NY State Senate Bill 2021-S5708

Senate Bill S5708

2021-2022 Legislative Session

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

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Housing, Construction And Community Development Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to housing, construction and community development
Mar 16, 2021	referred to housing, construction and community development

2021-S5708 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Housing, Construction And Community Development
Law Section:: New York City Administrative Code
Laws Affected:: Amd §§26-512 & 26-516, NYC Ad Cd; amd §§6 & 12, Emerg Ten Prot Act of 1974; amd §213-a, CPLR
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S8770
2019-2020: S2818
2023-2024: S2666

2021-S5708 (ACTIVE) - Summary

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.

2021-S5708 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5708

SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To protect tenants against rent overcharges by allowing a court, or the
Division of Housing and Community Renewal, to consider, in determining
the legal regulated rent, any year when a landlord did not timely file
an annual rent registration statement.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Sections one and three, respectively, amend the Administrative Code of
the City of New York and the Emergency Tenant Protection Act to allow a
court or DHCR to consider, in determining the legal regulated rent, any

year where a landlord has not timely filed an annual rent registration
statement.

Sections two and four, respectively, amend the Administrative Code of
the City of New York and the Emergency Tenant Protection Act to require
an owner or a landlord to, upon the offering of a lease to prospective
tenant, provide such tenant with the documentation used to support any
allowable increases in the legal regulated rent during the previous four
years.

Section five amends the Civil Practice Law and Rules to-notwithstanding
the four-year statute of limitations-allow a court to consider, in
determining the legal regulated rent, any year where a landlord has not
timely filed an annual rent registration statement.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Landlords are required, by statute, to file an annual rent regulation
statement with the Division of Housing-and Community Renewal to support
rent charges to tenants of rent-stabilized units. However, some land-
lords either: 1. outright fail to file-during which years, or those
subsequent, rent overcharges or other abuses can occur; or

2. file multiple backdated annual rent regulation statements in a single
year, and through so doing, can obscure rent overcharges or other
abuses.

Under current law, when a tenant challenges a rent regulation statement,
a court or DHCR cannot consider certain years beyond the four-year stat-
ute of limitations. However, these years can be relevant to rent charge
abuses-as established by two 2010 New York Court of Appeals decisions:
Cintron v. Calogero and Grimm v. DHCR.  Further, in most instances,
tenants have the least access to information that would support or
justify their rent. On this imbalance of information and capitalizing on
tenants' lack of familiarity with the law, some landlords have taken
advantage of tenants by overcharging them for rent. As a matter of clar-
ity in contract, it is critical that both parties-landlord and tenant-
have the same understanding of the terms of their lease agreement. To
prevent deception or fraud of tenants, this bill would provide a
prospective tenant (only those to whom a landlord chooses to offer a
lease) with the documentation used to support their legal regulated
rent, before such tenant signs a lease.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S 8770 COMRIE Same as A 9816 Taylor

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Essentially, immediately.

2021-S5708 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5708
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 16, 2021
                                ___________
 
 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:
 
   Section 1. The opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 26-516 of
 the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by  adding  a
 new clause (iii) to read as follows:
   (III)  NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF CLAUSE (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH,
 FOR ANY YEAR IN WHICH AN OWNER OR A LANDLORD WHO IS REQUIRED TO FILE  AN
 ANNUAL RENT REGISTRATION STATEMENT, HAS FAILED TO TIMELY FILE SUCH ANNU-
 AL  RENT  REGISTRATION  STATEMENT,  THE DIVISION OR A COURT OF COMPETENT
 JURISDICTION SHALL CONSIDER SUCH YEAR  OR  YEARS  WHEN  DETERMINING  THE
 CURRENT LEGAL REGULATED RENT.
   § 2. Section 26-512 of the administrative code of the city of New York
 is amended by adding a new subdivision f to read as follows:
   F. UPON THE OFFERING OF A LEASE TO A PROSPECTIVE TENANT, AN OWNER OR A
 LANDLORD SHALL BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE SUCH TENANT WITH THE DOCUMENTATION
 USED BY SUCH OWNER OR LANDLORD TO SUPPORT ANY ALLOWABLE INCREASES IN THE
 LEGAL REGULATED RENT DURING THE PREVIOUS FOUR YEARS.
   §  3. Paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 12 of section 4 of chap-
 ter 576 of the laws of 1974 constituting the emergency tenant protection
 act of nineteen seventy-four is amended by adding a new clause (iii)  to
 read as follows:
   (III)  NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF CLAUSE (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH,
 FOR ANY YEAR IN WHICH AN OWNER OR A LANDLORD WHO IS REQUIRED TO FILE  AN
 ANNUAL RENT REGISTRATION STATEMENT, HAS FAILED TO TIMELY FILE SUCH ANNU-
 AL  RENT  REGISTRATION  STATEMENT,  THE DIVISION OR A COURT OF COMPETENT
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD10063-01-1

 S. 5708                             2
 
 JURISDICTION SHALL CONSIDER SUCH YEAR  OR  YEARS  WHEN  DETERMINING  THE
 CURRENT LEGAL REGULATED RENT.
   § 4. Section 6 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974 consti-
 tuting  the  emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four is
 amended by adding a new subdivision g to read as follows:
   G. UPON THE OFFERING OF A LEASE TO A PROSPECTIVE TENANT, AN OWNER OR A
 LANDLORD SHALL BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE SUCH TENANT WITH THE DOCUMENTATION
 USED BY SUCH OWNER OR LANDLORD TO SUPPORT ANY ALLOWABLE INCREASES IN THE
 LEGAL REGULATED RENT DURING THE PREVIOUS FOUR YEARS.
   § 5. Section 213-a of the civil practice law and rules, as amended  by
 section  6  of  part  F of chapter 36 of the laws of 2019, is amended to
 read as follows:
   § 213-a. Residential  rent  overcharge.  No  overcharge  penalties  or
 damages  may  be  awarded  for  a  period more than six years before the
 action is commenced or complaint is filed, however, an overcharge  claim
 may  be  filed at any time, and the calculation and determination of the
 legal rent and the amount of the overcharge shall be made in  accordance
 with  the  provisions of law governing the determination and calculation
 of overcharges. A COURT OF COMPETENT  JURISDICTION  SHALL  CONSIDER  ANY
 YEAR  IN  WHICH AN OWNER OR A LANDLORD WHO IS REQUIRED TO FILE AN ANNUAL
 RENT  REGISTRATION STATEMENT,  HAS  FAILED  TO  TIMELY  FILE  SUCH ANNU-
 AL RENT REGISTRATION STATEMENT WHEN DETERMINING THE CURRENT LEGAL  REGU-
 LATED RENT.
   §  6.  This  act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to any
 action or proceeding pending in any court or any application,  complaint
 or  proceeding  before an administrative agency on the effective date of
 this act, as well as any  action  or  proceeding  commenced  thereafter;
 provided, however, that:
   (a)  the amendments to subdivision a of section 26-516 of the adminis-
 trative 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 section as provided under section 26-520 of  such
 code; and
   (b) the amendments to section 26-512 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 section as provided under section 26-520 of such code.

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