Assembly Bill A6266

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to providing enhanced enforcement of the warranty of habitability for housing accommodations

download bill text pdf

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly 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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2019-A6266 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:
S4794
Current Committee:
Assembly Housing
Law Section:
Real Property Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §235-b, RP L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2013-2014: A6842, S5474
2015-2016: A6750, S2758
2017-2018: A6256, S3618
2021-2022: A5546, S5070
2023-2024: A2042, S6010

2019-A6266 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides for enhanced enforcement of the warranty of habitability for housing accommodations; provides court may award punitive damages to a tenant upon finding the landlord's breach of warranty was intentional and malicious.

2019-A6266 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6266
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               March 4, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. WALKER -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Housing
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to enforcement of the
   warranty of habitability
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Legislative findings and purpose.  The  legislature  hereby
 finds that the rental housing market in the state of New York remains in
 a state of crisis, due not only to severe shortages in the stock of safe
 and  affordable  housing  but  also to the state of disrepair and blight
 that afflicts rental housing opportunities available to people of  lower
 incomes  throughout  the  state.  The legislature further finds that the
 warranty of habitability set forth in section 235-b of the real property
 law represents a critical safeguard of the health and safety of  tenants
 across the state of New York by requiring that all rental housing accom-
 modations  be  maintained  in  a  safe  and  sanitary  condition for the
 tenants; that enforcement efforts by the several agencies of the city of
 New York and the state of New York, although often successful,  are  not
 always  sufficient to deter such breaches of the warranty by such owners
 and landlords, so that in spite of  the  protections  provided  by  law,
 every  year  many  tenants  in the state of New York must endure housing
 conditions that fail to meet the basic standards of safety  required  by
 law.  In  light  of the foregoing, the legislature hereby finds that the
 state of New York must adopt additional measures to deter the most egre-
 gious breaches of the warranty of  habitability  set  forth  in  section
 235-b  of the real property law, and that the codification of law award-
 ing punitive damages to tenants who suffer intentional breaches  of  the
 warranty  is an appropriate method to realize such a purpose. The legis-
 lature therefore enacts the following law granting the courts discretion
 to award punitive damages in cases where the  warranty  of  habitability
 set  forth  in section 235-b of the real property law is breached inten-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

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