S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  5720

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 1, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. SAMPSON -- 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 online listing  of
  property for sale or rent

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 440 of the real property  law,  as
amended  by  chapter  324  of  the  laws  of 1998, is amended to read as
follows:
  1. Whenever used in  this  article  "real  estate  broker"  means  any
person, firm, limited liability company or corporation, who, for another
and  for  a  fee,  commission or other valuable consideration, lists for
sale, COMPILES AND PROVIDES ONLINE LISTINGS OF REAL PROPERTY FOR RENT OR
SALE, sells, at auction or  otherwise,  exchanges,  buys  or  rents,  or
offers  or  attempts  to  negotiate  a  sale,  at  auction or otherwise,
exchange, purchase or rental of an estate or interest in real estate, or
collects or offers or attempts to collect  rent  for  the  use  of  real
estate, or negotiates or offers or attempts to negotiate, a loan secured
or  to be secured by a mortgage, other than a residential mortgage loan,
as defined in section five hundred ninety of the banking law,  or  other
incumbrance  upon or transfer of real estate, or is engaged in the busi-
ness of a tenant relocator, or who, notwithstanding any other  provision
of  law,  performs any of the above stated functions with respect to the
resale  of  condominium  property  originally  sold  pursuant   to   the
provisions of the general business law governing real estate syndication
offerings.  In  the  sale  of lots pursuant to the provisions of article
nine-A of this chapter, the term "real estate broker" shall also include
any person, partnership, association or corporation employed  by  or  on
behalf  of  the owner or owners of lots or other parcels of real estate,
at a stated salary, or upon a commission, or upon a salary  and  commis-
sion,  or  otherwise, to sell such real estate, or any parts thereof, in

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD05673-01-9
              

S. 5720                             2

lots or other parcels, and who shall  sell  or  exchange,  or  offer  or
attempt  or  agree to negotiate the sale or exchange, of any such lot or
parcel of real estate.  For  purposes  of  this  subdivision  the  term,
"interest  in  real estate" shall include the sale of a business wherein
the value of the real estate transferred as part of the business is  not
merely  incidental to the transaction, and shall not include the assign-
ment of a lease, and further, the transaction itself  is  not  otherwise
subject  to regulation under state or federal laws governing the sale of
securities. In connection with the sale of a  business  the  term  "real
estate  broker"  shall  not include a person, firm or corporation regis-
tered pursuant to the provisions of article twenty-three-A of the gener-
al business law or federal securities laws.
  S 2. Subdivision 1 of section 442-k of the real property law, as added
by chapter 248 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
  1. The state real estate board shall  have  the  power  to  promulgate
rules  or  regulations  affecting  brokers and sales persons in order to
administer and effectuate the purposes  of  this  article,  except  that
matters  pertaining  to  commingling  money  of  a  principal, rendering
accounts for a client, managing property for a client, broker's purchase
of property listed with him or her, inducing breach of contract of  sale
or lease, and records of transactions to be maintained, AND ONLINE POST-
INGS  OF  REAL  PROPERTY FOR RENT OR SALE are reserved for the exclusive
regulatory authority of the secretary of state.  The secretary of state,
and not the state real estate board, shall promulgate  rules  and  regu-
lations  to  administer  or  implement  the  provisions of sections four
hundred forty-one and four hundred forty-two-h  of  this  article.    In
addition, the secretary of state shall have exclusive regulatory author-
ity  to  promulgate  rules  regarding the duties and responsibilities of
real estate brokers and salespersons with  regard  to  the  handling  of
clients' funds.
  S  3.  Subdivision  2  of  section  446-a of the real property law, as
amended by chapter 805 of the laws  of  1980,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  2.  "Apartment information vendor" means any person who engages in the
business of claiming, demanding,  charging,  receiving,  collecting,  or
contracting  for the collection of, a fee from a customer for furnishing
information concerning the location and availability of  real  property,
including  apartment  housing,  which  may  be leased, rented, shared or
sublet as a private dwelling, abode, or place of  residence.  The  defi-
nition  of apartment information vendor shall include an apartment shar-
ing agent which means any person who, for  a  fee,  arranges,  conducts,
coordinates,  handles  or  causes  meetings  between  a customer and the
current owner or occupant of legally occupied real  property,  including
apartment  housing,  who  wishes  to share that housing with one or more
individuals as a private dwelling, abode or place of residence,  but  it
shall  not  apply  TO  A  LICENSED  REAL  ESTATE BROKER WHO COMPILES AND
PROVIDES FOR A FEE ONLINE LISTINGS OF REAL PROPERTY FOR RENT OR SALE, OR
to any person who for another and for a fee, commission or  other  valu-
able   consideration,   supervises,  organizes,  arranges,  coordinates,
handles or is otherwise in charge of or responsible for  the  relocation
of  commercial  or residential tenants from buildings or structures that
are to be demolished, rehabilitated, remodeled or otherwise structurally
altered.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.