Bill Text: NY S08995 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Excludes squatters from tenant protections; extends the time period for tenancy rights from 30 days to 60 days of possession; adds squatting to the definition of criminal trespass in the third degree; clarifies lease provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-08 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S08995 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S08995-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8995

                    IN SENATE

                                      April 8, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- 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 real property actions and proceedings law and the
          penal law, in relation to clarifying the  definition  of  "tenant"  to
          exclude squatters; and to amend the administrative code of the city of
          New York, in relation to bona fide lease agreements and evictions

          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 section 711 of the  real  property
     2  actions and proceedings law, as amended by section 12 of part M of chap-
     3  ter 36 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
     4    A  tenant  shall include an occupant of one or more rooms in a rooming
     5  house or a resident, not including a transient occupant, of one or  more
     6  rooms  in  a hotel who has been in possession for [thirty] sixty consec-
     7  utive days or longer.  No tenant or lawful occupant  of  a  dwelling  or
     8  housing  accommodation  shall  be  removed  from  possession except in a
     9  special proceeding. A special proceeding may be  maintained  under  this
    10  article upon the following grounds:
    11    §  2.  Section 711 of the real property actions and proceedings law is
    12  amended by adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows:
    13    7. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, for the purposes  of
    14  this  article,  a tenant shall not include a person who enters onto real
    15  property or enters a building with the intent of squatting  therein,  or
    16  without  title,  right, and permission of the rightful owner, or payment
    17  of rent to the rightful owner pursuant to a bona fide lease agreement.
    18    § 3. Subdivision (g) of section 140.10 of the penal law, as amended by
    19  chapter 176 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
    20    (g) where the property consists of a right-of-way or yard of  a  rail-
    21  road  or  rapid transit railroad which has been designated and conspicu-
    22  ously posted as a no-trespass railroad zone; or
    23    (h) with the intent of squatting in such building or  upon  such  real
    24  property  or  otherwise  occupies such building or real property without
    25  title, right, and permission of the rightful owner, or payment  of  rent

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15043-01-4
        S. 8995                             2

     1  to the rightful owner pursuant to a bona fide lease agreement; provided,
     2  however,  that  in any prosecution under this subdivision it shall be an
     3  affirmative defense that the defendant is a tenant as defined in section
     4  seven hundred eleven of the real property actions and proceedings law.
     5    §  4.  The opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 26-521 of the
     6  administrative code of the city of  New  York  is  amended  to  read  as
     7  follows:
     8    It  shall  be  unlawful for any person to evict or attempt to evict an
     9  occupant of a dwelling unit who has lawfully occupied the dwelling  unit
    10  for  thirty  consecutive  days  or longer or who has entered into a bona
    11  fide lease agreement with the rightful owner with respect to such dwell-
    12  ing unit or has made a request for a lease for such dwelling unit pursu-
    13  ant to the hotel stabilization provisions of the rent stabilization  law
    14  except  to the extent permitted by law pursuant to a warrant of eviction
    15  or other order of a court of competent jurisdiction  or  a  governmental
    16  vacate order by:
    17    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.