S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4169--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 4, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  MYRIE, BAILEY, HOYLMAN, KRUEGER, RIVERA, SALAZAR,
   SANDERS, STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when  printed
   to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Communi-
   ty   Development   --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
   reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 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 investigation of rent over-
   charge complaints
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 12 of section 4 of
 chapter 576 of the laws  of  1974,  constituting  the  emergency  tenant
 protection  act  of  nineteen seventy-four, as amended by chapter 403 of
 the laws of 1983, the opening paragraph and clause (i)  of  subparagraph
 (b) as amended by chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as
 follows:
   (1)  Subject  to the conditions and limitations of this paragraph, any
 owner of housing accommodations in a city having a  population  of  less
 than  one million or a town or village as to which an emergency has been
 declared pursuant to section three, who, upon complaint of a  tenant  or
 of  the state division of housing and community renewal, is found by the
 state division of housing and  community  renewal,  after  a  reasonable
 opportunity  to be heard, to have collected an overcharge above the rent
 authorized for a housing accommodation subject  to  this  act  shall  be
 liable  to  the  tenant for a penalty equal to three times the amount of
 such overcharge. [In no  event  shall  such  treble  damage  penalty  be
 assessed against an owner based solely on said owner's failure to file a
 proper  or timely initial or annual rent registration statement.] If the
 owner establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the overcharge
 was neither willful nor attributable to his negligence, the state  divi-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              
             
                          
                                                                            LBD06209-07-9
 S. 4169--A                          2
 
 sion of housing and community renewal shall establish the penalty as the
 amount  of  the overcharge plus interest at the rate of interest payable
 on a judgment pursuant to section five thousand four of the civil  prac-
 tice  law and rules. AFTER A COMPLAINT OF RENT OVERCHARGE HAS BEEN FILED
 AND SERVED ON AN OWNER, THE VOLUNTARY ADJUSTMENT OF THE RENT AND/OR  THE
 VOLUNTARY TENDER OF A REFUND OF RENT OVERCHARGES SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED
 BY THE DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL OR A COURT OF COMPETENT
 JURISDICTION AS EVIDENCE THAT THE OVERCHARGE WAS NOT WILLFUL. (i) Except
 as  to  complaints  filed pursuant to clause (ii) of this paragraph, the
 legal regulated rent for purposes of determining an overcharge, shall be
 deemed to be the rent indicated  in  the  MOST  RECENT  RELIABLE  annual
 registration  statement  FOR  A  RENT STABILIZED TENANT filed [four] AND
 SERVED UPON THE TENANT SIX OR MORE years prior to the most recent regis-
 tration statement, (or, if more recently filed, the initial registration
 statement) plus in each case any subsequent lawful increases and adjust-
 ments. [Where the amount of rent set forth in the annual rent  registra-
 tion  statement  filed  four years prior to the most recent registration
 statement is not challenged within four years  of  its  filing,  neither
 such  rent nor service of any registration shall be subject to challenge
 at any time thereafter.] THE DIVISION OF HOUSING AND  COMMUNITY  RENEWAL
 OR  A  COURT  OF  COMPETENT JURISDICTION, IN INVESTIGATING COMPLAINTS OF
 OVERCHARGE AND IN DETERMINING LEGAL REGULATED RENT, SHALL  CONSIDER  ALL
 AVAILABLE RENT HISTORY WHICH IS REASONABLY NECESSARY TO MAKE SUCH DETER-
 MINATIONS. (ii) As to complaints filed within ninety days of the initial
 registration  of  a  housing accommodation, the legal regulated rent for
 purposes of determining an overcharge shall be deemed  to  be  the  rent
 charged  on  the  date [four] SIX years prior to the date of the initial
 registration of the housing accommodation (or, if the  housing  accommo-
 dation  was  subject  to  this  act  for less than [four] SIX years, the
 initial legal regulated rent) plus in each case,  any  lawful  increases
 and  adjustments.  Where  the  rent charged on the date [four] SIX years
 prior to the date of  the  initial  registration  of  the  accommodation
 cannot  be  established, such rent shall be established by the division.
 [Where the amount of rent set forth  in  the  annual  rent  registration
 statement  filed four years prior to the most recent registration state-
 ment is not challenged within four years of  its  filing,  neither  such
 rent  nor  service  of any registration shall be subject to challenge at
 any time thereafter.]
   (a) The order of the state division of housing and  community  renewal
 shall  apportion  the  owner's  liability  between  or among two or more
 tenants found to have  been  overcharged  by  such  owner  during  their
 particular tenancy of a unit.
   (b)  (i)  Except  as  provided  under  clauses  (ii) and (iii) of this
 subparagraph, a complaint under this subdivision [shall]  MAY  be  filed
 with  the  state  division of housing and community renewal [within four
 years of the first overcharge alleged and no determination of  an  over-
 charge and no award or calculation of an award of the amount of an over-
 charge  may  be  based upon an overcharge having occurred more than four
 years before the complaint is filed. This paragraph shall preclude exam-
 ination of the rental history of the housing accommodation prior to  the
 four-year  period  preceding  the filing of a complaint pursuant to this
 subdivision] IN A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION AT ANY  TIME,  HOWEVER
 ANY  RECOVERY  OF OVERCHARGE PENALTIES SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE SIX YEARS
 PRECEDING THE COMPLAINT.
   (ii) [No] A penalty of three times the overcharge [may be  based  upon
 an  overcharge  having occurred more than two years before the complaint
 S. 4169--A                          3
 is filed or upon an overcharge which  occurred  prior  to  April  first,
 nineteen  hundred  eighty-four]SHALL  BE  ASSESSED  UPON ALL OVERCHARGES
 WILLFULLY COLLECTED BY THE OWNER STARTING SIX YEARS BEFORE THE COMPLAINT
 IS FILED.
   (iii) Any complaint based upon overcharges occurring prior to the date
 of  filing of the initial rent registration as provided in subdivision b
 of section twelve-a of this act shall be filed within ninety days of the
 mailing of notice to the tenant of such registration.
   (c) Any affected tenant shall be notified of and given an  opportunity
 to  join  in  any complaint filed by an officer or employee of the state
 division of housing and community renewal.
   (d) An owner found  to  have  overcharged  shall,  in  all  cases,  be
 assessed the reasonable costs and attorney's fees of the proceeding, and
 interest from the date of the overcharge at the rate of interest payable
 on  a judgment pursuant to section five thousand four of the civil prac-
 tice law and rules.
   (e) The order of the state division of housing and  community  renewal
 awarding  penalties  may, upon the expiration of the period in which the
 owner may institute a proceeding pursuant to  article  seventy-eight  of
 the  civil  practice law and rules, be filed and enforced by a tenant in
 the same manner as a judgment or, in the alternative, not in  excess  of
 twenty  percent  thereof per month may be offset against any rent there-
 after due the owner.
   (f) Unless a tenant shall have filed a complaint  of  overcharge  with
 the  division  which complaint has not been withdrawn, nothing contained
 in this section shall be deemed to prevent a tenant or tenants, claiming
 to have been overcharged, from commencing an  action  or  interposing  a
 counterclaim  in  a court of competent jurisdiction for damages equal to
 the overcharge and the penalty provided for in this  section,  including
 interest from the date of the overcharge at the rate of interest payable
 on  a judgment pursuant to section five thousand four of the civil prac-
 tice law and rules, plus the statutory costs and allowable disbursements
 in connection with the proceeding. [Such action  must  be  commenced  or
 counterclaim  interposed  within  four  years of the date of the alleged
 overcharge but no recovery of three times the amount of  the  overcharge
 may  be  awarded  with respect to any overcharge which had occurred more
 than two years before the action is commenced or counterclaim is  inter-
 posed.]  THE COURTS AND THE DIVISION SHALL HAVE CONCURRENT JURISDICTION,
 SUBJECT TO THE TENANT'S CHOICE OF FORUM.
   § 2. Paragraph 8 of subdivision a of section 12 of section 4 of  chap-
 ter  576  of  the  laws  of  1974,  constituting  the  emergency  tenant
 protection act of nineteen seventy-four, as amended by  chapter  403  of
 the  laws  of 1983, is amended and a new paragraph 9 is added to read as
 follows:
   (8) [Any] EXCEPT WHERE A SPECIFIC PROVISION OF THIS LAW  REQUIRES  THE
 MAINTENANCE  OF  RENT  RECORDS FOR A LONGER PERIOD, INCLUDING RECORDS OF
 THE USEFUL LIFE OF IMPROVEMENTS MADE TO ANY HOUSING ACCOMMODATION OR ANY
 BUILDING, ANY owner who has  duly  registered  a  housing  accommodation
 pursuant  to section twelve-a of this act shall not be required to main-
 tain or produce any records relating to rentals  of  such  accommodation
 more  than  four  years  prior to the most recent registration or annual
 statement for such accommodation.  HOWEVER, AN OWNER'S ELECTION  NOT  TO
 MAINTAIN  RECORDS SHALL NOT LIMIT THE AUTHORITY OF THE DIVISION OF HOUS-
 ING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL AND THE COURTS TO EXAMINE THE  RENTAL  HISTORY
 AND DETERMINE LEGAL REGULATED RENTS PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION.
 S. 4169--A                          4
 
   (9)  THE  DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL AND THE COURTS, IN
 INVESTIGATING COMPLAINTS OF OVERCHARGE AND IN  DETERMINING  LEGAL  REGU-
 LATED  RENTS, SHALL CONSIDER ALL AVAILABLE RENT HISTORY WHICH IS REASON-
 ABLY NECESSARY TO MAKE SUCH DETERMINATIONS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
 (A) ANY RENT REGISTRATION OR OTHER RECORDS FILED WITH THE STATE DIVISION
 OF  HOUSING  AND  COMMUNITY  RENEWAL,  OR  ANY OTHER STATE, MUNICIPAL OR
 FEDERAL AGENCY, REGARDLESS OF THE DATE TO WHICH THE INFORMATION ON  SUCH
 REGISTRATION  REFERS;  (B)  ANY  ORDER ISSUED BY ANY STATE, MUNICIPAL OR
 FEDERAL AGENCY; (C) ANY RECORDS MAINTAINED BY THE OWNER OR TENANTS;  AND
 (D)  ANY  PUBLIC  RECORD  KEPT  IN THE REGULAR COURSE OF BUSINESS BY ANY
 STATE, MUNICIPAL OR FEDERAL AGENCY. NOTHING CONTAINED IN THIS  PARAGRAPH
 SHALL  LIMIT THE EXAMINATION OF RENT HISTORY RELEVANT TO A DETERMINATION
 AS TO:
   (I) WHETHER THE LEGALITY OF A RENTAL AMOUNT CHARGED OR  REGISTERED  IS
 RELIABLE  IN  LIGHT OF ALL AVAILABLE EVIDENCE INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED
 TO, WHETHER AN UNEXPLAINED INCREASE IN THE REGISTERED OR LEASE RENTS, OR
 A FRAUDULENT SCHEME TO DESTABILIZE THE HOUSING  ACCOMMODATION,  RENDERED
 SUCH RENT OR REGISTRATION UNRELIABLE;
   (II)  WHETHER  AN  ACCOMMODATION  IS  SUBJECT  TO THE EMERGENCY TENANT
 PROTECTION ACT;
   (III) WHETHER AN ORDER ISSUED BY THE DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY
 RENEWAL OR A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED
 TO AN ORDER ISSUED PURSUANT TO SECTION 26-514 OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
 OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, OR ANY REGULATORY AGREEMENT OR  OTHER  CONTRACT
 WITH  ANY  GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY, AND REMAINING IN EFFECT WITHIN SIX YEARS
 OF THE FILING OF A COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION, AFFECTS OR LIMITS
 THE AMOUNT OF RENT THAT MAY BE CHARGED OR COLLECTED;
   (IV) WHETHER AN OVERCHARGE WAS OR WAS NOT WILLFUL;
   (V) WHETHER A RENT ADJUSTMENT THAT REQUIRES INFORMATION REGARDING  THE
 LENGTH OF OCCUPANCY BY A PRESENT OR PRIOR TENANT WAS LAWFUL;
   (VI)  THE EXISTENCE OR TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF A PREFERENTIAL RENT, OR
 THE PROPRIETY OF A LEGAL  REGISTERED  RENT  DURING  A  PERIOD  WHEN  THE
 TENANTS WERE CHARGED A PREFERENTIAL RENT;
   (VII)  THE  LEGALITY OF A RENT CHARGED OR REGISTERED IMMEDIATELY PRIOR
 TO THE REGISTRATION OF A PREFERENTIAL RENT; OR
   (VIII) THE AMOUNT OF THE LEGAL REGULATED RENT WHERE THE APARTMENT  WAS
 VACANT  OR  TEMPORARILY EXEMPT ON THE DATE SIX YEARS PRIOR TO A TENANT'S
 COMPLAINT.
   § 3. Subdivision b of section 12 of section 4 of chapter  576  of  the
 laws  of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nine-
 teen seventy-four, as amended by chapter 403 of the  laws  of  1983,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   b. Within a city having a population of one million or more, the state
 division  of  housing  and  community  renewal shall have such powers to
 enforce this act as shall be provided in the New York city rent stabili-
 zation law of nineteen hundred  sixty-nine,  as  amended,  or  as  shall
 otherwise  be  provided  by  law.    UNLESS  A TENANT SHALL HAVE FILED A
 COMPLAINT OF OVERCHARGE WITH THE DIVISION WHICH COMPLAINT HAS  NOT  BEEN
 WITHDRAWN,  NOTHING CONTAINED IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE DEEMED TO PREVENT
 A TENANT OR TENANTS, CLAIMING TO HAVE BEEN OVERCHARGED, FROM  COMMENCING
 AN  ACTION  OR INTERPOSING A COUNTERCLAIM IN A COURT OF COMPETENT JURIS-
 DICTION FOR DAMAGES EQUAL TO THE OVERCHARGE AND THE PENALTY PROVIDED FOR
 IN THIS SECTION, INCLUDING INTEREST FROM THE DATE OF THE  OVERCHARGE  AT
 THE  RATE  OF  INTEREST  PAYABLE  ON A JUDGMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION FIVE
 THOUSAND FOUR OF THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES,  PLUS  THE  STATUTORY
 COSTS AND ALLOWABLE DISBURSEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROCEEDING. THE
 S. 4169--A                          5
 COURTS  AND  THE DIVISION SHALL HAVE CONCURRENT JURISDICTION, SUBJECT TO
 THE TENANT'S CHOICE OF FORUM.
   § 4. Subdivision a of section 26-516 of the administrative code of the
 city  of  New  York,  as  amended by chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is
 amended to read as follows:
   a. Subject to the conditions and limitations of this subdivision,  any
 owner  of  housing accommodations who, upon complaint of a tenant, or of
 the state division of housing and community renewal,  is  found  by  the
 state  division  of  housing  and  community renewal, after a reasonable
 opportunity to be heard, to have collected an overcharge above the  rent
 authorized  for a housing accommodation subject to this chapter shall be
 liable to the tenant for a penalty equal to three times  the  amount  of
 such  overcharge.  [In  no  event  shall  such  treble damage penalty be
 assessed against an owner based solely on said owner's failure to file a
 timely or proper initial or annual rent registration statement.] If  the
 owner establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the overcharge
 was  not  willful,  the  state division of housing and community renewal
 shall establish the penalty as the amount of the overcharge plus  inter-
 est.   AFTER A COMPLAINT OF RENT OVERCHARGE HAS BEEN FILED AND SERVED ON
 AN OWNER, THE VOLUNTARY ADJUSTMENT OF  THE  RENT  AND/OR  THE  VOLUNTARY
 TENDER  OF  A  REFUND OF RENT OVERCHARGES SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED BY THE
 DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL OR A COURT OF COMPETENT JURIS-
 DICTION AS EVIDENCE THAT THE OVERCHARGE WAS NOT WILLFUL. (i)  Except  as
 to complaints filed pursuant to clause (ii) of this paragraph, the legal
 regulated  rent  for purposes of determining an overcharge, shall be the
 rent indicated in the MOST RECENT RELIABLE annual registration statement
 filed [four] AND SERVED UPON THE TENANT SIX OR MORE years prior  to  the
 most  recent  registration  statement,  (or, if more recently filed, the
 initial registration statement) plus in each case any subsequent  lawful
 increases  and  adjustments.  [Where the amount of rent set forth in the
 annual rent registration statement filed four years prior  to  the  most
 recent registration statement is not challenged within four years of its
 filing,  neither  such  rent  nor  service  of any registration shall be
 subject to challenge at any time thereafter.] THE  DIVISION  OF  HOUSING
 AND  COMMUNITY RENEWAL OR A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION, IN INVESTI-
 GATING COMPLAINTS OF OVERCHARGE AND IN DETERMINING LEGAL REGULATED RENT,
 SHALL CONSIDER ALL AVAILABLE RENT HISTORY WHICH IS REASONABLY  NECESSARY
 TO  MAKE  SUCH DETERMINATIONS. (ii) As to complaints filed within ninety
 days of the initial registration of a housing accommodation,  the  legal
 regulated rent shall be deemed to be the rent charged on the date [four]
 SIX  years  prior to the date of the initial registration of the housing
 accommodation (or, if the housing  accommodation  was  subject  to  this
 chapter  for  less  than  [four]  SIX years, the initial legal regulated
 rent) plus in each case, any lawful increases and adjustments. Where the
 rent charged on the date [four] SIX years  prior  to  the  date  of  the
 initial  registration  of  the accommodation cannot be established, such
 rent shall be established by the division.
   Where the PRIOR rent charged [on the date four years prior to the date
 of initial registration of] FOR  the  housing  accommodation  cannot  be
 established,  such  rent  shall  be established by the division provided
 that where a rent is established based on rentals determined  under  the
 provisions  of  the  local  emergency housing rent control act such rent
 must be adjusted to account for no less than the minimum increases which
 would be permitted if the housing accommodation were covered  under  the
 provisions  of  this chapter, LESS ANY APPROPRIATE PENALTIES. [Where the
 amount of rent set forth in the annual rent registration statement filed
 S. 4169--A                          6
 four years prior to the most recent registration statement is not  chal-
 lenged within four years of its filing, neither such rent nor service of
 any registration shall be subject to challenge at any time thereafter.]
   (1)  The  order of the state division of housing and community renewal
 shall apportion the owner's liability  between  or  among  two  or  more
 tenants  found  to  have  been  overcharged  by  such owner during their
 particular tenancy of a unit.
   (2) Except as provided under clauses (i) and (ii) of this paragraph, a
 complaint under this subdivision [shall] MAY be  filed  with  the  state
 division  of  housing  and  community  renewal [within four years of the
 first overcharge alleged and no determination of an  overcharge  and  no
 award  or  calculation of an award of the amount of an overcharge may be
 based upon an overcharge having occurred more than four years before the
 complaint is filed] IN A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION  AT  ANY  TIME,
 HOWEVER ANY RECOVERY OF OVERCHARGE PENALTIES SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE SIX
 YEARS  PRECEDING  THE COMPLAINT .  (i) [No] A penalty of three times the
 overcharge [may be based upon an overcharge having  occurred  more  than
 two years] SHALL BE ASSESSED UPON ALL OVERCHARGES WILLFULLY COLLECTED BY
 THE  OWNER  STARTING SIX YEARS before the complaint is filed [or upon an
 overcharge which occurred prior to April first, nineteen hundred  eight-
 y-four. (ii) Any complaint based upon overcharges occurring prior to the
 date  of  filing of the initial rent registration as provided in section
 26-517 of this chapter shall be filed within ninety days of the  mailing
 of  notice  to  the  tenant  of  such registration. This paragraph shall
 preclude examination of the rental history of the housing  accommodation
 prior to the four-year period preceding the filing of a complaint pursu-
 ant to this subdivision].
   (3)  Any affected tenant shall be notified of and given an opportunity
 to join in any complaint filed by an officer or employee  of  the  state
 division of housing and community renewal.
   (4)  An owner found to have overcharged may be assessed the reasonable
 costs and attorney's fees of the proceeding and interest from  the  date
 of the overcharge at the rate of interest payable on a judgment pursuant
 to section five thousand four of the civil practice law and rules.
   (5)  The  order of the state division of housing and community renewal
 awarding penalties may, upon the expiration of the period in  which  the
 owner  may  institute  a proceeding pursuant to article seventy-eight of
 the civil practice law and rules, be filed and enforced by a  tenant  in
 the same manner as a judgment or not in excess of twenty percent thereof
 per month may be offset against any rent thereafter due the owner.
   § 5. Subdivision g of section 26-516 of the administrative code of the
 city  of  New York is amended, subdivision h is relettered subdivision i
 and a new subdivision h is added to read as follows:
   g. [Any] EXCEPT WHERE A SPECIFIC PROVISION OF THIS  LAW  REQUIRES  THE
 MAINTENANCE  OF  RENT  RECORDS FOR A LONGER PERIOD, INCLUDING RECORDS OF
 THE USEFUL LIFE OF IMPROVEMENTS MADE TO ANY HOUSING ACCOMMODATION OR ANY
 BUILDING, ANY owner who has  duly  registered  a  housing  accommodation
 pursuant  to  section  26-517  of  this chapter shall not be required to
 maintain or produce any records relating to  rentals  of  such  accommo-
 dation for more than [four] SIX years prior to the most recent registra-
 tion  or  annual  statement  for such accommodation. HOWEVER, AN OWNER'S
 ELECTION NOT TO MAINTAIN RECORDS SHALL NOT LIMIT THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE
 DIVISION  OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL AND THE COURTS TO EXAMINE THE
 RENTAL HISTORY AND DETERMINE LEGAL  REGULATED  RENTS  PURSUANT  TO  THIS
 SECTION.
 S. 4169--A                          7
 
   H.  THE  DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL, AND THE COURTS, IN
 INVESTIGATING COMPLAINTS OF OVERCHARGE AND IN  DETERMINING  LEGAL  REGU-
 LATED  RENTS, SHALL CONSIDER ALL AVAILABLE RENT HISTORY WHICH IS REASON-
 ABLY NECESSARY TO MAKE SUCH DETERMINATIONS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
 (I) ANY RENT REGISTRATION OR OTHER RECORDS FILED WITH THE STATE DIVISION
 OF  HOUSING  AND  COMMUNITY  RENEWAL,  OR  ANY OTHER STATE, MUNICIPAL OR
 FEDERAL AGENCY, REGARDLESS OF THE DATE TO WHICH THE INFORMATION ON  SUCH
 REGISTRATION  REFERS;  (II)  ANY ORDER ISSUED BY ANY STATE, MUNICIPAL OR
 FEDERAL AGENCY; (III) ANY RECORDS MAINTAINED BY THE  OWNER  OR  TENANTS;
 AND (IV) ANY PUBLIC RECORD KEPT IN THE REGULAR COURSE OF BUSINESS BY ANY
 STATE,  MUNICIPAL  OR FEDERAL AGENCY. NOTHING CONTAINED IN THIS SUBDIVI-
 SION SHALL LIMIT THE EXAMINATION OF RENT HISTORY RELEVANT TO A  DETERMI-
 NATION AS TO:
   (I)  WHETHER  THE LEGALITY OF A RENTAL AMOUNT CHARGED OR REGISTERED IS
 RELIABLE IN LIGHT OF ALL AVAILABLE EVIDENCE INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
 WHETHER AN UNEXPLAINED INCREASE IN THE REGISTERED OR LEASE RENTS,  OR  A
 FRAUDULENT  SCHEME  TO  DESTABILIZE  THE HOUSING ACCOMMODATION, RENDERED
 SUCH RENT OR REGISTRATION UNRELIABLE;
   (II) WHETHER AN ACCOMMODATION  IS  SUBJECT  TO  THE  EMERGENCY  TENANT
 PROTECTION ACT OR THE RENT STABILIZATION LAW;
   (III) WHETHER AN ORDER ISSUED BY THE DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY
 RENEWAL  OR  BY  A  COURT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO AN ORDER ISSUED
 PURSUANT TO SECTION 26-514 OF THIS CHAPTER, OR ANY REGULATORY  AGREEMENT
 OR  OTHER CONTRACT WITH ANY GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY, AND REMAINING IN EFFECT
 WITHIN SIX YEARS OF THE FILING OF A COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO THIS  SECTION,
 AFFECTS OR LIMITS THE AMOUNT OF RENT THAT MAY BE CHARGED OR COLLECTED;
   (IV) WHETHER AN OVERCHARGE WAS OR WAS NOT WILLFUL;
   (V)  WHETHER A RENT ADJUSTMENT THAT REQUIRES INFORMATION REGARDING THE
 LENGTH OF OCCUPANCY BY A PRESENT OR PRIOR TENANT WAS LAWFUL;
   (VI) THE EXISTENCE OR TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF A PREFERENTIAL RENT,  OR
 THE  PROPRIETY  OF  A  LEGAL  REGISTERED  RENT  DURING A PERIOD WHEN THE
 TENANTS WERE CHARGED A PREFERENTIAL RENT;
   (VII) THE LEGALITY OF A RENT CHARGED OR REGISTERED  IMMEDIATELY  PRIOR
 TO THE REGISTRATION OF A PREFERENTIAL RENT; OR
   (VIII)  THE AMOUNT OF THE LEGAL REGULATED RENT WHERE THE APARTMENT WAS
 VACANT OR TEMPORARILY EXEMPT ON THE DATE SIX YEARS PRIOR TO  A  TENANT'S
 COMPLAINT.
   §  6. Section 213-a of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by
 chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
   § 213-a. [Actions to be  commenced  within  four  years;  residential]
 RESIDENTIAL rent overcharge. [An action on a residential rent overcharge
 shall be commenced within four years of the first overcharge alleged and
 no  determination  of  an  overcharge  and no award or calculation of an
 award of the amount of any overcharge may be based  upon  an  overcharge
 having  occurred  more  than  four years before the action is commenced.
 This section shall preclude examination of the  rental  history  of  the
 housing  accommodation prior to the four-year period immediately preced-
 ing the commencement of the action.] NO OVERCHARGE PENALTIES OR  DAMAGES
 MAY  BE  AWARDED  FOR  A PERIOD MORE THAN SIX YEARS BEFORE THE ACTION IS
 COMMENCED OR COMPLAINT IS FILED, HOWEVER, AN  OVERCHARGE  CLAIM  MAY  BE
 FILED  AT  ANY  TIME, AND THE CALCULATION AND DETERMINATION OF THE LEGAL
 RENT AND THE AMOUNT OF THE OVERCHARGE SHALL BE MADE IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH
 THE  PROVISIONS  OF  LAW  GOVERNING THE DETERMINATION AND CALCULATION OF
 OVERCHARGES.
   § 7. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  any
 claims pending or filed on and after such date; provided that:
 S. 4169--A                          8
 
   a. the amendments to section 12 of the emergency tenant protection act
 of nineteen seventy-four made by sections one, two and three of this act
 shall  expire  on the same date as such act expires and shall not affect
 the expiration of such act as provided in section 17 of chapter  567  of
 the laws of 1974; and
   b.  the  amendments  to section 26-516 of chapter 4 of title 26 of the
 administrative code of the city of New York made by  sections  four  and
 five  of  this act shall expire on the same date as such law expires and
 shall not affect the expiration of such law as  provided  under  section
 26-520 of such law.