Bill Text: NY S08770 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Tolls the four year statute of limitations look back period on rent overcharges where the owner of a housing accommodation acts in a wrongful or fraudulent manner.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-15 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S08770 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S08770-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          8770
                    IN SENATE
                                      May 15, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- 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, the
          emergency tenant protection act  of  nineteen  seventy-four,  and  the
          civil practice law and rules, in relation to rent overcharges
          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 is amended by  adding  a
     3  new clause (iii) to read as follows:
     4    (iii)  Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (i) of this paragraph,
     5  for any year in which an owner or a landlord who is required to file  an
     6  annual rent registration statement, has failed to timely file such annu-
     7  al  rent  registration  statement,  the division or a court of competent
     8  jurisdiction shall consider such year  or  years  when  determining  the
     9  current legal regulated rent.
    10    § 2. 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)  Upon the offering of a lease to a prospective tenant, an owner or
    13  a landlord shall be required to provide such tenant with the  documenta-
    14  tion  used  by such owner or landlord to support any allowable increases
    15  in the legal regulated rent during the previous four years.
    16    § 3. Paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 12 of section 4 of  chap-
    17  ter 576 of the laws of 1974 constituting the emergency tenant protection
    18  act  of nineteen seventy-four is amended by adding a new clause (iii) to
    19  read as follows:
    20    (iii) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (i) of this  paragraph,
    21  for  any year in which an owner or a landlord who is required to file an
    22  annual rent registration statement, has failed to timely file such annu-
    23  al rent registration statement, the division or  a  court  of  competent
    24  jurisdiction  shall  consider  such  year  or years when determining the
    25  current legal regulated rent.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06546-01-7
        S. 8770                             2
     1    § 4. Section 6 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974 consti-
     2  tuting the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen  seventy-four  is
     3  amended by adding a new subdivision h to read as follows:
     4    h. Upon the offering of a lease to a prospective tenant, an owner or a
     5  landlord shall be required to provide such tenant with the documentation
     6  used by such owner or landlord to support any allowable increases in the
     7  legal regulated rent during the previous four years.
     8    §  5. Section 213-a of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by
     9  chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
    10    § 213-a. Actions to be commenced within four years;  residential  rent
    11  overcharge.  An  action  on  a  residential  rent  overcharge  shall  be
    12  commenced within four years of  the  first  overcharge  alleged  and  no
    13  determination  of  an overcharge and no award or calculation of an award
    14  of the amount of any overcharge may be based upon an  overcharge  having
    15  occurred  more  than  four  years  before  the action is commenced. This
    16  section shall preclude examination of the rental history of the  housing
    17  accommodation  prior  to  the four-year period immediately preceding the
    18  commencement of the action; provided however, for any year in  which  an
    19  owner  or a landlord who is required to file an annual rent registration
    20  statement, has failed to  timely  file  such  annual  rent  registration
    21  statement, a court of competent jurisdiction shall consider such year or
    22  years when determining the current legal regulated rent.
    23    §  6.  This  act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to any
    24  action or proceeding pending in any court or any application,  complaint
    25  or  proceeding  before an administrative agency on the effective date of
    26  this act, as well as any  action  or  proceeding  commenced  thereafter;
    27  provided, however, that:
    28    (a)  the amendments to subdivision a of section 26-516 of the adminis-
    29  trative code of the city of New York made by section  one  of  this  act
    30  shall  expire  on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect
    31  the expiration of such section as provided under section 26-520 of  such
    32  code; and
    33    (b)  the amendments to the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen
    34  seventy-four made by sections three and four of this act shall expire on
    35  the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of
    36  such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974.