STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4785
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 12, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sen. RAMOS -- 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 public housing law, the general obligations law, and
the state finance law, in relation to establishing the New York state
emergency rent supplement program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 14 of the public housing law is
2 amended by adding a new paragraph (x) to read as follows:
3 (x) administer the New York state emergency rent supplement program
4 pursuant to section 7-103 of the general obligations law.
5 § 2. Section 7-103 of the general obligations law, as amended by chap-
6 ter 1009 of the laws of 1970, subdivisions 2 and 2-a as amended by chap-
7 ter 402 of the laws of 1979, is amended to read as follows:
8 § 7-103. Money deposited or advanced for use or rental of real proper-
9 ty; [waiver void; administration expenses] New York state emergency rent
10 supplement program. 1. [Whenever money shall be deposited or advanced on
11 a contract or license agreement for the use or rental of real property
12 as security for performance of the contract or agreement or to be
13 applied to payments upon such contract or agreement when due, such
14 money, with interest accruing thereon, if any, until repaid or so
15 applied, shall continue to be the money of the person making such depos-
16 it or advance and shall be held in trust by the person with whom such
17 deposit or advance shall be made and shall not be mingled with the
18 personal moneys or become an asset of the person receiving the same, but
19 may be disposed of as provided in section 7-105 of this chapter.] There
20 shall be established within the division of housing and community
21 renewal a New York state emergency rent supplement program.
22 2. [Whenever the person receiving money so deposited or advanced shall
23 deposit such money in a banking organization, such person shall thereup-
24 on notify in writing each of the persons making such security deposit or
25 advance, giving the name and address of the banking organization in
26 which the deposit of security money is made, and the amount of such
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07381-01-1
S. 4785 2
1 deposit. Deposits in a banking organization pursuant to the provisions
2 of this subdivision shall be made in a banking organization having a
3 place of business within the state. If the person depositing such secu-
4 rity money in a banking organization shall deposit same in an interest
5 bearing account, he shall be entitled to receive, as administration
6 expenses, a sum equivalent to one per cent per annum upon the security
7 money so deposited, which shall be in lieu of all other administrative
8 and custodial expenses. The balance of the interest paid by the banking
9 organization shall be the money of the person making the deposit or
10 advance and shall either be held in trust by the person with whom such
11 deposit or advance shall be made, until repaid or applied for the use or
12 rental of the leased premises, or annually paid to the person making the
13 deposit of security money.
14 2-a. Whenever the money so deposited or advanced is for the rental of
15 property containing six or more family dwelling units, the person
16 receiving such money shall, subject to the provisions of this section,
17 deposit it in an interest bearing account in a banking organization
18 within the state which account shall earn interest at a rate which shall
19 be the prevailing rate earned by other such deposits made with banking
20 organizations in such area.
21 2-b. In the event that a lease terminates other than at the time that
22 a banking organization in such area regularly pays interest, the person
23 depositing such security money shall pay over to his tenant such inter-
24 est as he is able to collect at the date of such lease termination.]
25 Such program shall:
26 (a) include a system where tenant security deposits or advances on a
27 contract or agreement for the use or rental of real property are held by
28 a third-party custodian and arbiter, with interest accruing thereon;
29 (b) require landlords to place a tenant's security deposit or advance
30 in such system if a security deposit or advance is received;
31 (c) include a process for returning the security deposit or advance to
32 the tenant, including a method for tenants to transfer the remaining
33 balance of their security deposit to apply to a new lease agreement;
34 (d) require that if a landlord wishes to withhold such security depos-
35 it or advance, the landlord shall make an agreement with the tenant
36 specifying the amount of money to be withheld and the reasons for such
37 withholding;
38 (e) establish a dispute resolution service for disagreements arising
39 over the withholding of a security deposit or advance to be provided at
40 no cost to the landlord and tenant;
41 (f) require that both parties agree prior to using the dispute resol-
42 ution service that the decision of such service is binding; and
43 (g) include any other regulations as determined necessary by the
44 commissioner of housing and community renewal.
45 2-a. Any person who violates the requirement specified in paragraph
46 (b) of subdivision two of this section shall be punished by a civil fine
47 of up to fifteen percent of the annual rent under such contract.
48 3. Any provision of such a contract or agreement whereby a person who
49 so deposits or advances money waives any provision of this section is
50 absolutely void.
51 4. The term "real property" as used in this section is co-extensive in
52 meaning with lands, tenements and hereditaments.
53 § 3. The public housing law is amended by adding a new section 223-c
54 to read as follows:
55 § 223-c. New York state emergency rent supplement program. 1. The
56 division shall establish a fund to be known as the tenant security
S. 4785 3
1 deposit fund for the purposes of operating and administering the New
2 York state emergency rent supplement program. Monies of the fund shall
3 be kept separate from and shall not be commingled with any other monies
4 of the division. The fund shall consist of all monies received by the
5 division pursuant to section 7-103 of the general obligations law and
6 funds appropriated from the tenant security deposit fund established
7 pursuant to section ninety-nine-ii of the state finance law.
8 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the
9 division shall provide an emergency rent supplement to eligible individ-
10 uals and families in accordance with this section.
11 3. (a) The division shall provide an emergency rent supplement to
12 eligible tenants as defined in subdivision four of this section in one
13 month intervals for up to three months over a thirty-six month period.
14 The emergency rent supplement shall be issued by the division directly
15 to the landlord or vendor.
16 (b) A tenant shall receive no more than three emergency rent supple-
17 ments over a period of thirty-six months, regardless of the premises for
18 which such supplement is provided. Supplements shall be provided on
19 behalf of tenants and shall not be based upon the premises which the
20 tenant is leasing.
21 4. A tenant shall be eligible to receive an emergency rent supplement
22 if:
23 (a) the tenant's household is at or below sixty percent of the area
24 median income based on the family household size as calculated by the
25 United States department of housing and urban development in order to be
26 eligible for an emergency rent supplement;
27 (b) the tenant provides proof of at least ninety days employment;
28 (c) the tenant provides proof of need as determined by the division.
29 For the purposes of this section, proof of need includes, but need not
30 be limited to, need due to outstanding medical bills, domestic violence,
31 notice of late rental payment, delayed payment due to job status,
32 student loans, and medical leave from work. Proof of need does not
33 include need due to loss of a job.
34 § 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-ii to
35 read as follows:
36 § 99-ii. Tenant security deposit fund. 1. Establishment of the fund.
37 There is hereby established in the joint custody of the state comp-
38 troller and the commissioner of housing and community renewal a special
39 fund to be known as the tenant security deposit fund. Moneys in this
40 account shall be kept separate and not commingled with any other moneys
41 in the custody of the comptroller.
42 2. Sources of funds. The sources of funds shall consist of all moneys
43 deposited pursuant to section 7-103 of the general obligations law.
44 Moneys of the fund shall be invested in United States treasury bonds.
45 Any interest received by the comptroller on moneys on deposit shall be
46 retained and become part of the fund, unless otherwise directed by law.
47 3. Uses of funds. Moneys of the fund shall be available for distrib-
48 ution to the New York state emergency rent supplement program estab-
49 lished pursuant to section two hundred twenty-three-c of the public
50 housing law.
51 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day
52 after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,
53 amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the
54 implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be
55 made and completed on or before such effective date.