S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
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9908--A
I N A S S E M B L Y
May 27, 2014
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FARRELL -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Housing -- 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 rent overcharges
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Clause (i) of the opening paragraph of 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:
(i) Except as to complaints filed pursuant to clause (ii) of this
paragraph, the legal regulated rent for purposes of determining an over-
charge, shall be the rent indicated in the annual registration statement
filed four 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. SUCH
FOUR YEAR LOOK BACK PERIOD TO CHALLENGE A RENT OVERCHARGE SHALL BE
DEEMED TOLLED WHERE THE TENANT CAN SHOW THAT THE TENANT WAS PREVENTED
FROM ASSERTING HIS OR HER CLAIM BY SOME KIND OF WRONGFUL CONDUCT ON THE
PART OF THE OWNER. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION SUCH WRONGFUL
CONDUCT SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, MISREPRESENTATION OR
FRAUD. WHERE A TENANT IN A RENT OVERCHARGE ACTION ALLEGES MISREPRESEN-
TATION OR FRAUD ON THE PART OF THE OWNER, THE OWNER SHALL BE REQUIRED TO
PROVIDE THE TENANT WITH THE RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FOR ANY REPAIRS,
UPGRADES OR RENOVATIONS MADE TO SUCH PREMISES DURING THE PERIOD FOUR
YEARS PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE OVERCHARGE ACTION. THE OWNER
SHALL ALSO BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE ANY NEW PROSPECTIVE TENANT WITH THE
RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FOR ANY REPAIRS, UPGRADES OR IMPROVEMENTS
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15432-03-4
A. 9908--A 2
MADE TO A PREMISES IN THE FOUR YEAR PERIOD PRIOR TO THE DATE OF THE
TENANT SIGNING A LEASE FOR SUCH PREMISES.
S 2. The opening paragraph of 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 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
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 opportu-
nity to be heard, to have collected an overcharge above the rent author-
ized 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 over-
charge. 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 will-
ful nor attributable to his negligence, the state division 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 practice law and
rules. (i) Except as to complaints filed pursuant to clause (ii) of this
paragraph, the legal regulated rent for purposes of determining an over-
charge, shall be deemed to be the rent indicated in the annual registra-
tion statement filed four years prior to the most recent registration
statement, (or, if more recently filed, the initial registration state-
ment) 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 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. (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 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 years, the initial
legal regulated rent) plus in each case, any lawful increases and
adjustments. Where the rent charged on the date four years prior to the
date of the initial registration of the accommodation cannot be estab-
lished, 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 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. SUCH
FOUR YEAR LOOK BACK PERIOD TO CHALLENGE A RENT OVERCHARGE SHALL BE
DEEMED TOLLED WHERE THE TENANT CAN SHOW THAT THE TENANT WAS PREVENTED
FROM ASSERTING HIS OR HER CLAIM BY SOME KIND OF WRONGFUL CONDUCT ON THE
PART OF THE OWNER. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION SUCH WRONGFUL
CONDUCT SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, MISREPRESENTATION OR
FRAUD. WHERE A TENANT IN A RENT OVERCHARGE ACTION ALLEGES MISREPRESEN-
TATION OR FRAUD ON THE PART OF THE OWNER, THE OWNER SHALL BE REQUIRED TO
PROVIDE THE TENANT WITH THE RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FOR ANY REPAIRS,
UPGRADES OR RENOVATIONS MADE TO SUCH PREMISES DURING THE PERIOD FOUR
A. 9908--A 3
YEARS PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE OVERCHARGE ACTION. THE OWNER
SHALL ALSO BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE ANY NEW PROSPECTIVE TENANT WITH THE
RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FOR ANY REPAIRS, UPGRADES OR IMPROVEMENTS
MADE TO A PREMISES IN THE FOUR YEAR PERIOD PRIOR TO THE DATE OF THE
TENANT SIGNING A LEASE FOR SUCH PREMISES.
S 3. 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:
S 213-a. Actions to be commenced within four years; 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 preceding the
commencement of the action. THE FOUR-YEAR PERIOD WITHIN WHICH AN ACTION
MUST BE COMMENCED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL BE DEEMED TOLLED WHERE
THE CLAIMANT CAN SHOW THAT THE CLAIMANT WAS PREVENTED FROM ASSERTING HIS
OR HER CLAIM BY SOME KIND OF WRONGFUL CONDUCT ON THE PART OF THE DEFEND-
ANT. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION SUCH WRONGFUL CONDUCT SHALL INCLUDE,
BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO, MISREPRESENTATION OR FRAUD. WHERE A CLAIMANT IN
A RENT OVERCHARGE ACTION ALLEGES MISREPRESENTATION OR FRAUD ON THE PART
OF THE DEFENDANT, THE DEFENDANT SHALL BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE THE CLAIM-
ANT WITH THE RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS FOR ANY REPAIRS, UPGRADES OR
RENOVATIONS MADE TO SUCH PREMISES DURING THE PERIOD FOUR YEARS PRIOR TO
THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE OVERCHARGE ACTION.
S 4. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to any
action or proceeding pending in any court or any application, complaint
or proceeding before an administrative agency on the effective date of
this act, as well as any action or proceeding commenced thereafter;
provided, however, that:
(a) the amendments to subdivision a of section 26-516 of the adminis-
trative code of the city of New York made by section one of this act
shall expire on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect
the expiration of such section as provided under section 26-520 of such
code; and
(b) the amendments to the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen
seventy-four made by section two 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.