S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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2633
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 19, 2011
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Introduced by M. of A. FITZPATRICK, McDONOUGH -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and the
emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in relation
to determining primary residency; and to amend the tax law, in
relation to verification of residence
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,
as amended by chapter 422 of the laws of 2010, 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 PURPOSES OF DETERMINING
PRIMARY RESIDENCY, AS USED IN THIS CHAPTER, THE FAILURE TO FILE A NEW
YORK CITY RESIDENT INCOME TAX RETURN FOR THE TWO PRECEDING CALENDAR
YEARS (SETTING FORTH THE HOUSING ACCOMMODATION AS HIS OR HER RESIDENCE)
BY AN INDIVIDUAL REQUIRED BY LAW TO FILE SUCH A RETURN, SHALL RESULT IN
A FINDING THAT THE TENANT DOES NOT OCCUPY THE UNIT AS HIS OR HER PRIMARY
RESIDENCE; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THIS PROVISION SHALL NOT APPLY TO AN
INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS REQUESTED AN EXTENSION OF TIME FOR PAYMENT OF TAX, OR
WHO IS NOT REQUIRED TO FILE A RESIDENT INCOME TAX RETURN, OR WHERE ANY
OTHER FACTOR EXISTS WHICH WOULD EXCUSE THE TIMELY FILING OF THE RETURN;
PROVIDED FURTHER, THAT THE TIMELY FILING OF THE RETURN, ALONE, SHALL NOT
RESULT IN A PRESUMPTION THAT THE INDIVIDUAL DOES OCCUPY THE UNIT AS HIS
OR HER PRIMARY RESIDENCE OR THAT THE FILING OF AN ACTION TO DETERMINE A
TENANT'S PRIMARY RESIDENCE SHALL NOT PRECLUDE SUCH TENANT FROM FILING AN
AMENDED TAX RETURN PROVIDED THAT SUCH AMENDED RETURN IS FILED WITHIN
SIXTY DAYS OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE ACTION. FURTHER, 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
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03032-01-1
A. 2633 2
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.
S 2. Subparagraph (f) of paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section
26-504 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by
chapter 422 of the laws of 2010, 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]. FOR PURPOSES OF DETERMINING
PRIMARY RESIDENCY, AS USED IN THIS CHAPTER, THE FAILURE TO FILE A NEW
YORK CITY RESIDENT INCOME TAX RETURN FOR THE TWO PRECEDING CALENDAR
YEARS (SETTING FORTH THE HOUSING ACCOMMODATION AS HIS OR HER RESIDENCE)
BY AN INDIVIDUAL REQUIRED BY LAW TO FILE SUCH A RETURN, SHALL RESULT IN
A FINDING THAT THE TENANT DOES NOT OCCUPY THE UNIT AS HIS OR HER PRIMARY
RESIDENCE; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THIS PROVISION SHALL NOT APPLY TO AN
INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS REQUESTED AN EXTENSION OF TIME FOR PAYMENT OF TAX, OR
WHO IS NOT REQUIRED TO FILE A RESIDENT INCOME TAX RETURN, OR WHERE ANY
OTHER FACTOR EXISTS WHICH WOULD EXCUSE THE TIMELY FILING OF A RETURN;
PROVIDED FURTHER, THAT THE TIMELY FILING OF THE RETURN, ALONE, SHALL NOT
RESULT IN A PRESUMPTION THAT THE INDIVIDUAL DOES OCCUPY THE UNIT AS HIS
OR HER PRIMARY RESIDENCE OR THAT THE FILING OF AN ACTION TO DETERMINE A
TENANT'S PRIMARY RESIDENCE SHALL NOT PRECLUDE SUCH TENANT FROM FILING AN
AMENDED TAX RETURN PROVIDED THAT SUCH AMENDED RETURN IS FILED WITHIN
SIXTY DAYS OF THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE ACTION. FURTHER, 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. For the purposes of determin-
ing 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 residential 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 422 of
the laws of 2010, 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. FURTHER, FOR
PURPOSES OF DETERMINING PRIMARY RESIDENCY, AS USED IN THIS CHAPTER, THE
FAILURE TO FILE A NEW YORK STATE RESIDENT INCOME TAX RETURN FOR THE TWO
PRECEDING CALENDAR YEARS (SETTING FORTH THE HOUSING ACCOMMODATION AS HIS
A. 2633 3
OR HER RESIDENCE) BY AN INDIVIDUAL REQUIRED BY LAW TO FILE SUCH A
RETURN, SHALL RESULT IN A FINDING THAT THE TENANT DOES NOT OCCUPY THE
UNIT AS HIS OR HER PRIMARY RESIDENCE; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THIS
PROVISION SHALL NOT APPLY TO AN INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS REQUESTED AN EXTEN-
SION OF TIME FOR PAYMENT OF TAX, OR WHO IS NOT REQUIRED TO FILE A RESI-
DENT INCOME TAX RETURN, OR WHERE ANY OTHER FACTOR EXISTS WHICH WOULD
EXCUSE THE TIMELY FILING OF THE RETURN; PROVIDED FURTHER, THAT THE TIME-
LY FILING OF THE RETURN, ALONE, SHALL NOT RESULT IN A PRESUMPTION THAT
THE INDIVIDUAL DOES OCCUPY THE UNIT AS HIS OR HER PRIMARY RESIDENCE OR
THAT THE FILING OF AN ACTION TO DETERMINE A TENANT'S PRIMARY RESIDENCE
SHALL NOT PRECLUDE SUCH TENANT FROM FILING AN AMENDED TAX RETURN
PROVIDED THAT SUCH AMENDED RETURN IS FILED WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OF THE
COMMENCEMENT OF THE ACTION. For the purposes of this paragraph, 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. 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 prima-
ry 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. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 171-v to read as
follows:
S 171-V. VERIFICATION OF RESIDENCE FILING ADDRESS. (1) THE COMMISSION-
ER IS AUTHORIZED TO VERIFY TO OWNERS OF MULTIPLE DWELLINGS COVERED BY
THE CITY RENT AND REHABILITATION LAW, THE RENT STABILIZATION LAW OF
NINETEEN HUNDRED SIXTY-NINE AND/OR THE EMERGENCY TENANT PROTECTION ACT
OF NINETEEN SEVENTY-FOUR WHETHER OR NOT, IN A GIVEN CALENDAR YEAR, A NEW
YORK CITY OR NEW YORK STATE RESIDENT INCOME TAX RETURN WAS FILED BY AN
INDIVIDUAL WHO IS A TENANT IN THE OWNER'S MULTIPLE DWELLING AND, IF SO,
THE RESIDENCE ADDRESS WHICH IS SET FORTH ON THE TAX RETURN. SUCH
VERIFICATION SHALL BE IN WRITING AND SHALL BE CONSIDERED A CERTIFICATE
OR AFFIDAVIT FOR THE PURPOSES OF RULE FORTY-FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY OF THE
CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES.
(2) THE DEPARTMENT MAY CHARGE A REASONABLE FEE, TO BE DETERMINED BY
THE COMMISSIONER, IN PAYMENT TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR THE EXPENSE INCURRED
IN VERIFYING THE FILING AND RESIDENCE ADDRESS.
(3) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROMULGATE SUCH RULES AND REGULATIONS AS IT
DEEMS NECESSARY TO CARRY OUT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
S 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
ment to section 26-403 of the city rent and rehabilitation law made by
section one of this act shall remain in full force and effect only so
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 and
provided further that the amendment to section 26-504 of chapter 4 of
title 26 of the administrative code of the city of New York made by
section two 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; and provided further that the amend-
ment to section 5 of the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen
seventy-four made by section 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 576 of the laws of 1974.