What's happening
This bill allows courts to award punitive damages to tenants when landlords intentionally or recklessly violate the warranty of habitability.
Why it matters
Raises the stakes for landlords. by exposing them to punitive (not just compensatory) damages, creating a stronger financial deterrent against deliberate or reckless neglect of tenant living conditions.
Empowers tenants. who suffer the most severe or intentional violations with the potential for greater legal remedies, recognizing the serious harm that unsafe or unhealthy housing can cause.
Signals a policy shift. toward holding landlords accountable for egregious behavior, not just basic noncompliance, which could encourage better maintenance and safer housing standards across the rental market.
Provides courts with clear discretion. to assess the landlord’s intent and the severity of risk, potentially leading to more nuanced and just outcomes in habitability disputes.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Punish Unsafe Landlords
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to judiciary
- Referred to judiciary
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.
Punish Negligent Landlords
In Assembly Committee · Housing · Sponsor Latrice Walker
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3618
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 25, 2017
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to enforcement of the warranty of habitability
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Legislative findings and purpose. The legislature hereby finds that the rental housing market in the state of New York remains in a state of crisis, due not only to severe shortages in the stock of safe and affordable housing but also to the state of disrepair and blight that afflicts rental housing opportunities available to people of lower incomes throughout the state. The legislature further finds that the warranty of habitability set forth in section 235-b of the real property law represents a critical safeguard of the health and safety of tenants across the state of New York by requiring that all rental housing accommodations be maintained in a safe and sanitary condition for the tenants; that enforcement efforts by the several agencies of the city of New York and the state of New York, although often successful, are not always sufficient to deter such breaches of the warranty by such owners and landlords, so that in spite of the protections provided by law, every year many tenants in the state of New York must endure housing conditions that fail to meet the basic standards of safety required by law. In light of the foregoing, the legislature hereby finds that the state of New York must adopt additional measures to deter the most egregious breaches of the warranty of habitability set forth in section 235-b of the real property law, and that the codification of law awarding punitive damages to tenants who suffer intentional breaches of the warranty is an appropriate method to realize such a purpose. The legislature therefore enacts the following law granting the courts discretion to award punitive damages in cases where the warranty of habitability set forth in section 235-b of the real property law is breached inten-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07368-01-7
S. 3618 2
tionally or with conscious disregard to severe risks to the life, health, or safety of the tenant.
§ 2. Section 235-b of the real property law is amended by adding a new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
4. The court may award punitive damages to the tenant upon a finding that the landlord's breach of the warranty set forth in this section was intentional and malicious or demonstrates a conscious disregard of severe risks to the life, health, or safety of the tenant.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a 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 real property law, in relation to enforcement of the warranty of habitability
Purpose or general idea of bill
The purpose of this bill is to amend the Real Property Law by granting the courts discretion to award punitive damages in cases where the warranty of habitability is breached intentionally or with conscious disregard to severe risks to the life, health, or safety of the tenant.
Summary of specific provisions
This bill is to amend the Real Property Law by granting the courts discretion to award punitive damages in cases where the warranty of habitability is breached intentionally or with conscious. disregard to severe risks to the life, health, or safety of the tenant.
Justification
Although the courts have awarded punitive damages for breach of the warranty of habitability in certain egregious cases, the circumstances in which punitive damages may be granted are defined solely with respect to specific fact patterns addressed in existing decisional law. Without a clear statutory mandate to award punitive damages in egregious cases where the warranty is breached, the courts may be reluctant to extend the application of existing case law, even in cases where doing so may be merited for deterrence purposes.
This bill would remedy that problem by declaring that the policy of the State of New York is to deter intentional violations of the warranty of habitability through awards of punitive damages when necessary. Accordingly, this bill would amend section 235-b of the Real Property Law by adding a new subdivision to the warranty of habitability statute. The new subdivision would grant courts the authority to issue punitive damage awards as a matter of law in cases where the warranty is breached intentionally or with a conscious disregard for the life, health, or safety of the tenant. By officially sanctioning the use of punitive damage awards as for deterrence purposes in egregious cases, this bill enables courts to award such damages with the imprimitur of the legislature rather than on the solely analogical and sometimes speculative basis of existing case law.
In doing so, this bill would both codify and expand the bases for awards of punitive awards under existing decisional law. The cases currently recognize intentional violations of the warranty as a basis for punitive damages (See Minjak Co., v. Randolph, 140 A.D.2d 245; 528 N.Y.S.2d 554, 1st Dept 1988), but there is no clear basis in case law for awarding such damages in cases where conclusive evidence of an intentional breach is lacking, even though the landlord may have consciously disregarded severe risk to the health and safety of the tenants. In those cases, this bill would place such damage awards within the sound discretion of the court and would provide a clear articulation of the legislative purpose for authorizing such awards.
Prior legislative history
2015-16: S.2758/A.6750 - Referred to Judiciary 2013-14: S.5474 - Referred to Judiciary 2009-10: A.5662 - Referred to Housing 2007-08: A.9494A - Died in Rules
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
None.
Effective date
This bill would take effect on the ninetieth day after becoming law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.