S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
3874
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
January 30, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seven-
ty-four and the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to penalties for owners of property who fail to file a proper
or timely rent registration statement
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. 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] A treble damage penalty SHALL 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-
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. (i) Except as to complaints filed pursuant to clause
(ii) of this paragraph, the legal regulated rent for purposes of deter-
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05269-02-7
A. 3874 2
mining an overcharge, shall be deemed to be the rent indicated in the
MOST RECENT 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.] (ii) As to complaints
filed within ninety days of the initial registration of a housing accom-
modation, the legal regulated rent for purposes of determining an over-
charge shall be deemed to be the rent charged on the date four years
prior to the date of the initial registration of the housing accommo-
dation (or, if the housing accommodation 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 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 regis-
tration 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.] (III) FAILURE TO FILE AN ANNUAL RENT
REGISTRATION STATEMENT, SHALL RESULT IN A FINE OF TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS,
PER UNREGISTERED HOUSING ACCOMMODATION MADE PAYABLE TO THE STATE DIVI-
SION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL.
§ 2. 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:
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] A treble damage penalty SHALL
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
interest. (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 annual regis-
tration statement filed [four years prior to the most recent registra-
tion 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 regis-
tration 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.] (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 years prior to the date of the initial registration of the housing
A. 3874 3
accommodation (or, if the housing accommodation was subject to this
chapter 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 regis-
tration of the accommodation cannot be established, such rent shall be
established by the division. (III) FAILURE TO FILE AN ANNUAL RENT
REGISTRATION STATEMENT, SHALL RESULT IN A FINE OF TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS,
PER UNREGISTERED HOUSING ACCOMMODATION MADE PAYABLE TO THE STATE DIVI-
SION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
the amendments to the opening paragraph of paragraph 1 of subdivision a
of section 12 of section 4 of the emergency tenant protection act of
nineteen seventy-four made by section one 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,
and that the amendments to the opening paragraph of subdivision a of
section 26-516 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.