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History
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Requires a landlord to have clean hands to bring action for rent or eviction in certain cases
In Assembly Committee · Housing · Sponsor Linda Rosenthal
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S5438
Title of bill
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 conditions precedent to the bringing of certain actions or proceedings
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill makes unlawful the practice of bringing eviction proceedings for nonpayment of rent against tenant(s) if the building is in violation of a building code,
Summary of specific provisions
Amends the administrative code of the City of New York to prevent a tenant or tenants from being evicted for nonpayment of rent if their building is in violation of the building code. If a landlord disputes the violation, the bill requires that the tenants in question pay their rent to an interest bearing account maintained by the court until the dispute is resolved. a) If the dispute is resolved in favor of the landlord, he or she shall be paid the monies from said account along with any interest accrued. b) If the violation is determined to be legitimate, the monies are to be used first to correct the violation, and the remainder, if any, given to the landlord along with any interest.
Justification
It is not an uncommon practice for tenants to "rent-strike" if they feel that there are gross violations of the building code. This bill would protect tenants from being evicted during such rent withholding periods, and at the same time protect landlords from frivolous rent strikes by requiring that the court collect rents during the period of any disputed violation. Thus, the bill is a fair compromise; granting each side protection from and rights against the other. One advantage of this bill (over current law) is the provision for the court to apply the monies in the aforementioned account directly to remedy any (proved) violation. This way the tenants are assured that reasons for their strike will no longer exist and their concerns are met, while at the same time guaranteeing the landlord that the tenant will not live rent-free for months and then move out.
Prior legislative history
A.4545 of 2009-2012 A.3986 of 2007-2008 A.5586 of 2005-2006 A.5775 of 2003-2004 A.4765 of 2001-2002 A.6615 of 1999-2000 A.2736 of 1997-1998 A.1754 of 1995-1996 A.3980 of 1993-1994 A.1300 of 1991-1992
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.