Bill Text: NY A02453 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Enacts the "tenant repair reconciliation act"; requires landlords of certain multiple dwellings to repair certain conditions within thirty days of notice of such conditions; allows a tenant to repair such conditions and seek repayment of expenses incurred, or to deduct such expenses from future rent; directs the NYC comptroller to collect fines for violations and distribute such funds for citywide preservation and upgrades of certain multiple dwellings.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to judiciary [A02453 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A02453-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2453 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 26, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. FALL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to enacting the tenant repair reconciliation act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "tenant 2 repair reconciliation act". 3 § 2. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 235-j to 4 read as follows: 5 § 235-j. Repairs; certain multiple dwellings. 1. The provisions of 6 this section shall apply to any multiple dwelling containing fifty or 7 more separate units, located in a city with a population of one million 8 or more, where the payment of rent for at least one of such units is 9 fully or partially subsidized by the state or federal government, 10 including dwellings privately or publicly owned or managed. The 11 provisions of this section shall apply to individual units within a 12 multiple dwelling covered by this section, and to all common areas with- 13 in and surrounding such multiple dwelling. 14 2. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, a 15 landlord of a multiple dwelling covered by this section shall repair any 16 conditions such landlord otherwise has a duty to repair under law, with- 17 in thirty days of receipt of written notice of such conditions. 18 3. A tenant of a multiple dwelling covered by this section may report 19 a violation of subdivision two of this section by a landlord to the 20 division. Upon receipt of a report of a violation of subdivision two of 21 this section by a landlord, the division shall issue to such landlord a 22 mandatory order to repair the conditions upon which such violation is 23 predicated. After fifteen days of the issuance of such mandatory order 24 to repair, the division shall inspect such reported violation. If, upon 25 such inspection, the division finds that such landlord has failed to EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06792-01-3A. 2453 2 1 repair such conditions, such landlord shall be subject to a fine of one 2 thousand dollars. For every fifteen days following such inspection where 3 such condition remains unrepaired, such landlord shall be subject to an 4 additional fifteen hundred dollar fine. 5 4. A tenant of a multiple dwelling covered by this section may choose 6 to repair a condition that the landlord of such multiple dwelling other- 7 wise has a duty to repair under law. Before beginning such repair, such 8 tenant shall notify such landlord of such tenant's intent to repair such 9 conditions. Such tenant shall keep an accurate record of expenses 10 incurred by repairing such conditions, and shall either (a) be entitled 11 to payment from such landlord of such amount, within fifteen days of 12 notice to such landlord of such expenses incurred, or (b) be entitled to 13 deduct such amount from future rent owed to such landlord. 14 5. Any condition in need of repair caused by a tenant of a multiple 15 dwelling covered by this section, or by a person or persons under such 16 tenant's direction or control, shall not be subject to the provisions of 17 this section. 18 6. The comptroller of the city of New York shall create a fund into 19 which penalties collected pursuant to subdivision three of this section 20 shall be deposited. Such funds shall be distributed by the comptroller 21 of the city of New York to the New York city department of housing pres- 22 ervation and development's home repair and preservation financing 23 program to be used for preservation and upgrades for multiple dwellings 24 containing fifty or more units within the city of New York. 25 7. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have 26 the following meanings: 27 (a) "Multiple dwelling" means a dwelling which is occupied, for perma- 28 nent residence purposes and which is either sold, rented, leased, let or 29 hired out, to be occupied as the residence or home of three or more 30 families living independently of each other. 31 (b) "Division" means the division of housing and community renewal. 32 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 33 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 34 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 35 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 36 on or before such effective date.
