BILL NUMBER: S9396

SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to preventing the harassment
of a rent regulated tenant

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would grant rebuttable presumption on owners' intent to vacate
in tenant harassment cases in criminal proceedings if they engage in
certain activities.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one amends the first undesignated paragraph of Section 241.05 of
the Penal Law to provide for a presumption that an owner intends to
vacate a dwelling unit if they commit the conduct listed in subdivision
2 of Section 241.05: impairing the habitability of a housing accommo-
dation, creating or maintaining a condition which endangers the safety
or health of tenants, or interfering or disturbing the peace and comfort
              

of a tenant's use of the unit.

Section two sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

S2605/A6188 of 2019 (Chapter 573 of 2019)-the Tenant Protection Act of
2019-made the prosecution of the crime of harassment of rent-regulated
tenants easier by eliminating the need for the prosecutor to prove phys-
ical injury to a rent regulated tenant and the landlord's intent to
cause such injury, as well as expanding the felony offense of Harassment
of a Rent Regulated Tenant to include conduct listed in a then newly-
created subdivision 2 of Penal Law Section 241.05.

This bill would further ensure owners who harass tenants can be brought
to justice by extending a rebuttable presumption, which is already the
standard practice in civil cases concerning tenant harassment, to crimi-
nal cases pertaining to the harassment of rent regulated tenants. It is
intended to allow prosecutors to better pursue eviction-through-harass-
ment cases if a landlord engages in conduct listed under subdivision 2
of Penal Law Section 241.05.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.