What's happening
This bill establishes first and second degree offenses for harassment of rent-regulated tenants and creates a fund for enforcement.
Why it matters
Creates new criminal penalties (felony and misdemeanor) for landlords or their representatives who harass rent-regulated tenants. , especially through violence, intimidation, or by knowingly endangering tenant health and safety, thus aiming to deter aggressive tactics used to force out protected renters.
Targets repeated neglect of hazardous conditions. landlords who ignore at least three tenant complaints about unsafe or unhealthy environments can be prosecuted, reflecting a focus on patterns of behavior rather than isolated incidents.
Establishes a dedicated fund from fines paid by violators. , which is specifically earmarked to support the investigation and prosecution of these harassment offenses, potentially strengthening enforcement capacity and signaling a commitment to tenant protection.
Makes relevant tenant protection provisions permanent. , removing sunset clauses from the Rent Regulation Reform Act, which could ensure long-term stability and predictability for rent-regulated tenants facing harassment.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Strengthen Tenant Harassment Protections
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
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History
- Referred to codes
- Referred to codes
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1127
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 11, 2019
Introduced by Sen. BENJAMIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the first and second degree; to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing the "quality affordable housing preservation fund"; and to amend the rent regulation reform act of
1997, in relation to making certain provisions permanent
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 241.05 of the penal law, as added by chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows: § 241.05 Harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the first degree.
An owner is guilty of harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the first degree when with intent to cause a rent regulated tenant to vacate a housing accommodation, such owner or his or her representative:
1. With intent to cause physical injury to such tenant or intimidate such tenant, causes [such] injury to such tenant or to a third person; [or]
2. Recklessly causes physical injury to such tenant or to a third person[.];
3. Engages in conduct that violates the provisions of section 241.10 of this article and the health or safety of an individual or a considerable number of persons have been compromised as a result of the owner or his or her representative's failure to remediate improper conditions after receiving three or more complaints from a tenant or tenants relative to those conditions; or
4. Conducts or maintains any premises, housing units, place or common areas where persons gather for purposes of engaging in unlawful conduct.
Harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the first degree is a class E felony.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06077-01-9
S. 1127 2
§ 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 241.10 to read as follows: § 241.10 Harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the second degree.
1. An owner is guilty of harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the second degree when with intent to cause a rent regulated tenant to vacate a housing accommodation, such owner or his or her representative engages in conduct either unlawful or unreasonable under the circumstances, knowingly or recklessly creates or maintains a condition or conditions which endanger or endangers the safety or health of an individual or a considerable number of persons and the tenant or tenants have notified the landlord on three successive occasions and such owner or representative ignores complaints relative to those conditions.
2. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall pay a fine of three thousand dollars for each offense. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, fines collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the quality affordable housing preservation fund established pursuant to section ninety-nine-ff of the state finance law for the investigation and prosecution of crimes under this article.
Harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the second degree is a misdemeanor.
§ 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-ff to read as follows:
§ 99-ff. Quality affordable housing preservation fund. 1. There is hereby established in the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of housing and community renewal a fund to be known as the "quality affordable housing preservation fund".
2. Such fund shall consist of all moneys collected pursuant to the provisions of section 241.05 of the penal law and all other moneys appropriated, credited, or transferred thereto from any other fund or source pursuant to law. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the state from receiving grants, gifts or bequests for the purposes of the fund as defined in this section and depositing them into the fund according to law. Any interest received by the comptroller on moneys on deposit in such fund shall be retained in and become part of such fund.
3. Moneys of this account shall be available to the division of housing and community renewal to pay for the costs of investigating and prosecuting violations of article two hundred forty-one of the penal law.
4. All payments from the fund shall be made on the audit and warrant of the comptroller.
§ 4. Subdivision 6 of section 46 of chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, constituting the rent regulation reform act of 1997, as amended by section 6 of part A of chapter 20 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
6. sections [twenty-eight,] twenty-eight-a, twenty-eight-b and twenty-eight-c of this act shall expire and be deemed repealed after June 15, 2019;
§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, sections one, two and three of 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 penal law, in relation to harassment of a rent regu- lated tenant in the first and second degree; to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing the "quality affordable housing preser- vation fund"; and to amend the rent regulation reform act of 1997, in relation to making certain provisions permanent
Purpose
To clarify and improve the accountability of landlords who provide sub- standard housing.
Summary of provisions
This bill amends Section 241.05 of the penal law, as added by chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, with regard to the harassment of rent regulated tenants in the first and second degree; amends the state finance law by establishing a dedicated fund for "quality affordable housing preserva- tion funds"; and amending the rent regulation reform act of 1997, rendering it permanent.
Read the full memo (875 words)
Amends Section 241.05 adding paragraphs 3 and 4 by defining actions that violate the provisions of Section 241.10 that constitute harassment in the first degree, a class E felony, following a landlord or his/her authorized representative having received complaints on three successive occasions of conditions, conduct or circumstances which recklessly cause Physical injury to a third person, tenant or tenants.
The amended Section 241.10 defines harassment in the second degree with the intent to cause a tenant to vacate a rent regulated housing accommo- dation by knowingly or recklessly creating or maintaining conditions that endanger the health and safety of a tenant or tenants, who after three successive complaints have been ignored with regard to the condi- tions cited in the complaints. Section 241.10 is amended to include punitive fines of three thousand dollars for each offense.
Section 3 amends the state finance law establishing a dedicated Quality affordable housing preservation fund in the custody of DHCR and the State comptroller wherein the fines are to be deposited.
Justification
Poverty dictates housing choices, as such available and affordable hous- ing for low-income families is generally found in communities with the oldest housing, the greatest need for improvements, rehabilitation and code compliance. Therefore, it is in this type of housing where mainte- nance has been deferred. As a consequence, low and moderate income chil- dren are more likely to live in older deteriorated housing with lead paint hazards, mold, vermin; multiple code violations which if left unchecked can significantly affect the health and threaten the lives of the tenants. Millions of New Yorkers live in housing with conditions that compromise the health or safety of an individual tenant or a considerable number of persons. In order to motivate rent regulated tenants into vacating their units, intentional negligence, detachment and overt actions by landlords or their representatives have created such conditions. Ordering that garbage not be removed; ignoring requests to address leaks that precipitate mold; not treating units to discourage vermin and rodent infestation; and broken windows or windows without guards, all contribute to long-term illness, high health costs, and potential fatalities. This same holds true for landlords or their repre- sentatives who allow individuals involved in illegal activities or in the distribution or sale of controlled substances to congregate in communal areas of a property so as to threaten the health and wellbeing of tenants and as a tactical means intimidating tenants to vacate rent regulated units.
Mold, vermin and rodent infestations are major contributors to the asth- ma epidemic that afflicts 500,000 New York City low-income Latino and African-American residents of the City of New York, the majority of whom are children, to suffer disproportionally. According to the NYC Depart- ment of Mental Health and Hygiene the trigger effects of these condi- tions result in thousands of visits to hospital emergency rooms each year due to chronic lung inflammation and airway tightening resulting in coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. The department cites asthma as the leading cause of hospitalization of children and missed school days and one in four children. Over one hundred seventy-five landlords have become repeat offenders of conditions that are the petri dish for asthma and resulted in New York City having the highest incidents of asthma in the nation.
Hundreds of children are hurt or killed by falls that might have been prevented by window guards. However, many landlords fail to give tenants the forms that determine whether the apartment must have window guards. By law, forms headed NOTICE TO TENANT OR OCCUPANT or WINDOW GUARDS REQUIRED (which inform landlord that the window must have window guards) be filled within 30 days of when the tenant starts renting, and every year after that between January 1 and 16 (or with the January rent bill) lease.
While lead abatement has been required by law since 1982, hundreds of New York City children and elderly living in pre-War housing are subject the dangers posed by peeling and chipped lead paint and the potential brain damage brought about by elevated blood lead levels.
Legislative history
2017-18: S.2148/A.1086A 2015-16: S.3841/A.331 2013-14: S.1744/A.809 2011-12: S5251/A.8232
Fiscal implications
Will generate revenue to support enforcement and housing preservation activities.
Local fiscal implications
None
Effective date
Immediately, provided that sections one, two, and three of the act shall take effect on the 90th day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.