S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2436
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 19, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. NIOU -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Housing
 
 AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and  the
   emergency  tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in relation
   to the duration of renewal leases
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  4  of  subdivision  c of section 26-511 of the
 administrative code of the city of  New  York  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   (4)  includes provisions requiring owners to grant a [one or two] ONE,
 TWO, THREE OR FOUR year vacancy or renewal lease at the  option  of  the
 tenant  except  where  a  mortgage or mortgage commitment existing as of
 April first, nineteen hundred sixty-nine, provides  that  the  mortgagor
 shall not grant a one year lease;
   §  2.  Subdivision  a of section 10 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the
 laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of  nine-
 teen  seventy-four,  as amended by section 15 of part Q of chapter 39 of
 the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   a. For cities having a population of less than one million  and  towns
 and  villages, the state division of housing and community renewal shall
 be empowered to implement this  act  by  appropriate  regulations.  Such
 regulations  may encompass such speculative or manipulative practices or
 renting or leasing practices as the state division of housing and commu-
 nity renewal determines constitute or are likely to cause  circumvention
 of  this act. Such regulations shall prohibit practices which are likely
 to prevent any person from asserting any right or remedy granted by this
 act, including but not limited to retaliatory  termination  of  periodic
 tenancies and shall require owners to grant a new [one or two] ONE, TWO,
 THREE OR FOUR year vacancy or renewal lease at the option of the tenant,
 except  where a mortgage or mortgage commitment existing as of the local
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD04754-01-1

 A. 2436                             2
 
 effective date of this act provides that the owner  shall  not  grant  a
 one-year  lease; and shall prescribe standards with respect to the terms
 and conditions of new and  renewal  leases,  additional  rent  and  such
 related  matters  as security deposits, advance rental payments, the use
 of escalator clauses in leases and provision for increase in rentals for
 garages and other ancillary facilities, so as to ensure that  the  level
 of  rent adjustments authorized under this law will not be subverted and
 made ineffective. Any provision of the regulations permitting  an  owner
 to  refuse  to  renew a lease on grounds that the owner seeks to recover
 possession of a housing accommodation for his or her own use  and  occu-
 pancy  or for the use and occupancy of his or her immediate family shall
 permit recovery of only one housing accommodation, shall require that an
 owner demonstrate immediate and compelling need  and  that  the  housing
 accommodation  will  be  the  proposed  occupants' primary residence and
 shall not apply where a member of the housing accommodation is sixty-two
 years of age or older, has been a tenant in a housing  accommodation  in
 that  building  for  fifteen  years  or more, or has an impairment which
 results from  anatomical,  physiological  or  psychological  conditions,
 other  than addiction to alcohol, gambling, or any controlled substance,
 which are demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical  and  laboratory
 diagnostic  techniques, and which are expected to be permanent and which
 prevent the tenant from engaging in any substantial gainful  employment;
 provided,  however, that a tenant required to surrender a housing accom-
 modation under this subdivision shall have a  cause  of  action  in  any
 court of competent jurisdiction for damages, declaratory, and injunctive
 relief against a landlord or purchaser of the premises who makes a frau-
 dulent  statement regarding a proposed use of the housing accommodation.
 In any action or proceeding  brought  pursuant  to  this  subdivision  a
 prevailing  tenant  shall be entitled to recovery of actual damages, and
 reasonable attorneys' fees.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
 the  amendments to section 26-511 of chapter 4 of title 26 of the admin-
 istrative code of the city of New York made by section one 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.