S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
3317--A
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
March 16, 2009
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Introduced by Sens. OPPENHEIMER, DIAZ, C. JOHNSON, KRUEGER, SAMPSON --
read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development --
recommitted to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community
Development in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- 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, the emergen-
cy housing rent control law and the local emergency housing rent
control act, in relation to establishing primary residency for victims
of domestic violence
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Clause 10 of subparagraph (i) of paragraph 2 of subdivision
e of section 26-403 of the administrative code of the city of New York
is amended to read as follows:
(10) Housing accommodations not occupied by the tenant, not including
subtenants or occupants, as his or her primary residence, as determined
by a court of competent jurisdiction. FOR THE PURPOSES OF DETERMINING
PRIMARY RESIDENCY, A TENANT WHO IS A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AS
DEFINED IN SECTION FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE-A OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW,
WHO HAS LEFT THE UNIT BECAUSE OF SUCH VIOLENCE, AND WHO ASSERTS AN
INTENT TO RETURN TO THE HOUSING ACCOMMODATION SHALL BE DEEMED TO BE
OCCUPYING THE UNIT AS HIS OR HER PRIMARY RESIDENCE. No action or
proceeding shall be commenced seeking to recover possession on the
ground that a housing accommodation is not occupied by the tenant as his
or her primary residence unless the owner or lessor shall have given
thirty days notice to the tenant of his or her intention to commence
such action or proceeding on such grounds.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00076-03-0
S. 3317--A 2
S 2. Subparagraph (f) of paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section
26-504 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended to
read as follows:
(f) not occupied by the tenant, not including subtenants or occupants,
as his OR HER primary residence, as determined by a court of competent
jurisdiction, provided, however that no action or proceeding shall be
commenced seeking to recover possession on the ground that a housing
accommodation is not occupied by the tenant as his or her primary resi-
dence unless the owner or lessor shall have given thirty days notice to
the tenant of his or her intention to commence such action or proceeding
on such grounds. FOR THE PURPOSES OF DETERMINING PRIMARY RESIDENCY, A
TENANT WHO IS A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AS DEFINED IN SECTION FOUR
HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE-A OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW, WHO HAS LEFT THE UNIT
BECAUSE OF SUCH VIOLENCE, AND WHO ASSERTS AN INTENT TO RETURN TO THE
HOUSING ACCOMMODATION SHALL BE DEEMED TO BE OCCUPYING THE UNIT AS HIS OR
HER PRIMARY RESIDENCE. For the purposes of this subparagraph where a
housing accommodation is rented to a not-for-profit hospital for resi-
dential use, affiliated subtenants authorized to use such accommodations
by such hospital shall be deemed to be tenants, or
S 3. Paragraph 11 of subdivision a of section 5 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 940 of
the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
(11) housing accommodations which are not occupied by the tenant, not
including subtenants or occupants, as his OR HER primary residence, as
determined by a court of competent jurisdiction. FOR THE PURPOSES OF
DETERMINING PRIMARY RESIDENCY, A TENANT WHO IS A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE, AS DEFINED IN SECTION FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE-A OF THE SOCIAL
SERVICES LAW, WHO HAS LEFT THE UNIT BECAUSE OF SUCH VIOLENCE, AND WHO
ASSERTS AN INTENT TO RETURN TO THE HOUSING ACCOMMODATION SHALL BE DEEMED
TO BE OCCUPYING THE UNIT AS HIS OR HER PRIMARY RESIDENCE. For the
purposes of this paragraph, where a housing accommodation is rented to a
not-for-profit hospital for residential use, affiliated subtenants
authorized to use such accommodations by such hospital shall be deemed
to be tenants. No action or proceeding shall be commenced seeking to
recover possession on the ground that a housing accommodation is not
occupied by the tenant as his OR HER primary residence unless the owner
or lessor shall have given thirty days notice to the tenant of his OR
HER intention to commence such action or proceeding on such grounds.
S 4. Paragraph (l) of subdivision 2 of section 2 of chapter 274 of the
laws of 1946, constituting the emergency housing rent control law, as
added by chapter 373 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
(l) housing accommodations which are not occupied by the tenant in
possession as his OR HER primary residence provided, however, that any
such housing accommodation shall continue to be subject to rent control
as provided herein unless the commission issues an order decontrolling
such accommodation which the commission shall do upon application by the
landlord, whenever it is established by any facts and circumstances
which, in the judgment of the commission, may have a bearing upon the
question of residence, that the tenant maintains his OR HER primary
residence at some place other than at such housing accommodation. FOR
THE PURPOSES OF DETERMINING PRIMARY RESIDENCY, A TENANT WHO IS A VICTIM
OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AS DEFINED IN SECTION FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE-A OF
THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW, WHO HAS LEFT THE UNIT BECAUSE OF SUCH VIOLENCE,
AND WHO ASSERTS AN INTENT TO RETURN TO THE HOUSING ACCOMMODATION SHALL
BE DEEMED TO BE OCCUPYING THE UNIT AS HIS OR HER PRIMARY RESIDENCE.
S. 3317--A 3
S 5. The closing paragraph of subdivision 5 of section 1 of chapter 21
of the laws of 1962, constituting the local emergency housing rent
control act, as amended by chapter 82 of the laws of 2003, is amended to
read as follows:
Notwithstanding the foregoing, no local law or ordinance shall subject
to such regulation and control any housing accommodation which is not
occupied by the tenant in possession as his OR HER primary residence;
provided, however, that such housing accommodation not occupied by the
tenant in possession as his OR HER primary residence shall continue to
be subject to regulation and control as provided for herein unless the
city housing rent agency issues an order decontrolling such accommo-
dation, which the agency shall do upon application by the landlord when-
ever it is established by any facts and circumstances which, in the
judgment of the agency, may have a bearing upon the question of resi-
dence, that the tenant maintains his OR HER primary residence at some
place other than at such housing accommodation. FOR THE PURPOSES OF
DETERMINING PRIMARY RESIDENCY, A TENANT WHO IS A VICTIM OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE, AS DEFINED IN SECTION FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE-A OF THE SOCIAL
SERVICES LAW, WHO HAS LEFT THE UNIT BECAUSE OF SUCH VIOLENCE, AND WHO
ASSERTS AN INTENT TO RETURN TO THE HOUSING ACCOMMODATION SHALL BE DEEMED
TO BE OCCUPYING THE UNIT AS HIS OR HER PRIMARY RESIDENCE.
S 6. This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that:
(a) the amendments to section 26-403 of the city rent and rehabili-
tation law made by section one of this act shall remain in full force
and effect only as long as the public emergency requiring the regulation
and control of residential rents and evictions continues, as provided in
subdivision 3 of section 1 of the local emergency housing rent control
act;
(b) the amendments to section 26-504 of the administrative code of the
city of New York made by section two of this act shall not affect the
expiration of such section and shall be deemed to expire therewith;
(c) the amendment to section 5 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws
of 1974 made by section three of this act, constituting the emergency
tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, 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 576 of the laws of 1974, as
amended; and
(d) the amendments to paragraph (l) of subdivision 2 of section 2 of
the emergency housing rent control law made by section four of this act
shall expire on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect
the expiration of such law as provided in subdivision 2 of section 1 of
chapter 274 of the laws of 1946, as amended.
