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Senate Bill S421

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires landlords to mitigate damages when commercial tenants vacate premises in violation of the terms of the lease

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Judiciary Committee

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2025-S421 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:
A2611
Current Committee:
Senate Judiciary
Law Section:
Real Property Law
Laws Affected:
Amd §227-e, RP L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:
2019-2020: S7053, A8482
2021-2022: S1129, A6906
2023-2024: S2134, A2729

2025-S421 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires landlords to mitigate damages when commercial tenants vacate premises in violation of the terms of the lease.

2025-S421 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S421 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf 

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    421
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  LIU  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation  to  requiring  land-
   lords  to  mitigate damages when commercial tenants vacate premises in
   violation of the terms of the lease
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 227-e of the real property law, as added by section
 4  of  part  M  of chapter 36 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as
 follows:
   § 227-e. Landlord duty to mitigate damages. In  any  lease  or  rental
 agreement,  excluding any real estate purchase contract defined in para-
 graphs (a), (c) and (d) of subdivision  four  of  section  four  hundred
 sixty-one  of  this  chapter,  [covering  premises occupied for dwelling
 purposes,] if a tenant vacates a premises in violation of the  terms  of
 the  lease, the landlord shall, in good faith and according to the land-
 lord's resources and abilities, take reasonable and customary actions to
 rent the premises at fair market value or at the rate agreed  to  during
 the  term  of the tenancy, whichever is lower. If the landlord rents the
 premises at fair market value or at the rate agreed to during  the  term
 of  the tenancy, the new tenant's lease shall, once in effect, terminate
 the previous tenant's lease and mitigate damages  otherwise  recoverable
 against  the previous tenant because of such tenant's vacating the prem-
 ises. The burden of proof shall be  on  the  party  seeking  to  recover
 damages.  Any  provision  in  a  lease that exempts a landlord's duty to
 mitigate damages under this section shall be void as contrary to  public
 policy.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01676-01-5

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