S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
7737
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
May 17, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. EPSTEIN, MOSLEY -- 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 the determination of whether an overcharge of rent is willful
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. 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 treble damage penalty 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 inter-
est. NEITHER THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE RENT OR A REFUND BY AN OWNER AFTER
THE SERVICE OF AN OVERCHARGE COMPLAINT SHALL BE A BASIS UPON WHICH THE
STATE DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL MAY DETERMINE THAT THE
OVERCHARGE WAS NOT WILLFUL. (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 annual
registration statement filed four years prior to the most recent regis-
tration statement, (or, if more recently filed, the initial registration
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11538-01-9
A. 7737 2
statement) plus in each case any subsequent lawful increases and adjust-
ments. Where the amount of rent set forth in the annual rent registra-
tion 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 accommodation, the legal regu-
lated 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 accommo-
dation (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 registration of the
accommodation cannot be established, such rent shall be established by
the division.
§ 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. NEITHER THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE RENT OR A REFUND BY AN OWNER AFTER
THE SERVICE OF AN OVERCHARGE COMPLAINT SHALL BE A BASIS UPON WHICH THE
STATE DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL MAY DETERMINE THAT THE
OVERCHARGE WAS NOT WILLFUL. (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 deemed to 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. (ii) As to complaints filed
within ninety days of the initial registration of a housing accommo-
dation, 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
A. 7737 3
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.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
ments to section 26-516 of chapter 4 of title 26 of the administrative
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 law as provided under section 26-520 of such law; and
provided that the amendments to section 12 of section 4 of 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.