S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    385
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 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  section 1 of part F of chapter 36 of the laws of 2019, 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.  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 neither willful
 nor attributable to his negligence, the state division  of  housing  and
 community renewal shall establish the penalty as the amount of the over-
 charge  plus  interest  at  the  rate  of interest payable on a judgment
 pursuant to section five thousand four of the  civil  practice  law  and
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00466-01-1

 A. 385                              2
 
 rules. After a complaint of rent overcharge has been filed and served on
 an  owner,  the  voluntary  adjustment  of the rent and/or the voluntary
 tender of a refund of rent overcharges shall not be  considered  by  the
 division of housing and community renewal or a court of competent juris-
 diction  as  evidence that the overcharge was not willful. (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
 deemed  to  be  the  rent  indicated  in the most recent reliable annual
 registration statement for a rent stabilized  tenant  filed  and  served
 upon the tenant [six or more years prior to the most recent registration
 statement,  (or, if more recently filed, the initial registration state-
 ment)] plus in each case any subsequent  lawful  increases  and  adjust-
 ments.  The  division  of  housing  and  community renewal or a court of
 competent jurisdiction, in investigating complaints of overcharge and in
 determining legal regulated rent,  shall  consider  all  available  rent
 history  which is reasonably necessary to make such determinations. (ii)
 As to complaints filed within ninety days of the initial registration of
 a housing accommodation, the legal regulated rent for purposes of deter-
 mining an overcharge shall be deemed to be the rent charged on the  date
 [six]  FOUR  years  prior to the date of the initial registration of the
 housing accommodation (or, if the housing accommodation was  subject  to
 this  act  for  less  than [six] FOUR years, the initial legal regulated
 rent) plus in each case, any lawful increases and adjustments. Where the
 rent charged on the date [six] FOUR years  prior  to  the  date  of  the
 initial  registration  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 THOU-
 SAND DOLLARS PER UNREGISTERED HOUSING ACCOMMODATION, MADE PAYABLE TO THE
 STATE DIVISION 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 section 4 of
 part F of chapter 36 of the laws of 2019, 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.   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. After a complaint
 of rent overcharge has been filed and served on an owner, the  voluntary
 adjustment  of  the rent and/or the voluntary tender of a refund of rent
 overcharges shall not be considered  by  the  division  of  housing  and
 community  renewal or a court of competent jurisdiction as evidence that
 the overcharge was not willful. (i) Except as to complaints filed pursu-
 ant 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 reliable annual registration statement filed and  served
 upon the tenant [six or more years prior to the most recent registration
 statement,  (or, if more recently filed, the initial registration state-
 ment)] plus in each case any subsequent  lawful  increases  and  adjust-

 A. 385                              3
 
 ments.  The  division  of  housing  and  community renewal or a court of
 competent jurisdiction, in investigating complaints of overcharge and in
 determining legal regulated rent,  shall  consider  all  available  rent
 history  which is reasonably necessary to make such determinations. (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 [six] FOUR years prior to the date of the
 initial registration of the housing accommodation (or,  if  the  housing
 accommodation  was  subject  to  this  chapter  for less than [six] FOUR
 years, the initial legal regulated rent) plus in each case,  any  lawful
 increases and adjustments. Where the rent charged on the date [six] FOUR
 years prior to the date of the initial registration 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  ACCOMMO-
 DATION,  MADE  PAYABLE  TO  THE  STATE DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY
 RENEWAL.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  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.