S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    836
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 11, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Housing
 
 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 penalties for owners of property who fail to file a proper
   or timely rent registration statement

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  The  opening paragraph of paragraph 1 of subdivision a of
 section 12 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974  constituting
 the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, as amended
 by chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
   Subject to the conditions and limitations of this paragraph, any owner
 of housing accommodations in a city having a population of less than one
 million  or a town or village as to which an emergency has been declared
 pursuant to section three, who, upon complaint of a  tenant  or  of  the
 state  division  of housing and community renewal, is found by the state
 division of housing and community renewal, after a  reasonable  opportu-
 nity to be heard, to have collected an overcharge above the rent author-
 ized  for a housing accommodation subject to this act shall be liable to
 the tenant for a penalty equal to three times the amount of  such  over-
 charge.    [In  no  event  shall  such] A treble damage penalty SHALL be
 assessed against an owner based solely on said owner's failure to file a
 proper or timely initial or annual rent registration statement.  If  the
 owner establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the overcharge
 was  neither willful nor attributable to his negligence, the state divi-
 sion of housing and community renewal shall establish the penalty as the
 amount of the overcharge plus interest at the rate of  interest  payable
 on  a judgment pursuant to section five thousand four of the civil prac-
 tice law and rules. (i) Except as to complaints filed pursuant to clause
 (ii) of this paragraph, the legal regulated rent for purposes of  deter-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD02463-01-9

 A. 836                              2
 
 mining  an  overcharge,  shall be deemed to be the rent indicated in the
 MOST RECENT annual registration statement filed [four years prior to the
 most recent registration statement, (or, if  more  recently  filed,  the
 initial  registration  statement)],  plus  in  each  case any subsequent
 lawful increases and adjustments. [Where the amount of rent set forth in
 the annual rent registration statement filed four  years  prior  to  the
 most  recent  registration statement is not challenged within four years
 of its filing, neither such rent nor service of any  registration  shall
 be  subject  to challenge at any time thereafter.] (ii) As to complaints
 filed within ninety days of the initial registration of a housing accom-
 modation, the legal regulated rent for purposes of determining an  over-
 charge  shall  be  deemed  to be the rent charged on the date four years
 prior to the date of the initial registration of  the  housing  accommo-
 dation  (or,  if  the  housing accommodation was subject to this act for
 less than four years, the initial legal regulated  rent)  plus  in  each
 case,  any  lawful  increases and adjustments. Where the rent charged on
 the date four years prior to the date of the initial registration of the
 accommodation cannot be established, such rent shall be  established  by
 the  division.  [Where  the  amount of rent set forth in the annual rent
 registration statement filed four years prior to the most recent  regis-
 tration  statement  is  not  challenged within four years of its filing,
 neither such rent nor service of any registration shall  be  subject  to
 challenge  at any time thereafter.] (III) FAILURE TO FILE AN ANNUAL RENT
 REGISTRATION STATEMENT, SHALL RESULT IN A FINE OF TWO THOUSAND  DOLLARS,
 PER  UNREGISTERED  HOUSING ACCOMMODATION MADE PAYABLE TO THE STATE DIVI-
 SION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL.
   § 2. The opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 26-516  of  the
 administrative  code  of the city of New York, as amended by chapter 116
 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
   Subject to the conditions and limitations  of  this  subdivision,  any
 owner  of  housing accommodations who, upon complaint of a tenant, or of
 the state division of housing and community renewal,  is  found  by  the
 state  division  of  housing  and  community renewal, after a reasonable
 opportunity to be heard, to have collected an overcharge above the  rent
 authorized  for a housing accommodation subject to this chapter shall be
 liable to the tenant for a penalty equal to three times  the  amount  of
 such  overcharge. [In no event shall such] A treble damage penalty SHALL
 be assessed against an owner based solely on  said  owner's  failure  to
 file  a  timely or proper initial or annual rent registration statement.
 If the owner establishes by a preponderance of  the  evidence  that  the
 overcharge  was not willful, the state division of housing and community
 renewal shall establish the penalty as the amount of the overcharge plus
 interest. (i) Except as to complaints filed pursuant to clause  (ii)  of
 this  paragraph, the legal regulated rent for purposes of determining an
 overcharge, shall be the rent indicated in the MOST RECENT annual regis-
 tration statement filed [four years prior to the most  recent  registra-
 tion  statement,  (or,  if more recently filed, the initial registration
 statement)], plus in each  case  any  subsequent  lawful  increases  and
 adjustments.  [Where  the  amount  of  rent set forth in the annual rent
 registration statement filed four years prior to the most recent  regis-
 tration  statement  is  not  challenged within four years of its filing,
 neither such rent nor service of any registration shall  be  subject  to
 challenge  at  any  time thereafter.] (ii) As to complaints filed within
 ninety days of the initial registration of a housing accommodation,  the
 legal  regulated rent shall be deemed to be the rent charged on the date
 four years prior to the date of the initial registration of the  housing

 A. 836                              3
 
 accommodation  (or,  if  the  housing  accommodation was subject to this
 chapter for less than four years, the initial legal regulated rent) plus
 in each case, any lawful  increases  and  adjustments.  Where  the  rent
 charged  on  the date four years prior to the date of the initial regis-
 tration of the accommodation cannot be established, such rent  shall  be
 established  by  the  division.    (III)  FAILURE TO FILE AN ANNUAL RENT
 REGISTRATION STATEMENT, SHALL RESULT IN A FINE OF TWO THOUSAND  DOLLARS,
 PER  UNREGISTERED  HOUSING ACCOMMODATION MADE PAYABLE TO THE STATE DIVI-
 SION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
 the  amendments to the opening paragraph of paragraph 1 of subdivision a
 of section 12 of section 4 of the emergency  tenant  protection  act  of
 nineteen  seventy-four  made  by section one of this act shall expire on
 the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of
 such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws  of  1974,
 and  that  the  amendments  to the opening paragraph of subdivision a of
 section 26-516 of chapter 4 of title 26 of the  administrative  code  of
 the city of New York made by section two of this act shall expire on the
 same  date  as  such  law expires and shall not affect the expiration of
 such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law.