S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5616
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 17, 2023
                                ___________
 
 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 times the amount of such over-
 charge.  If the owner establishes by a  preponderance  of  the  evidence
 that  the  overcharge was neither willful nor attributable to his negli-
 gence, the state division of housing and community renewal shall  estab-
 lish  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.  After  a  complaint  of  rent
 overcharge  has been filed and served on an owner, the voluntary adjust-
 ment of the rent and/or the voluntary tender of a refund of  rent  over-
 charges shall not be considered by the division of housing and community

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD09839-01-3
              

 A. 5616                             2
 
 renewal  or a court of competent jurisdiction as evidence that the over-
 charge 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 most recent reliable annual registration statement for a rent stabi-
 lized 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.   (III) FAILURE TO FILE AN ANNUAL RENT
 REGISTRATION STATEMENT SHALL RESULT IN A FINE OF  TWO  THOUSAND  DOLLARS
 PER  UNREGISTERED HOUSING ACCOMMODATION, MADE PAYABLE TO THE STATE DIVI-
 SION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL.
   § 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 times  the  amount  of
 such  overcharge.    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 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 jurisdiction 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  investi-
 gating complaints of overcharge and in determining legal regulated rent,
 shall  consider all available rent history which is reasonably necessary
 to make such determinations. (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
 A. 5616                             3
 
 years  prior  to  the  date  of  the initial registration of the housing
 accommodation (or, if the 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 registra-
 tion of the accommodation cannot be  established,  such  rent  shall  be
 established  by  the  division.    (III)  FAILURE TO FILE AN ANNUAL RENT
 REGISTRATION STATEMENT SHALL RESULT IN A FINE OF  TWO  THOUSAND  DOLLARS
 PER  UNREGISTERED HOUSING ACCOMMODATION, MADE PAYABLE TO THE STATE DIVI-
 SION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
 the  amendments  to  the  opening  paragraph of subdivision a of section
 26-516 of chapter 4 of title 26 of the administrative 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.