Bill Text: NY A08750 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Exempts shareholders of cooperative housing corporations from new provisions of law prohibiting legal fees in connection with the operation or rental of a residential unit.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-07 - substituted by s7801 [A08750 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A08750-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8750

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 11, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Housing

        AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to unauthorized legal
          fees in connection with the operation or rental of a residential unit

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

     1    Section 1. Section 234-a of the real property law, as added by a chap-
     2  ter of the laws of 2021 amending the administrative code of the city  of
     3  New  York, the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four,
     4  the emergency housing rent control law and the real property law  relat-
     5  ing  to  prohibiting  charges for legal fees, as proposed in legislative
     6  bills numbers S. 2014 and A. 5040, is amended to read as follows:
     7    § 234-a. Unauthorized legal fees. (a) An owner, lessor or agent there-
     8  of shall be prohibited from assessing a lessee  any  fee,  surcharge  or
     9  other  charges  for  legal  services in connection with the operation or
    10  rental of a residential unit unless the owner, lessor or agent  has  the
    11  legal  authority  to do so pursuant to a court order.  The provisions of
    12  this subdivision shall not apply to a shareholder of a cooperative hous-
    13  ing corporation, provided, however, that the provisions of this subdivi-
    14  sion shall apply with respect to any  tenant  or  subtenant  of  such  a
    15  shareholder.
    16    (b)  Legal services include, but are not limited to, court fees, legal
    17  representation, attorney fees, notary public charges, and administrative
    18  fees incurred by the owner, lessor or agent in connection  with  manage-
    19  ment  of  the  building, including actions and proceedings in a court of
    20  law.
    21    (c) Any agreement or assessment [to  the]  contrary  to  this  section
    22  shall be void as contrary to public policy.
    23    §  2.  This act shall take effect on the same date and the same manner
    24  as a chapter of the laws of 2021 amending the administrative code of the
    25  city of New York, the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seven-
    26  ty-four, the emergency housing rent control law and  the  real  property
    27  law  relating  to  prohibiting  charges  for  legal fees, as proposed in
    28  legislative bills numbers S. 2014 and A. 5040, takes effect.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02278-02-2