Bill Text: NY S03321 | 2017-2018 | 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.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO JUDICIARY [S03321 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S03321-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          3321
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 20, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sens. KRUEGER, BAILEY, HAMILTON, HOYLMAN, SERRANO -- read
          twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
          Committee on Judiciary
        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    c.  "landlord" means any owner, managing agent or prime lessor of real
    14  property or any real estate broker, provided, that  this  section  shall
    15  not  limit  the  fee  that can be lawfully charged by such broker if the
    16  potential tenant enters into a lease or occupies real property for resi-
    17  dential purposes as a result of the broker's services.
    18    2. A landlord may charge a potential tenant an application  fee  equal
    19  to  the actual cost of a credit check or other related services paid for
    20  by a landlord to a third party.
    21    3. Where a landlord charges application  fees  in  violation  of  this
    22  section,  a  potential  tenant may file a complaint with the division of
    23  housing and community renewal. Upon a finding by  the  division  that  a
    24  landlord has violated the provisions of this section, the division shall
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05962-01-7
        S. 3321                             2
     1  impose a fine of one hundred dollars for a first or second violation and
     2  a  fine  of  two  hundred  fifty  dollars  for a third or any subsequent
     3  violation.
     4    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
     5  have become a law.