Bill Text: NY S08770 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Tolls the four year statute of limitations look back period on rent overcharges where the owner of a housing accommodation acts in a wrongful or fraudulent manner.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-15 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S08770 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S08770-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8770 IN SENATE May 15, 2018 ___________ Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, and the civil practice law and rules, in relation to rent overcharges The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 26-516 of 2 the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a 3 new clause (iii) to read as follows: 4 (iii) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (i) of this paragraph, 5 for any year in which an owner or a landlord who is required to file an 6 annual rent registration statement, has failed to timely file such annu- 7 al rent registration statement, the division or a court of competent 8 jurisdiction shall consider such year or years when determining the 9 current legal regulated rent. 10 § 2. Section 26-512 of the administrative code of the city of New York 11 is amended by adding a new subdivision (g) to read as follows: 12 (g) Upon the offering of a lease to a prospective tenant, an owner or 13 a landlord shall be required to provide such tenant with the documenta- 14 tion used by such owner or landlord to support any allowable increases 15 in the legal regulated rent during the previous four years. 16 § 3. Paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 12 of section 4 of chap- 17 ter 576 of the laws of 1974 constituting the emergency tenant protection 18 act of nineteen seventy-four is amended by adding a new clause (iii) to 19 read as follows: 20 (iii) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (i) of this paragraph, 21 for any year in which an owner or a landlord who is required to file an 22 annual rent registration statement, has failed to timely file such annu- 23 al rent registration statement, the division or a court of competent 24 jurisdiction shall consider such year or years when determining the 25 current legal regulated rent. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06546-01-7S. 8770 2 1 § 4. Section 6 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974 consti- 2 tuting the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four is 3 amended by adding a new subdivision h to read as follows: 4 h. Upon the offering of a lease to a prospective tenant, an owner or a 5 landlord shall be required to provide such tenant with the documentation 6 used by such owner or landlord to support any allowable increases in the 7 legal regulated rent during the previous four years. 8 § 5. Section 213-a of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by 9 chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows: 10 § 213-a. Actions to be commenced within four years; residential rent 11 overcharge. An action on a residential rent overcharge shall be 12 commenced within four years of the first overcharge alleged and no 13 determination of an overcharge and no award or calculation of an award 14 of the amount of any overcharge may be based upon an overcharge having 15 occurred more than four years before the action is commenced. This 16 section shall preclude examination of the rental history of the housing 17 accommodation prior to the four-year period immediately preceding the 18 commencement of the action; provided however, for any year in which an 19 owner or a landlord who is required to file an annual rent registration 20 statement, has failed to timely file such annual rent registration 21 statement, a court of competent jurisdiction shall consider such year or 22 years when determining the current legal regulated rent. 23 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to any 24 action or proceeding pending in any court or any application, complaint 25 or proceeding before an administrative agency on the effective date of 26 this act, as well as any action or proceeding commenced thereafter; 27 provided, however, that: 28 (a) the amendments to subdivision a of section 26-516 of the adminis- 29 trative code of the city of New York made by section one of this act 30 shall expire on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect 31 the expiration of such section as provided under section 26-520 of such 32 code; and 33 (b) the amendments to the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen 34 seventy-four made by sections three and four of this act shall expire on 35 the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of 36 such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974.
