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.