§ 1142. Homeowner bill of rights. Any owner of a residential property,
as defined in section eleven hundred eleven of this article, who
occupies such property as their primary residence, shall have the
following rights:

1. Notwithstanding any other general, special, or local law, local tax
act, code, rule, regulation, or charter provision to the contrary, to
not have exemptions removed or waived for nonpayment of property taxes,
except to the extent otherwise provided in section one hundred
seventy-one-w of the tax law and any other general law that explicitly
authorizes the removal of an exemption due to the nonpayment of taxes;

2. To be informed of the amount of tax due, the number of tax years
for which the parcel has been in arrears, the date on which the
redemption period ends, the accepted forms of payment, the location
where payments shall be made, and the contact information for the
responsible taxing authority, provided that a claim by an owner that
they were not so informed shall not constitute a valid defense to a
foreclosure proceeding;

3. To receive homeowner warning notices pursuant to section eleven
hundred forty-four of this title;

4. In the event that their primary residence is foreclosed upon, to
receive a share of any surplus resulting from the sale of the property
in the manner provided by law;

5. To be charged interest at a rate no higher than the maximum
allowable statutory interest rate for unpaid property taxes;

6. To enter into installment plans or repayment plans for purposes of
paying delinquent taxes where locally authorized;

7. For owners who are senior citizens who are receiving a senior
citizens exemption, an enhanced STAR exemption or an enhanced STAR
credit, to receive a grace period of five business days to pay their
taxes without interest in a local government that has opted to grant
such an extension to such persons;

8. In the event that their primary residence is foreclosed upon, to
have all debts related to delinquent taxes owed on such primary
residence extinguished upon the foreclosure, except when they have
reacquired title pursuant to subdivision four of section eleven hundred
thirty-six of this article; provided, however, that nothing contained
herein shall be construed to preclude a tax district from bringing an
action against a former owner to recover reasonable costs incurred in
acting pursuant to law to remove, abate or mitigate unsafe conditions
and/or nuisances that were present on the property at the time of
foreclosure, including but not limited to the demolition of unsafe
structures and the elimination of fire and health hazards where
warranted.