Bill Text: NY A06693 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to establishing an emergency repair program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to judiciary [A06693 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A06693-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6693

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 25, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN, COLTON, RICHARDSON -- read
          once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary

        AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation  to  establishing  an
          emergency repair program

          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  235-i to read as follows:
     3    §  235-i. Emergency repair program. 1. Every municipality shall set up
     4  a program that repairs emergency violations of  habitability  for  resi-
     5  dents  in  twenty-four  to forty-eight hours from notification and bills
     6  the owners of the property for such repairs. The program shall include a
     7  hotline for tenants, accessible via a toll-free phone number, to  report
     8  potential emergency violations of habitability. Such violations shall be
     9  accessed for eligibility via the hotline and any contractor contacted to
    10  repair  such  violations  shall verify its existence to the municipality
    11  for program eligibility. Proof of notice to the property owner regarding
    12  such violation or violations is required for  program  eligibility.  All
    13  costs  of  the  hotline shall be paid for by the municipality. Emergency
    14  violations include but are not limited to structural stability of build-
    15  ings, accessibility of buildings, mold and/or lead-based paint issues.
    16    2. The municipality described in subdivision one of this  section  may
    17  bill  the  property  owner  for  the  cost  of the emergency repair plus
    18  related fees and/or for the cost of sending a contractor to  attempt  to
    19  make repairs. Such charges will appear on the property tax bill, as well
    20  as on a separate notice sent to the owner once the repairs are complete.
    21  If  the  owner  fails  to  pay,  the  municipality shall file a tax lien
    22  against such owner. The tax lien will bear  interest  and  may  be  sold
    23  and/or foreclosed to collect the amount owed.
    24    3.  Property owners can avoid emergency repair and service charges and
    25  remove the violation or violations from municipality records at no  cost

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06495-01-1
        A. 6693                             2

     1  by  correcting  the violation or emergency condition and certifying such
     2  correction to the municipality no later than thirty days from notice  of
     3  such violation or complying with a violation or order as directed by the
     4  issuing municipality. Property owners may contact the municipality for a
     5  list  of  contractors.  Anything  less  than  a full repair shall not be
     6  acceptable in correcting the violation  or  violations.  If  a  property
     7  owner  attempts  to  patch  the violation or do surface work, such owner
     8  shall be fined double for  the  violation  or  violations  and  may  not
     9  protest the emergency repair charge pursuant to subdivision four of this
    10  section.
    11    4.  Property  owners may protest an emergency repair charge by submit-
    12  ting their protest in writing and delivering it to the  municipality  on
    13  or  before the payment due date listed on the statement of account. Such
    14  owner may request an invoice that supports the municipality's  emergency
    15  repair  charge  prior  to  protesting  the charge. Failure to protest an
    16  emergency repair charge within the  time  allowed  negates  the  owner's
    17  right to contest the charge in any subsequent administrative or judicial
    18  proceeding.
    19    5.  Each municipality shall notify owners of property on record of the
    20  emergency repair program and make all information regarding such program
    21  freely and publicly available on its website.
    22    § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
    23  have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
    24  repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of
    25  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  on  or  before
    26  such effective date.