S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1765
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 13, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction  and
   Community Development
 
 AN  ACT to amend chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, constituting the emer-
   gency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in  relation  to
   providing  for the determination of legal regulated base date rent for
   certain purposes
 
   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 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.    If  the  owner establishes by a preponderance of the evidence
 that the overcharge was neither willful nor attributable to  his  negli-
 gence,  the state division of housing and community renewal shall estab-
 lish 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  practice  law and rules. After a complaint of rent
 overcharge has been filed and served on an owner, the voluntary  adjust-
 ment  of  the rent and/or the voluntary tender of a refund of rent over-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05848-01-3
              

 S. 1765                             2
 
 charges shall not be considered by the division of housing and community
 renewal or a court of competent jurisdiction as evidence that the  over-
 charge  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 stabi-
 lized 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 statement) plus in each case any subsequent lawful
 increases and adjustments.    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. IF THERE IS AN OVERCHARGE, THE LEGAL REGULATED
 BASE DATE RENT AT THE FOUR-YEAR LOOKBACK SHALL BE DETERMINED  BY  EITHER
 THE SURVEY SAMPLING METHOD OR THE DEFAULT METHOD IF THERE IS FRAUD. (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 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 years, the initial legal regulated rent) plus in  each
 case,  any  lawful  increases and adjustments. Where the rent charged on
 the date six years prior to the date of the initial registration of  the
 accommodation  cannot  be established, such rent shall be established by
 the division.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.