Senate Bill S3320

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Establishes it shall be unlawful for a person to have his or her application to rent or lease a residence to be denied due to prior housing court proceedings

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to judiciary
Jan 20, 2017	referred to judiciary

co-Sponsors

2017-S3320 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Judiciary
Law Section:: Real Property Law
Laws Affected:: Add §235-h, RP L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S3856
2011-2012: S457
2013-2014: S3163
2015-2016: S2798

2017-S3320 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes it shall be unlawful for a person to have his or her application to rent or lease a residence to be denied due to a previous housing court proceeding; allows a person aggrieved to maintain a civil action.

2017-S3320 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S3320

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the real property law, in relation
to prohibiting certain prior housing court proceedings from being
considered by landlords in the lease of property for residential
purposes

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

To protect tenants from discrimination based on prior landlord-tenant
litigation, or tenant screening reports, when applying for new
housing.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section one of the bill states the underlying legislative findings:
that some landlords discriminate against some prospective tenants
based on prior landlord-tenant litigation or based on tenant screening
reports that are used to blacklist some tenants.

Section 2 of the bill adds a new section 235-h to the Real Property
Law ("RPL"). New RPL section 235-h(1) defines the following terms:
housing accommodation, tenant screening report, person, and consumer
reporting agency. New RPL section 235-h(2) makes it an unlawful
practice to refuse to rent residential units based on information
obtained from tenant screening reports or based on prior

landlord-tenant litigation, or facts derived from such litigation,
unless the tenant had a warrant of eviction issued against him or her
and did not voluntarily enter into an agreement that would allow the
warrant of eviction to be issued. New RPL section 235-h(3) allows
aggrieved tenants to sue for injunctive relief, damages, costs and
fees.

Section 3 establishes that this act shall take effect immediately.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Landlords typically review prospective tenants' background in order to
history and income, landlords also examine court history. In fact, an
entire industry, comprised of so-called tenant screening bureaus or
tenant screening companies, has been created in order to provide
landlords with information on tenants, and these companies often
provide a tenant's court history. Unfortunately, these companies are
not necessarily thorough, and they do not always include the outcome
of a tenant's court case. Tenants who have appeared in court cases
relating to landlord-tenant disputes, and who might have won their
cases or settled out of court, still find their applications for new
housing rejected, simply based on their prior appearances in court.

This bill would make it unlawful for landlords to consider a tenant's
history in court cases that arise from landlord-tenant disputes,
unless that tenant was evicted against his or her will. This would
ensure that appearance in court in and of itself would not prevent a
tenant from obtaining new housing. Lawyers involved in housing court
cases report that there are 375,000 housing court cases a year in New
York State, and only 25,000 result in warrants of eviction. That means
that there are potentially 350,000 residents of New York State who are
suffering because the law does not prevent landlords from
discriminating against them. The bill would continue to permit the use
of prior litigation history that resulted in a contested (i.e.,
non-consented to) eviction, following a court ruling in favor of a
petitioner-landlord, thus allowing legitimate use of a relatively
small number of cases, while preventing discrimination based on cases
that did not have such a result.


Additionally, this bill would eliminate a threat that landlords can
use against their tenants. Currently, tenants who may wish to sue
their landlord - over a failure to deliver services, harassment, or
any other number of reasons - may be unwise to do so, simply because
their involvement in housing court can be used adversely against them
in the future, Similarly, landlords who wish to exercise control over
their tenants can threaten to sue to evict them, knowing full well
that even if they lose the case, they have caused irreparable harm to
the tenants' ability to find new housing. Tenants should not feel that
they are unable to exercise their rights by appearing in court, and
landlords should not be able to manipulate the judicial system to
intimidate their tenants. This bill would prevent both of these
phenomena, and would also allow tenants who have appeared in court,
but have not been evicted against their will, from suffering
unreasonable hardship.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2009/2010: S.3856B/A.3243A
2011/2012: S.457/A4203
2013-14: S3163/A3691
2015-2016: S2798

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2017-S3320 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3320
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 20, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, HOYLMAN, PERKINS, SERRANO, SQUADRON -- read
   twice  and  ordered  printed,  and when printed to be committed to the
   Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the  real  property  law,  in  relation  to  prohibiting
   certain prior housing court proceedings from being considered by land-
   lords in the lease of property for residential purposes
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds that  some
 landlords  refuse  to  offer available units because prospective tenants
 have previously been party to  a  judicial  proceeding  arising  from  a
 dispute  between  themselves  and  a prior landlord, and also finds that
 tenant screening reports are also being used by some landlords to  inap-
 propriately   blacklist  some  prospective  tenants.    The  legislature
 believes that a tenant's prior appearance in a  judicial  proceeding  is
 not  worthy  of consideration when a landlord is reviewing a prospective
 tenant's application, except under the limited  circumstances  permitted
 by this act.
   § 2. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 235-h to
 read as follows:
   §  235-H. UNLAWFUL REFUSAL TO RENT TO A PROSPECTIVE TENANT. 1. AS USED
 IN THIS SECTION, THE TERMS:
   (A) "HOUSING  ACCOMMODATION"  INCLUDES  ANY  BUILDING,  STRUCTURE,  OR
 PORTION  THEREOF  WHICH  IS USED OR OCCUPIED OR IS INTENDED, ARRANGED OR
 DESIGNED TO BE USED OR OCCUPIED, AS  THE  HOME,  RESIDENCE  OR  SLEEPING
 PLACE OF ONE OR MORE HUMAN BEINGS.
   (B) "TENANT SCREENING REPORT" MEANS ANY WRITTEN, ORAL, OR OTHER COMMU-
 NICATION  OF ANY INFORMATION BY A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY BEARING ON A
 CONSUMER'S CREDIT WORTHINESS, CREDIT STANDING, CREDIT CAPACITY,  CHARAC-
 TER,  GENERAL  REPUTATION,  PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS, HISTORY OF CONTACT
 WITH ANY HOUSING, CIVIL OR CRIMINAL COURT  OF  ANY  STATE,  OR  MODE  OF
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD05961-01-7

 S. 3320                             2
 
 LIVING,  WHICH  IS USED FOR OR EXPECTED TO BE USED OR COLLECTED IN WHOLE
 OR PART FOR THE PURPOSE OF SERVING AS A FACTOR IN EVALUATING A  PROSPEC-
 TIVE TENANT.
   (C)  "PERSON"  MEANS  ANY  NATURAL  PERSON,  FIRM,  PARTNERSHIP, JOINT
 VENTURE, CORPORATION OR ASSOCIATION.
   (D) "CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY" MEANS ANY  PERSON  WHO,  FOR  MONETARY
 FEES,  DUES,  OR  ON A COOPERATIVE NONPROFIT BASIS, REGULARLY ENGAGES IN
 WHOLE OR IN PART IN THE PRACTICE OF ASSEMBLING  OR  EVALUATING  CONSUMER
 CREDIT  INFORMATION OR OTHER INFORMATION ON CONSUMERS FOR THE PURPOSE OF
 FURNISHING CONSUMER REPORTS, TENANT SCREENING REPORTS OR OTHER  INVESTI-
 GATIVE CONSUMER REPORTS TO THIRD PARTIES.
   2.  IT  SHALL BE AN UNLAWFUL PRACTICE FOR ANY PERSON, BEING THE OWNER,
 LANDLORD, LESSEE, PROPRIETOR, MANAGER, SUPERINTENDENT, AGENT OR EMPLOYEE
 OF ANY HOUSING ACCOMMODATION TO DENY ANY PERSON'S APPLICATION TO RENT OR
 LEASE A UNIT INTENDED TO BE  USED  PRIMARILY  FOR  RESIDENTIAL  PURPOSES
 BASED,  WHOLLY OR IN PART, ON INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM A TENANT SCREEN-
 ING REPORT.  IT SHALL ALSO BE UNLAWFUL TO DO SO BASED ON ANY INFORMATION
 INDICATING THAT SUCH PERSON WAS A LITIGANT IN AN  ACTION  OR  PROCEEDING
 BROUGHT  UNDER ARTICLE SEVEN OF THE REAL PROPERTY ACTIONS AND PROCEEDING
 LAW OR SECTION ONE HUNDRED TEN OF THE NEW YORK CITY CIVIL COURT  ACT  IN
 THE  SUPREME  COURT  OR  IN  THE HOUSING PART OF THE NEW YORK CITY CIVIL
 COURT, OR BASED ON ANY OF THE FACTS OR ALLEGED FACTS DERIVED FROM SUCH A
 PROCEEDING, UNLESS:
   (A) SUCH PERSON PREVIOUSLY APPEARED AS RESPONDENT OR DEFENDANT  IN  AN
 ACTION  TO  RECOVER  REAL  PROPERTY  OR  A SUMMARY PROCEEDING TO RECOVER
 POSSESSION OF REAL PROPERTY; AND
   (B) A JUDGE RULED IN FAVOR OF THE PETITIONER OR PLAINTIFF; AND
   (C) A WARRANT OF EVICTION WAS  ISSUED  AGAINST  SUCH  PERSON  IN  THAT
 ACTION OR PROCEEDING; AND
   (D) SUCH PERSON, HAD NOT ENTERED INTO A VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT, SUCH AS A
 STIPULATION,  CONSENT  DECREE,  OR  ANY  OTHER AGREEMENT CONSENTING TO A
 JUDGMENT OF POSSESSION.
   3. ANY PERSON AGGRIEVED BY A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION MAY MAINTAIN AN
 ACTION IN ANY COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION FOR:
   (A) AN INJUNCTION TO ENJOIN AND RESTRAIN SUCH UNLAWFUL PRACTICE;
   (B) ACTUAL DAMAGES SUSTAINED AS A RESULT OF SUCH UNLAWFUL PRACTICE;
   (C) COURT COSTS;
   (D) LEGAL FEES;
   (E) PUNITIVE DAMAGES AS DETERMINED BY THE TRIER OF FACT; AND
   (F) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES AS DETERMINED BY THE TRIER OF FACT.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  all
 landlord  tenant  relationships entered into or renewed on or after such
 date.

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Senate Bill S3320

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary Committee

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co-Sponsors

2017-S3320 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S3320 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S3320 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S3320 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Liz Krueger

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary Committee

Actions

co-Sponsors

Brad Hoylman-Sigal

Jose M. Serrano

2017-S3320 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S3320 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S3320 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S3320 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments