commu-
    16  nity  renewal,  or  (ii) is a corporation, partnership or other business
    17  that is providing an officer, partner, employee or other natural  person
    18  participating  in  the day-to-day operations with a dwelling unit, which
    19  shall be occupied as the individual's primary  residence,  an  owner  or
    20  agent  thereof  may  enter  into  a lease, or other rental agreement for
    21  occupancy of a vacant housing accommodation subject to this act.
    22    § 2. Clause (i) of paragraph 3 of  subdivision  a  of  section  12  of
    23  section  4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974 constituting the emergency
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03347-01-9
        S. 1918                             2
     1  tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, as amended by section 27
     2  of part A of chapter 20 of the laws of  2015,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    (i)  to  have  violated  an order of the division or section five-b of
     5  this act the commissioner may impose by administrative order after hear-
     6  ing, a civil penalty at minimum in the amount of one thousand but not to
     7  exceed two thousand dollars for the first such offense, and  at  minimum
     8  in  the  amount of two thousand but not to exceed three thousand dollars
     9  for each subsequent offense; or
    10    § 3. Section 26-512 of the administrative code of the city of New York
    11  is amended by adding a new subdivision g to read as follows:
    12    g. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law or the provisions
    13  of any contract, lease or rental agreement, no owner or any agent there-
    14  of shall enter into a lease, or other rental agreement for occupancy  of
    15  a  vacant  housing accommodation subject to this chapter if the owner or
    16  any agent thereof has reason to know that the tenant will not occupy the
    17  housing accommodation as his or her primary residence, or the tenant  is
    18  a  corporation, partnership, or other business or not-for-profit entity,
    19  provided, however, if the tenant (i) is  a  not-for-profit  corporation,
    20  pursuant  to  the not-for-profit corporation law, that is solely engaged
    21  in activities to provide housing and  additional  support  services,  if
    22  any,  to  low-income  or vulnerable members of the population, as deter-
    23  mined by the commissioner of  the  division  of  housing  and  community
    24  renewal, or (ii) is a corporation, partnership or other business that is
    25  providing  an officer, partner, employee or other natural person partic-
    26  ipating in the day-to-day operations with a dwelling unit,  which  shall
    27  be  occupied  as  the  individual's primary residence, an owner or agent
    28  thereof may enter into a lease, or other rental agreement for  occupancy
    29  of a vacant housing accommodation subject to this chapter.
    30    § 4. Paragraph 1 of subdivision c of section 26-516 of the administra-
    31  tive code of the city of New York, as amended by section 23 of part A of
    32  chapter 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
    33    (1)  to  have  violated  an  order of the division or subdivision g of
    34  section 26-512 of this chapter the commissioner may impose  by  adminis-
    35  trative order after hearing, a civil penalty at minimum in the amount of
    36  one  thousand  but not to exceed two thousand dollars for the first such
    37  offense, and at a minimum in the amount  of  two  thousand  but  not  to
    38  exceed three thousand dollars for each subsequent offense; or
    39    § 5. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application of
    40  any  provision of this act, is held to be invalid, that shall not affect
    41  the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of  this  act,  any
    42  other  application  of any provision of this act, or any other provision
    43  of any law or code amended by this act.
    44    § 6. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
    45  have become a law; provided that:
    46    (a)  the amendments to the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen
    47  seventy-four made by sections one and two of this act  shall  expire  on
    48  the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of
    49  such  act  as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974;
    50  and
    51    (b) the amendments to sections 26-512 and 26-516 of the administrative
    52  code of the city of New York made by sections three and four of this act
    53  shall expire on the same date as such  sections  expire  and  shall  not
    54  affect  the expiration of such sections as provided in section 26-520 of
    55  such code.