Bill Text: NY A03325 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Allows landlords to charge potential tenants application fees no greater than the actual cost of a credit check or related services paid to a third party by the landlord, and in no event shall such fee exceed $30.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to codes [A03325 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A03325-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3325
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 29, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M. of A. CYMBROWITZ, BARRON -- read once and referred to
          the Committee on Housing
        AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to fees landlords may
          charge tenants
          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  220-a to read as follows:
     3    § 220-a. Application fees. 1. Wherever used in this section:
     4    a. "application fee" means any application processing  fee  or  credit
     5  check charge or similar charge that a potential tenant must pay or is in
     6  any  way  requested  to  pay to a landlord in order to be considered for
     7  rental or lease of any real property or portion thereof used  for  resi-
     8  dential purposes.
     9    b.  "potential  tenant" means any person with an intention to lease or
    10  rent any real property or  portion  thereof  for  residential  purposes,
    11  excluding  potential  tenant  shareholders of cooperative housing corpo-
    12  rations.
    13    2. If a landlord or his or her agent charges  a  potential  tenant  an
    14  application  fee, such application fee may not exceed the actual cost of
    15  a credit check or other related services paid for by  a  landlord  to  a
    16  third party, provided, however, that the total of such fee or fees shall
    17  not exceed thirty dollars.
    18    3.  Where  a  landlord  charges  application fees in violation of this
    19  section, a potential tenant may file a complaint with  the  commissioner
    20  of the division of housing and community renewal.  Upon a finding by the
    21  commissioner  that  a  landlord  has  violated  the  provisions  of this
    22  section, the commissioner shall impose a fine of one hundred dollars for
    23  a first or second violation and a fine of two hundred fifty dollars  for
    24  a third or any subsequent violation.
    25    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    26  have become a law.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07409-01-9