What's happening
This bill increases penalties for landlords who fail to file proper or timely rent registration statements, imposing a $2,000 fine per unregistered unit.
Why it matters
Creates a strong financial deterrent for non-compliant landlords. By imposing a $2,000 fine per unregistered unit, the bill makes it much more costly for landlords to neglect or delay rent registration, incentivizing better compliance with housing regulations.
Aims to improve oversight and transparency in the rental market. Accurate and timely rent registration is crucial for tracking legal rents, preventing illegal overcharges, and ensuring tenants' rights are protected. This legislation seeks to close loopholes that allow landlords to avoid transparency.
Separates penalties for overcharging and registration violations. The bill clarifies that the triple damages penalty for rent overcharges cannot be applied solely due to registration failures, but introduces a clear and significant standalone penalty for those failures. This distinction may help both tenants and landlords understand their rights and responsibilities more clearly.
Impacts both tenants and housing enforcement agencies. Tenants may benefit from improved enforcement of rent laws and more reliable rent histories, while the Division of Housing and Community Renewal gains a new revenue stream to support its oversight activities.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Fine Landlords for Late Registration
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
- Referred to housing, construction and community development
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
105
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 4, 2017
Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN, RIVERA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development
AN ACT to amend the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to penalties for owners of property who fail to file a proper or timely rent registration statement
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The opening paragraph of paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 12 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974 constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, as amended by chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
Subject to the conditions and limitations of this paragraph, any owner of housing accommodations in a city having a population of less than one million or a town or village as to which an emergency has been declared pursuant to section three, who, upon complaint of a tenant or of the state division of housing and community renewal, is found by the state division of housing and community renewal, after a reasonable opportunity to be heard, to have collected an overcharge above the rent authorized for a housing accommodation subject to this act shall be liable to the tenant for a penalty equal to three times the amount of such overcharge. [In no event shall such] A treble damage penalty shall be assessed against an owner based solely on said owner's failure to file a proper or timely initial or annual rent registration statement. If the owner establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the overcharge was neither willful nor attributable to his negligence, the state division of housing and community renewal shall establish the penalty as the amount of the overcharge plus interest at the rate of interest payable on a judgment pursuant to section five thousand four of the civil prac-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05269-01-7
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tice law and rules. (i) Except as to complaints filed pursuant to clause (ii) of this paragraph, the legal regulated rent for purposes of determining an overcharge, shall be deemed to be the rent indicated in the most recent annual registration statement filed [four years prior to the most recent registration statement, (or, if more recently filed, the initial registration statement)], plus in each case any subsequent lawful increases and adjustments. [Where the amount of rent set forth in the annual rent registration statement filed four years prior to the most recent registration statement is not challenged within four years of its filing, neither such rent nor service of any registration shall be subject to challenge at any time thereafter.] (ii) As to complaints filed within ninety days of the initial registration of a housing accommodation, the legal regulated rent for purposes of determining an overcharge shall be deemed to be the rent charged on the date four years prior to the date of the initial registration of the housing accommodation (or, if the housing accommodation was subject to this act for less than four years, the initial legal regulated rent) plus in each case, any lawful increases and adjustments. Where the rent charged on the date four years prior to the date of the initial registration of the accommodation cannot be established, such rent shall be established by the division. [Where the amount of rent set forth in the annual rent registration statement filed four years prior to the most recent registration statement is not challenged within four years of its filing, neither such rent nor service of any registration shall be subject to challenge at any time thereafter.] (iii) Failure to file an annual rent registration statement, shall result in a fine of two thousand dollars, per unregistered housing accommodation made payable to the state division of housing and community renewal.
§ 2. The opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 26-516 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
Subject to the conditions and limitations of this subdivision, any owner of housing accommodations who, upon complaint of a tenant, or of the state division of housing and community renewal, is found by the state division of housing and community renewal, after a reasonable opportunity to be heard, to have collected an overcharge above the rent authorized for a housing accommodation subject to this chapter shall be liable to the tenant for a penalty equal to three times the amount of such overcharge. [In no event shall such] A treble damage penalty shall be assessed against an owner based solely on said owner's failure to file a timely or proper initial or annual rent registration statement. If the owner establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the overcharge was not willful, the state division of housing and community renewal shall establish the penalty as the amount of the overcharge plus interest. (i) Except as to complaints filed pursuant to clause (ii) of this paragraph, the legal regulated rent for purposes of determining an overcharge, shall be the rent indicated in the most recent annual registration statement filed [four years prior to the most recent registration statement, (or, if more recently filed, the initial registration statement)], plus in each case any subsequent lawful increases and adjustments. [Where the amount of rent set forth in the annual rent registration statement filed four years prior to the most recent registration statement is not challenged within four years of its filing, neither such rent nor service of any registration shall be subject to challenge at any time thereafter.] (ii) As to complaints filed within ninety days of the initial registration of a housing accommodation, the
S. 105 3
legal regulated rent shall be deemed to be the rent charged on the date four years prior to the date of the initial registration of the housing accommodation (or, if the housing accommodation was subject to this chapter for less than four years, the initial legal regulated rent) plus in each case, any lawful increases and adjustments. Where the rent charged on the date four years prior to the date of the initial registration of the accommodation cannot be established, such rent shall be established by the division. (iii) Failure to file an annual rent registration statement, shall result in a fine of two thousand dollars, per unregistered housing accommodation made payable to the state division of housing and community renewal.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that the amendments to the opening paragraph of paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 12 of the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four made by section one of this act shall expire on the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, and that the amendments to the opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 26-516 of chapter 4 of title 26 of the administrative code of the city of New York made by section two of this act shall expire on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four and the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to penalties for owners of property who fail to file a proper or timely rent registration statement
Purpose or general idea of bill
To encourage building owners to file timely registration documentation with the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR).
Summary of specific provisions
Section one amends the opening paragraph of paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 12 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974 constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, as amended by chapter 116 of the laws of 1997.
Section two amends the opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 26-516 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as amended by chapter 116 of the laws of 1997.
Section three sets forth the effective date.
Justification
New York's rent-stabilization program signals the enduring commitment of elected offices to ensure an adequate supply of affordable housing for low-and-middle-income families. Today, our rent-stabilization laws continue to shield hard working New Yorkers from the shrinking occupancy of affordable apartments in New York City.
This informs the agency of the rent that is being charged for a specific rent-stabilized apartment and ensures that the owner's correct and up-to-date information is available to the state. A copy of the registration paperwork is also required to be sent to the tenant, providing protections against overcharges.
The filing of this paperwork serves many purposes and creating a penalty for the failure to file will help the State to keep track of rent-regulated units and empower tenants to assert their rights relative to their Rent-Regulated leases.
Prior legislative history
S.6757 of 2016 (Hoylman): Died in Housing, Construction & Community Development
Fiscal implications
Unknown.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that the amendments to the opening paragraph of paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 12 of the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four made by section one of this act shall expire on the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, and that the amendments to the opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 26-516 of chapter 4 of title 26 of the administrative code of the city of New York made by section two of this act shall expire on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law.
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