Senate Bill S1217

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1217
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  BAILEY,  HOYLMAN-SIGAL, KRUEGER, PARKER, SERRANO,
   STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and  when  printed  to  be
   committed  to  the  Committee  on  Housing, Construction and Community
   Development
 
 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 warehousing of housing accommodations and penalties therefor
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds and
 declares that each person in the state shall have a right to  be  housed
 and that such right to housing is a basic human right.
   The legislature further finds and declares that the practice of "ware-
 housing",  that  is  of intentionally withholding housing accommodations
 from the housing market, including the  withholding  of  apartments  for
 purposes  of  future  co-operative apartment conversion, has contributed
 significantly to the shortage of housing in this  state,  especially  in
 the city of New York.
   The  legislature further finds and declares that the practice of ware-
 housing has violated the right to housing of many of  the  citizens  and
 residents of this state.
   It  is thus the intent of the legislature to eliminate the practice of
 warehousing by providing strong penalties to deter such practice.
   § 2. Section 26-412 of the administrative code of the city of New York
 is amended by adding a new subdivision g to read as follows:
   G. IT SHALL BE UNLAWFUL TO HARASS A TENANT TO OBTAIN VACANCY  OF  SUCH
 TENANT'S HOUSING ACCOMMODATION OR TO HAVE INTENTIONALLY WITHHELD A HOUS-
 ING  ACCOMMODATION  FROM THE MARKET, INCLUDING WITHHOLDING SUCH ACCOMMO-
 DATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF FUTURE CO-OPERATIVE APARTMENT CONVERSION.  FOR
 THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, HARASSMENT CONSISTS OF ENGAGING  IN  A
 COURSE OF CONDUCT OR REPEATEDLY COMMITTING ACTS WHICH ALARM OR SERIOUSLY
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03223-01-5
              

 S. 1217                             2
 
 ANNOY A TENANT OR OTHER PERSON RESIDING IN THE TENANT'S HOUSING ACCOMMO-
 DATION AND WHICH SERVE NO LEGITIMATE PURPOSE.
   § 3. Paragraph 2 of subdivision c of section 26-516 of the administra-
 tive code of the city of New York, as amended by section 23 of part A of
 chapter 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   (2)  to  have harassed a tenant to obtain vacancy of [his or her] SUCH
 TENANT'S housing accommodation OR TO HAVE INTENTIONALLY WITHHELD A HOUS-
 ING ACCOMMODATION FROM THE MARKET, INCLUDING WITHHOLDING  SUCH  ACCOMMO-
 DATION  FOR THE PURPOSE OF FUTURE CO-OPERATIVE APARTMENT CONVERSION, the
 commissioner may impose by administrative order after hearing,  a  civil
 penalty  for  any  such violation. Such penalty shall be at a minimum in
 the amount of two thousand but not to exceed three thousand dollars  for
 the first such offense, and at minimum in the amount of ten thousand but
 not to exceed eleven thousand dollars for each subsequent offense or for
 a  violation  consisting of conduct directed at the tenants of more than
 one housing accommodation.
   § 4. Clause (ii) of paragraph 3 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 27
 of  part  A  of  chapter  20  of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as
 follows:
   (ii) to have harassed  a  tenant  to  obtain  vacancy  of  [his]  SUCH
 TENANT'S housing accommodation OR TO HAVE INTENTIONALLY WITHHELD A HOUS-
 ING  ACCOMMODATION  FROM THE MARKET, INCLUDING WITHHOLDING SUCH ACCOMMO-
 DATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF FUTURE CO-OPERATIVE APARTMENT CONVERSION,  the
 commissioner  may  impose by administrative order after hearing, a civil
 penalty for any such violation. Such penalty shall be at minimum in  the
 amount  of two thousand but not to exceed three thousand dollars for the
 first such offense, and at minimum in the amount of ten thousand but not
 to exceed eleven thousand dollars for each subsequent offense or  for  a
 violation consisting of conduct directed at the tenants of more than one
 housing accommodation.
   §  5.  This act shall take effect immediately provided that the amend-
 ment to section 26-412 of the city rent and rehabilitation law  made  by
 section  two  of  this act shall remain in full force and effect only so
 long as the public emergency requiring the  regulation  and  control  of
 residential  rents and evictions continues, as provided in subdivision 3
 of section 1 of the  local  emergency  housing  rent  control  act;  and
 provided  further  that  the  amendment  to  section  26-516 of the rent
 stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by  section  three
 of this act shall expire on the same date as such law expires.