What's happening
This bill protects senior citizens from unwarranted eviction by requiring additional court procedures and legal representation before eviction can proceed.
Why it matters
Expands legal definitions to explicitly include senior citizens (62+) and their spouses, ensuring they’re identified in eviction proceedings. This means landlords must state in eviction filings whether the tenant qualifies as a senior, which triggers additional protections.
Requires landlords to affirmatively prove the tenant is not a senior citizen before a default eviction can proceed. If a landlord can’t make this claim, the court must intervene and appoint an attorney for the senior respondent, adding a critical safeguard against automatic evictions.
Mandates court-appointed legal representation for unrepresented senior citizens facing eviction. This provision helps ensure that vulnerable seniors have access to legal advocacy—even if they don’t or can’t appear in court themselves—thereby reducing the risk of wrongful or uninformed loss of housing.
Imposes strict penalties for violations, including criminal charges and significant fines for false affidavits or improper evictions of seniors. This deterrent aims to ensure landlords and others take the new requirements seriously, offering real consequences for attempts to bypass senior protections.
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Who cares
Tenants age 62 or older and people living with a spouse age 62 or older
The bill would require appointment of an attorney before a court authorizes a default eviction judgment against them.
Landlords and eviction petitioners
They would have to state whether respondents are senior citizens and file affidavits addressing that status before obtaining default judgments, with misdemeanor penalties for knowingly false affidavits or unlawful senior evictions.
Courts handling residential evictions
They would oversee additional default-judgment safeguards, appoint attorneys for senior respondents and have discretion to stay proceedings for up to three months.
Headline styles
Protect Seniors from Eviction
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to housing
- Referred to housing
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1095
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. GLICK, ENGLEBRIGHT, L. ROSENTHAL, GOTTFRIED -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. COLTON, CYMBROWITZ, DINOWITZ, ORTIZ, PERRY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the real property actions and proceedings law, in relation to establishing protection for senior citizens against unwarranted eviction
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 111 of the real property actions and proceedings law is amended by adding a new subdivision 6 to read as follows:
6. As used in this chapter, the term "senior citizen" means a person who is sixty-two years of age or older or a person who resides with a spouse who is sixty-two years of age or older.
§ 2. Subdivision 2 of section 741 of the real property actions and proceedings law, as added by chapter 312 of the laws of 1962, is amended to read as follows:
2. State the respondent's interest in the premises [and], his or her relationship to petitioner with regard thereto and whether he or she is a senior citizen.
§ 3. Article 7 of the real property actions and proceedings law is amended by adding a new section 768 to read as follows:
§ 768. Default eviction against senior citizen. 1. In any civil action or proceeding for eviction from any premises occupied chiefly for dwelling purposes, if there shall be a default of an appearance by the respondent, the petitioner, within twenty days before the entry of judgment or final order shall file in the court an affidavit setting forth facts showing that the respondent is not a senior citizen.
2. If unable to file such affidavit the petitioner shall in lieu thereof file an affidavit setting forth either that the respondent is a senior citizen or that the petitioner is not able to determine whether or not respondent is a senior citizen. If an affidavit is not filed
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05673-01-9
A. 1095 2
showing that the respondent is not a senior citizen no judgment or final order shall be entered without first securing an order of the court directing such entry and no such order shall be made if the respondent is a senior citizen until after the court shall have appointed an attorney to represent the respondent and protect his or her interest, and the court shall, on application make such appointment.
3. Unless it appears that the respondent is not a senior citizen, the court may enter such judgment as in its opinion may be necessary to protect the rights of the respondent under this provision.
4. Any person who shall make or use an affidavit required under this section knowing it to be false or who shall knowingly take part in any eviction of a senior citizen otherwise than as provided for in this section or attempts to do so shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by imprisonment not to exceed one year or by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars or both.
5. In any such action or proceeding in which a senior citizen is a party, if such party does not personally appear therein or is not represented by an authorized attorney the court may appoint an attorney to represent him or her; and in such a case an order may be made to protect the rights of such person.
6. In any such proceeding, the court may in its discretion on its own motion stay the proceedings for not longer than three months or may make such other orders as may be just.
§ 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.