NY State Senate Bill

Senate Bill S6739

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to obtaining jurisdiction over certain defendants in matters relating to a tenancy or lease

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary 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
Mar 21, 2025	referred to judiciary

2025-S6739 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6250
Current Committee:: Senate Judiciary
Law Section:: Uniform City Court Act
Laws Affected:: Amd §1803, UCCA; amd §1803, UJCA
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S6676, A6997

2025-S6739 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Standardizes the language across the relevant court acts to allow tenants statewide to sue in the county where the real property at issue is located in matters relating to a tenancy or lease; requires the Office of Court Administration to develop necessary forms, procedures and deliver a report.

2025-S6739 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6739

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the uniform city court act and the uniform justice court
act, in relation to obtaining jurisdiction over certain defendants

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Uniform City Court Act § 1803(a) to allow tenants to
deliver a notice of claim regarding a property in the city to a landlord
anywhere in the state.

Section 2 amends Uniform Justice Court Act § 1803(a) to allow tenants to
deliver a notice of claim regarding a property in the court's jurisdic-
tion to a landlord anywhere in the state.

Section 3 directs the Office of Court Administration to develop neces-
sary materials to implement the act.

Section 4 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Sections 1801 and 1803 of the various small claims court acts were
amended in 2021 to allow claimants to sue current or former landlords
based on where the rental property is/was located regardless of whether
the landlord lives, has a job or another place of business in that
locate. The new law took effect September 1, 2022.

Section 1801 of the court acts defines "small claim" and the amendments
add language to allow claims against landlords in the court that serves
the area where the rental property was located if related to the lease
or tenancy.

Section 1803 concerns obtaining jurisdiction over defendants and was
amended to say that if the claim against a landlord can't be sent to a
known residential or place of employment address, the claim can be
served via the mail to locations "where claimant may mail or otherwise
deliver rent." Section 1803 of the Uniform City Court Act and the
Uniform Justice Court Act reach landlords "in the county or an adjoining
county where claimant may mail or otherwise deliver rent"; the Uniform
District Court Act and the New York City Civil Court Act reach landlords
"any place in the state.

The current law differentiates between downstate and upstate tenants,
such that upstate tenants are more restricted in where they can send
service of process in order to sue their landlord. Under this current
scheme, a tenant in Brooklyn with a landlord located in Buffalo can sue
their landlord in Kings County Small Claims Court, but a tenant in
Buffalo with a landlord in Brooklyn is restricted to serving them in
Erie County or an adjoining county.  This bill standardizes the language
across the relevant Court Acts to allow tenants statewide to sue in the
county where the real property is located.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:.

New bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2025-S6739 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6739
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 21, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and
   when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the uniform city court act and the uniform justice court
   act, in relation to obtaining jurisdiction over certain defendants
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision (a) of section 1803 of the uniform city court
 act, as amended by chapter 485 of the laws of 2021, is amended  to  read
 as follows:
   (a)  Small  claims shall be commenced upon the payment by the claimant
 of a filing fee of fifteen dollars for claims in the amount of one thou-
 sand dollars or less and twenty dollars for claims in the amount of more
 than one thousand dollars, without the service of a summons and,  except
 by special order of the court, without the service of any pleading other
 than a statement of [his] THE cause of action by the claimant or someone
 [in  his]  ON  THE  CLAIMANT'S behalf to the clerk, who shall reduce the
 same to a concise, written form and record it in a docket kept especial-
 ly for such purpose. Such procedure shall provide  for  the  sending  of
 notice  of  such  claim  by ordinary first class mail and certified mail
 with return receipt requested to the party  complained  against  (1)  at
 [his]  THEIR  residence,  if [he] SUCH PERSON resides within the county,
 and [his] THEIR residence is known to the  claimant,  or  (2)  at  [his]
 THEIR  office  or  place of regular employment within the county if [he]
 SUCH PERSON does not reside therein or [his] THEIR residence within  the
 county is not known to the claimant, or (3) where the claimant is or was
 a tenant or lessee of real property owned by the defendant and the claim
 relates  to such tenancy or lease and the notice of claim cannot be sent
 under paragraph one or two of this subdivision,  at  any  place  in  the
 [county  or an adjoining county] STATE where claimant may mail or other-
 wise deliver rent.  If, after the expiration of  twenty-one  days,  such
 ordinary first class mailing has not been returned as undeliverable, the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01403-01-5

 S. 6739                             2
 
 party  complained  against  shall be presumed to have received notice of
 such claim. Such notice shall include a clear description of the  proce-
 dure  for  filing  a  counterclaim,  pursuant to subdivision (c) of this
 section.
   Such  procedure  shall  further  provide for an early hearing upon and
 determination of such claim. No filing fee, however, shall  be  demanded
 or  received on small claims of employees who shall comply with [§ 1912]
 SECTION NINETEEN HUNDRED TWELVE of this act which is hereby made  appli-
 cable, except that necessary mailing costs shall be paid.
   § 2. Subdivision (a) of section 1803 of the uniform justice court act,
 as  amended  by  chapter  485 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as
 follows:
   (a) Small claims shall be commenced upon the payment by  the  claimant
 of  a filing fee of ten dollars for claims in the amount of one thousand
 dollars or less and fifteen dollars for claims in  the  amount  of  more
 than  one thousand dollars, without the service of a summons and, except
 by special order of the court, without the service of any pleading other
 than a statement of [his] THE cause of action by the claimant or someone
 [in his] ON THE CLAIMANT'S behalf to the clerk,  who  shall  reduce  the
 same  to  a concise, written form and record it in a filing system main-
 tained especially for such purpose. Such procedure shall provide for the
 sending of notice of such claim by ordinary first class mail and  certi-
 fied  mail with return receipt requested to the party complained against
 (1) at [his] THEIR residence, if [he] SUCH  PERSON  resides  within  the
 county  and [his] THEIR residence is known to the claimant, (2) at [his]
 SUCH PERSON'S office or place of regular employment within  the  munici-
 pality  if  [he]  SUCH PERSON does not reside within the county or [his]
 THEIR residence within the county is not known to the claimant,  or  (3)
 where  claimant  is  or was a tenant or lessee of real property owned by
 the defendant and the claim relates to such tenancy  or  lease  and  the
 notice of claim cannot be sent under paragraph one or two of this subdi-
 vision,  at any place in the [county or an adjoining county] STATE where
 claimant may mail or otherwise deliver rent. If, after the expiration of
 twenty-one days, such ordinary first class mailing has not been returned
 as undeliverable, the party complained against shall be presumed to have
 received notice of  such  claim.  Such  notice  shall  include  a  clear
 description  of  the  procedure  for  filing a counterclaim, pursuant to
 subdivision (c) of this section.
   Such procedure shall further provide for an  early  hearing  upon  and
 determination  of  such claim. No filing fee, however, shall be demanded
 or received on small claims of employees who shall comply  with  section
 nineteen  hundred  twelve  of  this act which is hereby made applicable,
 except that necessary mailing costs shall be paid.
   § 3. The office of court administration shall develop necessary forms,
 procedures, court personnel guidance and public information materials to
 implement the provisions of this act on or before its effective date and
 shall provide a report to the chairs of the senate  judiciary  committee
 and the assembly judiciary committee detailing the measures implemented.
   §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.

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