Bill Text: NY A00458 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides a deceased tenant's legal representative the option to terminate such tenant's lease upon notice to the landlord.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-11-17 - signed chap.632 [A00458 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A00458-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           458

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     January 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. EPSTEIN, SEAWRIGHT, SIMON, SAYEGH, GLICK, DAVILA,
          DE LOS SANTOS, DINOWITZ, JACKSON, L. ROSENTHAL, STECK -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Housing

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  real  property  law, in relation to providing a
          deceased tenant's legal representative the option  to  terminate  such
          tenant's lease upon notice to the landlord

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The real property law is amended by adding  a  new  section
     2  236-a to read as follows:
     3    §  236-a.  Termination  of lease of a deceased tenant. Notwithstanding
     4  any contrary provision contained in any lease hereafter made or  renewed
     5  which  affects premises demised for residential use, or partly for resi-
     6  dential and partly for professional use, the executor, administrator  or
     7  legal  representative of a deceased tenant under such a lease shall have
     8  the option to terminate such a lease upon notice given to the  landlord.
     9  Such termination shall be effective as of the date on which the tenant's
    10  estate notifies the landlord of its election to terminate and surrenders
    11  possession of the premises. Such termination option shall be accompanied
    12  by  the  written  consent  thereto of any co-tenant or guarantor of such
    13  lease. Nothing in  this  section  shall  be  construed  to  relieve  the
    14  tenant's  estate  of liability for rent money or any debt incurred prior
    15  to the date of termination of the lease, including damages to the  prem-
    16  ises  and  any expenses the landlord may incur as a direct result of the
    17  tenant's death, except that the tenant's estate shall not be liable  for
    18  damages or any other penalty for breach of inadequate notice as a result
    19  of  terminating  a lease under this section. Any notice or communication
    20  required or authorized to be given hereunder shall be sent by registered
    21  or certified mail, return receipt  requested.  This  section  shall  not
    22  apply  to  a  proprietary  lease, viz.: a lease to, or held by, a tenant
    23  entitled thereto by reason of ownership of stock in a corporate owner of

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00172-01-3
        A. 458                              2

     1  premises which operates the same on a cooperative basis. Any  waiver  of
     2  any part of this section shall be void as against public policy.
     3    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
     4  have become a law.