Senate Bill S368

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S368

SPONSOR: HOYLMAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the penal law, in relation to including filing certain
building permit applications containing false statements regarding
tenant occupancy in the offense of offering a false instrument for
filing in the first degree

 
PURPOSE OF BILL:

For far too long, property owners have submitted applications for
permits for construction that falsely state there are no tenants living
in their building. This is done when unethical property owners acquire
buildings with rent-regulated tenants. The false application allows
property owners to engage in dangerous construction that is so extreme
as so make the units uninhabitable. Once tenants are forced out, the
landlord can make the units fair market value and turn a profit. This
disrupts rent stabilization and affordable housing availability in New
York. This bill provides that filing such an application knowing there
are false representations regarding tenant occupancy shall qualify as
              

offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, constituting
a class E felony.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Section 175.35 of the penal law, as amended by the
chapter 490 of the laws of 2013 to add that when an individual presents
to a public office, public servant, public authority or public benefit
corporation a building permit application to demolish or significantly
alter a property in a city with a population of one million or more
knowing that such building contains a false statement or false informa-
tion regarding tenant occupancy shall be considered offering a false .
instrument for filing in the first degree, which is a class E felony.

Section 2 establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Abusive and unethical property owners acquire property filled with rent-
stabilized low-income tenants with the intention of forcing them out and
renting the apartments at market value. These property owners frequently
submit false applications for demolition or substantial renovation. They
then engage in "constructive eviction." The property owner will refuse
to provide heating or water, or use the act of demolition itself as
harassment by making it so extensive and unbearable that the tenant is
forced to move out. Because the property owner has represented to the
government that there are no tenants, they do not have to institute
protections for tenants guaranteed by the government or provide any of
the usual safety or health requirements present for renovations.
Tenants often do not know they have any recourse because there are no
posted permits alerting them to the right to tenant protection.

In 2018, it was revealed that Jared Kushner's real estate company filed
more than 80 construction permit applications for 34 buildings across
New York City between 2013 and 2016, stating that it had no rent-regu-
lated tenants, when in fact there were over 300 rent-regulated units. He
then used aggressive means of renovation to force the most vulnerable
rent-regulated tenants to vacate their apartments and returned those
apartments to market value in order to turn a profit.

Unfortunately, this is actually a widespread practice. Landlords regu-
larly engage in this behavior, systematically reducing the availability
of affordable housing. This bill aims to put a stop to this by making
the filing of an application that falsely states there are no tenants a
class E felony, thus deterring the behavior.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.2251 of 2019-2020 (Hoylman): Died in Codes
S.8573 of 2018 (Hoylman): Died in Codes

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall become effective on the first of November next succeeding
the date upon which it shall become a law.