Establishes additional causes of action under harassment of a rent regulated tenant; creates harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the second degree

Amends Section 241.05 adding paragraphs 3 and 4 by defining actions that violate the provisions of Section 241.10 that constitute harassment in the first degree, a class E felony, following a landlord or his/her authorized representative having received complaints on three successive occasions of conditions, conduct or circumstances which recklessly cause Physical injury to a third person, tenant or tenants.

The amended Section 241.10 defines harassment in the second degree with the intent to cause a tenant to vacate a rent regulated housing accommo- dation by knowingly or recklessly creating or maintaining conditions that endanger the health and safety of a tenant or tenants, who after three successive complaints have been ignored with regard to the conditions cited in the complaints. Section 241.10 is amended to include punitive fines of three thousand dollars for each offense.

Section 3 amends the state finance law establishing a dedicated Quality affordable housing preservation fund in the custody of DHCR and the State comptroller wherein the fines are to be deposited.

Justification

Poverty dictates housing choices, as such available and affordable housing for low-income families is generally found in communities with the oldest housing, the greatest need for improvements, rehabilitation and code compliance. Therefore, it is in this type of housing where maintenance has been deferred. As a consequence low- and moderate-income children are more likely to live in older deteriorated housing with lead Paint hazards, mold, vermin; multiple code violations which if left unchecked can significantly affect the health and threaten the lives of the tenants. Millions of New Yorkers live in housing with conditions that compromise the health or safety of an individual tenant or a considerable number of persons. In order to motivate rent regulated tenants into vacating their units, intentional negligence, detachment and overt actions by landlords or their representatives have created such conditions. Ordering that garbage not be removed; ignoring requests to address leaks that precipitate mold; not treating units to discourage vermin and rodent infestation; and broken windows or windows without guards, all contribute to long-term illness, high health costs, and potential fatalities. This same holds true for landlords or their representatives who allow individuals involved in illegal activities or in the distribution or sale of controlled substances to congregate

in communal areas of a property so as to threaten the health and wellbeing of tenants and as a tactical means intimidating tenants to vacate rent regulated units.

Mold, vermin and rodent infestations are major contributors to the asth- ma epidemic that afflicts 500,000 New York City low-income Latino and African-American residents of the City of New York, the majority of whom are children, to suffer disproportionally. According to the NYC Department of Mental Health and Hygiene the trigger effects of these conditions result in thousands of visits to hospital emergency rooms each year due to chronic lung inflammation and airway tightening resulting in coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. The department cites asthma as the leading cause of hospitalization of children and missed school days and one in four children. Over one hundred seventy-five landlords have become repeat offenders of conditions that are the petri dish for asthma and resulted in New York City having the highest incidents of asthma in the nation.

Hundreds of children are hurt or killed by falls that might have been prevented by window guards. However, many landlords fail to give tenants the forms that determine whether the apartment must have window guards. By law, forms headed NOTICE TO TENANT OR OCCUPANT or WINDOW GUARDS REQUIRED (which inform landlord that the window must have window guards) be filled within 30 days of when the tenant starts renting, and every year after that between January 1 and 16 (or with the January rent bill) lease.

While lead abatement has been required by law since 1982, hundreds of New York City children and elderly living in pre-War housing are subject the dangers posed by peeling and chipped lead paint and the potential brain damage brought about by elevated blood lead levels.

This law will ensure that landlords or their representatives accept accountability and responsibility for removing conditions, the presence of which, if ignored through negligence can result in illness, long term disability or death.

Effective date

Immediately.

Fiscal implications

Generation of revenue to support enforcement and housing preservation activities.