Assembly Bill A2332

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2332
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 14, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Housing
 
 AN ACT to amend the emergency tenant protection act of  nineteen  seven-
   ty-four,  and  the  administrative  code  of  the city of New York, in
   relation to penalties for owners of property who fail to file a proper
   or timely rent registration statement

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  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 section 1 of part F of chapter 36 of the laws of 2019, 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]  AT  LEAST  THREE  TIMES  THE
 AMOUNT,  NOT  TO EXCEED FIVE times the amount of such overcharge. If the
 owner establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the overcharge
 was neither willful nor attributable to his OR HER 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 paya-
 ble on a judgment pursuant to section five thousand four  of  the  civil
 practice  law  and  rules. After a complaint of rent overcharge has been
 filed and served on an owner,  the  voluntary  adjustment  of  the  rent
 and/or the voluntary tender of a refund of rent overcharges shall not be
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD00716-01-1

 A. 2332                             2
 
 considered  by  the division of housing and community renewal or a court
 of competent jurisdiction as evidence that the overcharge was not  will-
 ful.  (i)  Except as to complaints filed pursuant to clause (ii) of this
 paragraph, the legal regulated rent for purposes of determining an over-
 charge,  shall  be  deemed  to  be the rent indicated in the most recent
 reliable annual registration statement  for  a  rent  stabilized  tenant
 filed  and  served  upon  the tenant six or more 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. The division of housing and community renewal
 or a court of competent jurisdiction,  in  investigating  complaints  of
 overcharge  and  in determining legal regulated rent, shall consider all
 available rent history which is reasonably necessary to make such deter-
 minations. (ii) As to complaints filed within ninety days of the initial
 registration of a housing accommodation, the legal  regulated  rent  for
 purposes  of  determining  an  overcharge shall be deemed to be the rent
 charged on the date six years prior to the date of the initial registra-
 tion of the housing accommodation (or, if the housing accommodation  was
 subject to this act for less than six years, the initial legal regulated
 rent) plus in each case, any lawful increases and adjustments. Where the
 rent  charged  on  the  date  six 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 subdivision  a of section 26-516 of  the
 administrative  code of the city of New York, as amended by section 4 of
 part F of chapter 36 of the laws of 2019, 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] AT LEAST THREE TIMES
 THE AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED FIVE times the amount of such  overcharge.  If
 the  owner establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the over-
 charge was not willful, the state  division  of  housing  and  community
 renewal shall establish the penalty as the amount of the overcharge plus
 interest. After a complaint of rent overcharge has been filed and served
 on  an  owner, the voluntary adjustment of the rent and/or the voluntary
 tender of a refund of rent overcharges shall not be  considered  by  the
 division of housing and community renewal or a court of competent juris-
 diction  as  evidence 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 most recent reliable annual registration statement
 filed  and  served  upon  the tenant six or more 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. The division of housing and community renewal
 or a court of competent jurisdiction,  in  investigating  complaints  of
 overcharge  and  in determining legal regulated rent, shall consider all
 available rent history which is reasonably necessary to make such deter-
 minations. (ii) As to complaints filed within ninety days of the initial
 registration of a housing accommodation, the legal regulated rent  shall
 be deemed to be the rent charged on the date six years prior to the date
 of  the  initial  registration  of the housing accommodation (or, if the

 A. 2332                             3
 
 housing accommodation was subject to this  chapter  for  less  than  six
 years,  the  initial legal regulated rent) plus in each case, any lawful
 increases and adjustments. Where the rent charged on the date six  years
 prior  to  the  date  of  the  initial registration of the accommodation
 cannot be established, such rent shall be established by the division.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
 the  amendments to section 26-516 of chapter 4 of title 26 of the admin-
 istrative code of the city of New York made by section two 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.