S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
116
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, GLICK, DINOWITZ, COLTON -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. CARROLL, GALEF, PERRY -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seven-
ty-four, in relation to protecting the home of a tenant sought by a
landlord for personal use; and repealing certain provisions of the
administrative code of the city of New York and the emergency housing
rent control law relating to evictions for personal use
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Paragraph 1 of subdivision b of section 26-408 of the
administrative code of the city of New York is REPEALED.
§ 2. Subparagraph (b) of paragraph 9 of subdivision c of section
26-511 of the administrative code of the city of New York is REPEALED.
§ 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 5 of chapter 274 of the
laws of 1946, constituting the emergency housing rent control law, is
REPEALED.
§ 4. Subdivision a of section 10 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the
laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nine-
teen seventy-four, as amended by section 15 of part Q of chapter 39 of
the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
a. For cities having a population of less than one million and towns
and villages, the state division of housing and community renewal shall
be empowered to implement this act by appropriate regulations. Such
regulations may encompass such speculative or manipulative practices or
renting or leasing practices as the state division of housing and commu-
nity renewal determines constitute or are likely to cause circumvention
of this act. Such regulations shall prohibit practices which are likely
to prevent any person from asserting any right or remedy granted by this
act, including but not limited to retaliatory termination of periodic
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00177-01-1
A. 116 2
tenancies and shall require owners to grant a new one or two year vacan-
cy or renewal lease at the option of the tenant, except where a mortgage
or mortgage commitment existing as of the local effective date of this
act provides that the owner shall not grant a one-year lease; and shall
prescribe standards with respect to the terms and conditions of new and
renewal leases, additional rent and such related matters as security
deposits, advance rental payments, the use of escalator clauses in leas-
es and provision for increase in rentals for garages and other ancillary
facilities, so as to ensure that the level of rent adjustments author-
ized under this law will not be subverted and made ineffective. [Any] NO
provision of the regulations [permitting] SHALL PERMIT an owner to
refuse to renew a lease on grounds that the owner seeks to recover
possession of a housing accommodation for his or her own use and occu-
pancy or for the use and occupancy of his or her immediate family [shall
permit recovery of only one housing accommodation, shall require that an
owner demonstrate immediate and compelling need and that the housing
accommodation will be the proposed occupants' primary residence and
shall not apply where a member of the housing accommodation is sixty-two
years of age or older, has been a tenant in a housing accommodation in
that building for fifteen years or more, or has an impairment which
results from anatomical, physiological or psychological conditions,
other than addiction to alcohol, gambling, or any controlled substance,
which are demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory
diagnostic techniques, and which are expected to be permanent and which
prevent the tenant from engaging in any substantial gainful employment;
provided, however, that a tenant required to surrender a housing accom-
modation under this subdivision shall have a cause of action in any
court of competent jurisdiction for damages, declaratory, and injunctive
relief against a landlord or purchaser of the premises who makes a frau-
dulent statement regarding a proposed use of the housing accommodation.
In any action or proceeding brought pursuant to this subdivision a
prevailing tenant shall be entitled to recovery of actual damages, and
reasonable attorneys' fees].
§ 5. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application
of any provision of this act, is held to be invalid, that shall not
affect the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of this act,
any other application of any provision of this act, or any other
provision of any law or code amended by this act.
§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately; and
a. shall apply to any tenant in possession of a housing accommodation
at or after the effective date of this act, regardless of whether the
landlord's or owner's application for an order, refusal to renew a
lease, or refusal to extend or renew a tenancy took place before this
act shall have taken effect; and
b. the repeal of provisions of law made by this act shall not affect
the availability of any right or remedy relating to any housing accommo-
dation where the landlord or owner recovered possession under such
provision prior to the taking effect of this act.
REPEAL NOTE.--The provisions of law proposed to be repealed by this
act allow a landlord of a rent controlled or rent stabilized apartment
to evict a tenant where the landlord seeks the apartment for the use and
occupancy of the landlord or the landlord's immediate family.