What's happening
This bill makes owners of illegal rentals presumed liable for injury or death resulting from negligent maintenance under New York law.
Why it matters
Shifts Significant Legal Risk to Landlords. By creating a presumption of liability, the bill makes it far easier to hold landlords of illegal rentals criminally responsible if someone is injured or killed due to negligent maintenance, potentially leading to more prosecutions and civil suits.
Expands Who Is Protected. The new language covers not only residents living in illegal rentals but also first responders or Good Samaritans who are injured or killed while rescuing or assisting victims, broadening the law’s impact.
Raises the Stakes for Code Violations. By tying negligent maintenance of illegal rentals directly to criminal charges—specifically reckless endangerment and criminally negligent homicide—the bill significantly increases the consequences for property owners who violate housing codes.
Could Spur Greater Municipal Enforcement. The threat of criminal liability may motivate landlords to legalize units or improve safety, and could encourage local governments to be more proactive in identifying and addressing illegal rentals to prevent tragedies and legal fallout.
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Who cares
Owners of illegal rental units
The bill would presume them liable under reckless endangerment and criminally negligent homicide laws when residents or people rescuing or assisting them suffer serious injury or death.
Residents of illegal rentals
The bill would expand criminal liability for owners whose negligent maintenance makes residents victims.
Firefighters and other rescuers
The bill would extend owner liability to cases in which people rescuing or assisting residents of illegal rentals suffer serious physical injury or death.
Prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys
The bill would add illegal-rental ownership provisions to second-degree reckless endangerment and criminally negligent homicide laws.
Headline styles
Hold Landlords Liable for Injuries
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Held for consideration in judiciary
- Referred to judiciary
- Referred to judiciary
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2258
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 17, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. MONTESANO, M. G. MILLER, RAIA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law and the penal law, in relation to liability of owners of illegal rentals if a resident or certain other person is injured or dies related to such owner's negligent maintenance of such illegal rental
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new section 99-x to read as follows:
§ 99-x. Liability of owners of illegal rentals. In the case of serious injury or death of any resident of an illegal rental, or person involved in rescuing or assisting victims living in an illegal rental, the owner of such illegal rental shall be presumed liable pursuant to sections 120.20 and 125.10 of the penal law.
§ 2. The first undesignated paragraph of section 120.20 of the penal law is amended to read as follows:
A person is guilty of reckless endangerment in the second degree when:
(a) he or she recklessly engages in conduct which creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person; or
(b) he or she is an owner of an illegal rental unit and a resident of such unit is a victim of such owner's negligent maintenance of such rental, or a person involved in rescuing or assisting such victims in such illegal rental suffers serious physical injury.
§ 3. The first undesignated paragraph of section 125.10 of the penal law is amended to read as follows:
A person is guilty of criminally negligent homicide when[,]:
(a) with criminal negligence, he or she causes the death of another person; or
(b) he or she is an owner of an illegal rental unit and a resident of such unit is a victim of such owner's negligent maintenance of such
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06081-01-7
A. 2258 2
rental, or a person involved in rescuing or assisting such victims in such illegal rental suffers death.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.