S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7489
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 28, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M. of A. NOVAKHOV, FITZPATRICK -- read once and referred
   to the Committee on Housing
 
 AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city  of  New  York,  the
   emergency housing rent control law and the emergency tenant protection
   act  of  nineteen seventy-four, in relation to the eviction of tenants
   on grounds of landlord's personal use
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  1  of  subdivision  b of section 26-408 of the
 administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by section 1  of
 part I of chapter 36 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   (1)  The landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession of a hous-
 ing accommodation [because of immediate and  compelling  necessity]  for
 [his  or  her] SUCH LANDLORD'S own personal use and occupancy as [his or
 her] SUCH LANDLORD'S primary residence or for the use and  occupancy  of
 [his or her] SUCH LANDLORD'S immediate family as their primary residence
 [provided,  however, that this subdivision shall permit recovery of only
 one housing accommodation and shall not apply  where  a  member  of  the
 household  lawfully  occupying  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, further, that a tenant required to surrender a housing  accom-
 modation  by  virtue  of  the  operation  of  subdivision g or h of this
 section shall have a cause of action in any court of competent jurisdic-
 tion for damages, declaratory, and injunctive relief against a  landlord
 or  purchaser of the premises who makes a fraudulent statement regarding
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03967-01-5
              

 A. 7489                             2
 
 a proposed use of the housing accommodation. In any action or proceeding
 brought pursuant to this paragraph a prevailing tenant shall be entitled
 to recovery of actual damages, and reasonable attorneys' fees; or
   § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 5 of chapter 274 of the
 laws  of  1946,  constituting the emergency housing rent control law, as
 amended by section 16 of part Q of chapter 39 of the laws  of  2019,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   (a)  the landlord seeks in good faith to recover possession of a hous-
 ing accommodation [because of immediate and  compelling  necessity]  for
 [his  or  her] SUCH LANDLORD'S own personal use and occupancy as [his or
 her] SUCH LANDLORD'S primary residence or for the use and  occupancy  of
 [his  or  her]  SUCH  LANDLORD'S immediate family as their primary resi-
 dence[; provided, however, this subdivision  shall  permit  recovery  of
 only one housing accommodation and shall not apply where a member of the
 household  lawfully  occupying  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 paragraph 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  paragraph  a
 prevailing  tenant  shall be entitled to recovery of actual damages, and
 reasonable attorneys' fees; or
   § 3. 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 year vacan-
 cy or renewal lease at the option of the tenant, except where a mortgage
 or mortgage commitment existing as of the local 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 leas-
 es and provision for increase in rentals for garages and other ancillary
 facilities, so as to ensure that the level of rent  adjustments  author-
 ized  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 occupancy or for the use and
 A. 7489                             3

 occupancy of his or her immediate family shall permit recovery  of  only
 one housing accommodation, shall require that an owner demonstrate imme-
 diate 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, phys-
 iological  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] PROVIDED,
 however, that a tenant required to  surrender  a  housing  accommodation
 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 fraudulent
 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.
   §  4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
 ment to section 26-408 of the city rent and rehabilitation law, made  by
 section  one  of this act, shall remain in full force and effect only as
 long as the public emergency requiring the  regulation  and  control  of
 residential  rents and evictions continues, as provided in subdivision 3
 of section 1 of the local emergency housing rent control act.