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History
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Notice of committee consideration - requested
- Referred to judiciary
- Referred to judiciary
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S905
Title of bill
An act to amend the real property law, in relation to fees landlords may charge tenants
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill would allow landlords to charge potential tenants application fees no greater than the actual cost of a credit check or the related services paid to a third party by the landlord.
Summary of specific provisions
Subdivision 1 of the bill defines "application fees", "potential tenants", and "landlords" for the purposes of the new section. Subdivision 2 would allow a landlord to charge an application fee equal to the cost of services paid for by the landlord to a third party. Subdivision 3 would enable a potential tenant to file a complaint with the division of housing and community renewal. If the division determines that the landlord has violated this section a fine of one hundred dollars for a first or second violation may be imposed and a third or subsequent violation may be subject to a fine of two hundred fifty dollars.
Justification
This legislation would strike a balance between providing necessary protection for tenants and enabling landlords to recover the actual costs involved in researching and verifying the credit histories of potential tenants. The practice of charging prospective tenants "application fees" is completely unregulated under present law. As a result, consumers in tight rental markets throughout New York State have been forced to pay as much as $150 just to be considered for rental.
This legislation would curb the abuses which regularly take place in the absence of regulation. Consumer credit reports obtained by TRW and other reporting agencies vary in price, but can be obtained easily through a variety of sources for less than $20.
Legislative history
2009-2010: S.4259-C
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.