Bill Text: NY S02151 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Suspends rent payments for certain tenants due to the state of emergency declared by Executive Order No. 202, where they have lost earned income or were forced to close their place of business; establishes a coronavirus rental assistance fund.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S02151 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S02151-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2151 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 20, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. GIANARIS, BAILEY, BIAGGI, HOYLMAN, KAPLAN, LIU, MAY, MYRIE, PARKER, RAMOS, SANDERS, SERRANO, STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to suspend rent payments for certain tenants in response to the outbreak of coronavirus; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing the COVID-19 rental assistance fund The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. For the purposes of this act: 2 (a) "actual income" means (i) for a residential tenant, all wages, 3 tips, overtime, salary, recurring gifts, returns on investment, welfare 4 assistance, social security payments, child support payments, unemploy- 5 ment benefits, emergency federal, state or local assistance, or any 6 other form of income that may be used to pay rent; and (ii) for a not- 7 for-profit corporation or small business, all revenue, including emer- 8 gency federal, state or local assistance, or any other form of income 9 that may be used to pay rent, received minus the amount of any wages or 10 salary paid to employees of the not-for-profit corporation or small 11 business. 12 (b) "landlord" means the person or entity to whom a tenant owes rent; 13 (c) "rent" means the amount charged in consideration for the use and 14 occupancy of real property pursuant to a written or oral rental agree- 15 ment or statute; 16 (d) "state of emergency" means the state of emergency relating to the 17 novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 18 (e) "covered tenant" includes a residential tenant having the same 19 meaning as paragraph (a) or (b) of subdivision 1 of section 235-f of the 20 real property law, or those who otherwise pay for the use and occupancy 21 of a residential dwelling, except for a residential tenant receiving a 22 local, state or federal income based rental subsidy, a tenant that is a EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03359-02-1S. 2151 2 1 not-for-profit corporation, or a tenant that is a small business as 2 defined by section 131 of the economic development law. 3 § 2. (a) (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regu- 4 lation to the contrary, any covered tenant in the state that has lost 5 earned income, has been forced to close their place of business, or 6 whose business activities have been substantially curtailed resulting in 7 a loss of income as a result of government ordered restrictions in 8 response to the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), shall 9 be responsible for rent payments up to thirty percent of their current 10 income or their contractual rent, whichever is less, per month for the 11 duration of ninety days following the effective date of this act. 12 (ii) Where a tenant is authorized to pay an amount that is less than 13 their contractual or statutory rent pursuant to this act, the tenant 14 shall provide the landlord with a written and signed statement affirming 15 the tenant's aggregate actual income for the thirty days prior to the 16 date such rent was due. Such payment shall absolve the tenant of any 17 further obligation to pay rent and any difference between the rent that 18 would have been contractually or statutorily owed and the amount paid 19 pursuant to this paragraph shall be waived, except where a tenant later 20 receives additional income, such rent obligations shall be recalculated. 21 (iii) In a summary proceeding for the non-payment of rent under arti- 22 cle 7 of the real property actions and proceedings law, a tenant may 23 raise a payment made pursuant to this act as a defense to non-payment. 24 If the amount of the tenant's actual income is in dispute, the court 25 shall review documentation of the tenant's income in camera, unless 26 otherwise deemed necessary by the court. Notwithstanding any other 27 provision of law to the contrary, pay stubs, copies of checks and signed 28 letters from the tenant's employer, and other customary documentation of 29 income shall constitute prima facie evidence of the tenant's actual 30 income and shall be presumptively admissible in such summary proceeding. 31 (b) Any tenant whose lease expires during the state of emergency shall 32 have the option of extending such lease under the terms existing prior 33 to the expiration of the lease for a period of up to ninety days after 34 the expiration of the state of emergency. 35 (c) Late fees, interest or other penalties shall not be collectable 36 for rent accrued during the existence of the state of emergency. 37 § 3. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, a landlord that 38 has lost rental income pursuant to this act and has not been fully 39 compensated by emergency federal, state or local assistance, may apply 40 to the division of housing and community renewal for relief. The commis- 41 sioner may, upon satisfaction of the veracity of the landlord's applica- 42 tion and to the extent possible, authorize the distribution of any emer- 43 gency aid available through the COVID-19 rental assistance fund pursuant 44 to section 99-ii of the state finance law in response to the outbreak of 45 the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), to any such landlord in 46 the amount of rental income lost. The commissioner of the division of 47 housing and community renewal shall promulgate rules and regulations to 48 effectuate this act. 49 § 4. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no court shall 50 accept for filing a petition to commence a new summary proceeding to 51 recover possession of real property under article 7 of the real property 52 actions and proceedings law for non-payment of rent for at least thirty 53 days following the expiration of the state of emergency; provided any 54 statute of limitations applicable to such summary proceedings shall be 55 tolled for thirty days. In no event shall late or reduced rent paymentsS. 2151 3 1 during the state of emergency constitute the basis for a summary hold- 2 over proceeding for the chronic nonpayment of rent. 3 § 5. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-ii to 4 read as follows: 5 § 99-ii. COVID-19 Rental assistance fund. 1. There is hereby estab- 6 lished in the joint custody of the commissioner of housing and community 7 renewal and the comptroller, a special fund to be known as the "COVID-19 8 rental assistance fund". 9 2. Such fund shall consist of any unrestricted federal emergency 10 assistance funding provided to the state that may be appropriated for 11 such purpose, and all other moneys appropriated, credited, or trans- 12 ferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law. Nothing in 13 this section shall prevent the state from soliciting and receiving 14 grants, gifts or bequests for the purposes of the fund as defined in 15 this section and depositing them into the fund according to law. 16 3. Moneys of the fund shall be expended only for relief due to reduced 17 rental income caused by outbreak of novel coronavirus disease 2019 18 (COVID-19). 19 4. Moneys shall be paid out of the fund on the audit and warrant of 20 the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commissioner 21 of housing and community renewal. Any interest received by the comp- 22 troller on moneys on deposit in the COVID-19 rental assistance fund 23 shall be retained in and become part of such fund. 24 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
