§ 290. Tenant protections in inhabited basement dwelling units and
inhabited cellar dwelling units. 1. The program authorized by this
article shall require an application to make alterations to legalize an
inhabited basement dwelling unit or inhabited cellar dwelling unit be
accompanied by a certification indicating whether such unit was rented
to a tenant on the effective date of this article, notwithstanding
whether the occupancy of such unit was authorized by law. A city may not
use such certification as the basis for an enforcement action for
illegal occupancy of such unit, provided that nothing contained in this
article shall be construed to limit such city from issuing a vacate
order for hazardous or unsafe conditions.

2. The local law authorized by this article shall provide that a
tenant in occupancy at the time of the effective date of this article,
who is evicted or otherwise removed from such unit as a result of an
alteration necessary to bring an inhabited basement dwelling unit or
inhabited cellar dwelling unit into compliance with the standards
established by the local law authorized by this article, shall have a
right of first refusal to return to such unit as a tenant upon its first
lawful occupancy as a legal dwelling unit, notwithstanding whether the
occupancy at the time of the effective date of this article was
authorized by law. Such local law shall specify how to determine
priority when multiple tenants may claim such right.

3. A tenant unlawfully denied a right of first refusal to return to a
legal dwelling unit, as provided pursuant to the local law authorized by
this article, shall have a cause of action in any court of competent
jurisdiction for compensatory damages or declaratory and injunctive
relief as the court deems necessary in the interests of justice,
provided that such compensatory relief shall not exceed the annual
rental charges for such legal dwelling unit.