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A1817Assembly2019-2020 Session

Refund Extra Security Deposits

Official title

“Entitles senior citizens to a refund of any security deposit exceeding one month's rent”

Sponsor J. Gary PretlowAD-89Affects Legal
Status
In Assembly Committee
Judiciary
Impact
5/10
Moderate
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Judiciary

What's happening

This bill entitles senior citizens who have rented for five years to a refund of security deposits exceeding one month's rent.

Why it matters

  1. Provides financial relief for long-term senior renters. Seniors who have lived in the same rental for at least five years and are age 62 or older can reclaim any part of their security deposit that exceeds one month's rent, potentially returning hundreds or thousands of dollars to fixed-income households.

  2. Addresses aging-in-place challenges. By reducing the financial barriers for seniors to stay in their homes, this bill helps support aging in place, making it easier for older adults to maintain housing stability and independence.

  3. Shifts landlord-tenant dynamics. The bill limits how much landlords can hold as security from qualifying seniors, which may influence how landlords screen or retain older tenants, and could prompt changes to standard lease practices in the state.

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Who cares

  • Tenants age 62 and older

    Those who have occupied their rental homes for at least five years would be protected from security deposits exceeding one month's rent.

  • Tenants turning 62 during occupancy

    They could notify their landlords to obtain a refund of any security deposit held above one month's rent.

  • Residential landlords

    They would have to comply with the deposit limit for qualifying older tenants and return excess deposits when tenants turning 62 notify them.

Headline styles

Refund Extra Security Deposits

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
J. Gary Pretlow

Assembly Member · Assembly District 89

Chair, Ways and Means

No co-sponsors yet.

History

  1. Referred to judiciary
  2. Referred to judiciary

Full text

1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

1817

2019-2020 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

January 17, 2019

Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary

AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to entitling senior citizens to a refund of the portion of a security deposit exceeding one month's rent

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 235-h to read as follows:

§ 235-h. Senior citizens security deposit refund. No landlord may charge more than the equivalent of one month's rent as a security deposit for residential rental premises occupied by any tenant who has attained the age of sixty-two years or older and who has occupied such residential rental premises for five or more years. Upon attaining sixty-two years of age during the term of occupancy, any tenant who notifies the landlord shall be entitled to a refund of that portion of any security deposit held by the landlord in excess of one month's rent.

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD05402-01-9

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.