STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6188 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY March 1, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LENTOL -- (at request of the Department of Law) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to harassment of a rent regu- lated tenant The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "tenant 2 protection act of 2019". 3 § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 241.02 to read 4 as follows: 5 § 241.02 Harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the second degree. 6 An owner is guilty of harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the 7 second degree when, with intent to induce a rent regulated tenant to 8 vacate a housing accommodation, such owner intentionally engages in a 9 course of conduct that: 10 1. impairs the habitability of a housing accommodation; or 11 2. creates or maintains a condition which endangers the safety or 12 health of the dwelling's tenant; or 13 3. is reasonably likely to interfere with or disturb, and does inter- 14 fere with or disturb, the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of such rent 15 regulated tenant in his or her use and occupancy of such housing accom- 16 modation including, but not limited to, the interruption or discontin- 17 uance of essential services. The good faith commencement and pursuit of 18 a lawful eviction action by an owner against a rent regulated tenant in 19 a court of competent jurisdiction shall not, by itself, constitute a 20 "course of conduct" in violation of this subdivision. 21 Harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the second degree is a class 22 A misdemeanor. 23 § 3. Section 241.05 of the penal law, as added by chapter 116 of the 24 laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows: 25 § 241.05 Harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the first degree. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07418-01-9

A. 6188 2 1 An owner is guilty of harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the 2 first degree when [~~with~~]: 3 1. With intent to [~~cause~~] induce a rent regulated tenant to vacate a 4 housing accommodation, such owner: 5 [1.] (a) With intent to cause physical injury to such tenant, causes 6 such injury to such tenant or to a third person; or 7 [2.] (b) Recklessly causes physical injury to such tenant or to a 8 third person[.]; or 9 2. With intent to induce two or more rent regulated tenants occupying 10 different housing accommodations to vacate such housing accommodations, 11 such owner intentionally engages in a systematic ongoing course of 12 conduct that: 13 (a) impairs the habitability of such housing accommodations; or 14 (b) creates or maintains a condition which endangers the safety or 15 health of one or more of the dwellings' rent regulated tenants; or 16 (c) is reasonably likely to interfere with or disturb, and does inter- 17 fere with or disturb, the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of one or more 18 of such rent regulated tenants in their use and occupancy of such hous- 19 ing accommodations including, but not limited to, the interruption or 20 discontinuance of essential services; or 21 3. Such owner commits the crime of harassment of a rent regulated 22 tenant in the second degree as defined in section 241.02 of this article 23 and has previously been convicted within the preceding five years of 24 such crime or the crime of harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the 25 first degree. 26 The good faith commencement and pursuit of a lawful eviction action by 27 an owner against a rent regulated tenant in a court of competent juris- 28 diction shall not, by itself, constitute a "systematic ongoing course of 29 conduct" in violation of paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this 30 section. 31 Harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the first degree is a class E 32 felony. 33 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 241.00 of the penal law, as added by 34 chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows: 35 1. "Rent regulated tenant" shall mean a person occupying a housing 36 accommodation or any lawful successor to the tenancy which is subject to 37 the regulations and control of residential rents and evictions pursuant 38 to the emergency housing rent control law, the local emergency housing 39 rent control act, the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seven- 40 ty-four, the New York city rent and rehabilitation law or the New York 41 city rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine, and such 42 person is either a party to a lease or rental agreement for such housing 43 accommodation, a statutory tenant or a person who lawfully occupies such 44 housing accommodation with such party to a lease or rental agreement or 45 with such statutory tenant. The definition of "rent regulated tenant" 46 as used in this subdivision shall be applicable only to the provisions 47 of this article and shall not be applicable to any other provision of 48 law. 49 § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 50 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to 51 article 241 of the penal law made by sections two, three and four of 52 this act shall not affect the repeal of such article and shall be deemed 53 repealed therewith.

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