What's happening
This bill requires New York City landlords to provide new tenants with a notice disclosing the previous four years of rental history and explaining rent increases when signing a vacancy lease.
Why it matters
Promotes transparency for renters. By requiring landlords to disclose the previous four years of rent history and explain how the new rent was calculated, tenants can better understand if rent increases are justified and in line with legal limits.
Empowers tenants to challenge unfair practices. If the notice isn’t provided, tenants can file a complaint, and landlords could lose the right to collect certain rent increases until compliance, giving tenants leverage to enforce their rights.
Discourages illegal rent hikes. Mandatory disclosure and the threat of penalties for non-compliance incentivize landlords to follow rent regulations closely, helping to prevent unlawful or excessive rent increases.
Helps combat tenant displacement. By making rent calculation transparent and regulated, the bill may slow down the cycle of rapid rent hikes that can force long-term tenants out, supporting housing stability in New York City.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Require Rental History Disclosure
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to housing
- Referred to housing
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
329
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring landlords to provide notice of rental history upon the signing of a vacancy lease
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 26-517.2 to read as follows:
§ 26-517.2 Notice of rental history. a. For housing accommodations subject to this code, an owner shall furnish to each tenant signing a vacancy lease, a notice in a form promulgated or approved by the state division of housing and community renewal that sets forth the rent amount actually paid by tenants for the four years immediately prior to the vacancy, if any, an explanation of how the rental amount provided for in the vacancy lease has been computed above the amount shown in the most recent annual registration statement, and a statement that any increase above the amount set forth in such registration statement is in accordance with the adjustments permitted by the rent guidelines board and this code.
b. Upon complaint by the tenant that he or she was not furnished with a copy of the notice required pursuant to subdivision a of this section, the division of housing and community renewal shall order the owner to furnish the notice. If the owner fails to comply within twenty days of such order, the owner shall not be entitled to collect any guidelines lease adjustment authorized for any current lease from the commencement date of such lease. The furnishing of the notice by the owner to the tenant or hotel occupant shall result in the elimination, prospectively, of such penalty.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01521-01-9
A. 329 2
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amendment to chapter 4 of title 26 of the administrative code of the city of New York made by section one 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.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.