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A04093 Summary:

BILL NOA04093
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSORKelles
 
COSPNSRCunningham, Raga, Mitaynes, Shrestha, Ardila, Carroll, Glick, Hevesi, Forrest, Mamdani, Gonzalez-Rojas
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §§711, 741, 747, 749 & 768, add §753-a, RPAP L; add §235-j, RP L
 
Establishes the "winter moratorium on evictions act of 2023" to prohibit eviction of tenants from residential properties during the winter months.
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A04093 Actions:

BILL NOA04093
 
02/09/2023referred to housing
01/03/2024referred to housing
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A04093 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A4093
 
SPONSOR: Kelles
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the real property actions and proceedings law and the real property law, in relation to prohibiting residential evictions during the winter months   PURPOSE: This bill amends the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law to allow a moratorium to stay court eviction judgments to allow individuals to remain housed during harsh inclement winter weather months.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 provides the title of the bill as "The Winter Moratorium on Evictions Act of 2023." Section 2 provides legislative findings for declarations of emergency which show that evictions are directly linked with public health and safety, resulting in all-cause mortality, increased emergency room utilization, mental health hospitalizations, children's hospitalization, homelessness, and depression, which affect the Black and Latinx communi- ty disproportionately. It also shows that the homeless population's needs are heightened during winter months because inclement winter weather, air temperatures at or below 23 degrees Fahrenheit, presents a threat to life, health, and safety. Section 3 amends subdivision of section 711 of the real property actions and proceedings law, as amended by section 12 of part M of chapter 36 of the laws 2019 which outlines the procedural process of the right of any person with a possessory interest in a premise where the tenant has defaulted on rent payments as against the landlord. Section 4 amends section 741 of the real property actions and proceedings law by adding a new subdivision which states that a warrant of eviction may only be executed between April sixteenth and October thirty-first of any calendar year. Section 5 amend section 747 of the real property actions and proceedings law by adding two new subdivisions 5 and 6 which provides that any case of nonpayment of rent where a judgment has been entered, the party to receive payment may move to show cause to vacate the judgment within 30 days of receiving payment satisfying the judgment. Failure to follow these procedures will prohibit a party from commencing a subsequent proceeding for nonpayment of rent against any person covered by such judgment until the judgment is vacated substandard housing and have greater residential precarity and are less likely to secure safe and affordable housing in the longterm. These consequences are dispropor- tionately felt by Black and Latinx households, who face the highest rates of eviction. Evictions are a significant cause of homelessness, both directly and indirectly. In New York City, 25 percent of shelter residents and percent of unsheltered individuals are homeless due to an eviction. The Department of Housing and Urban Development identified at least 91,271 homeless individuals throughout New York State as of Janu- ary 2020, including 77,943 individuals in New York City and 13,328 indi- viduals throughout the rest of the State. The well-documented and devas- tating consequences of homelessness are exacerbated by cold weather. Unsheltered individuals have an increased risk of developing exposure- related health problems, particularly in cold weather. NYC Department of Homeless Services reported that 613 homeless individuals died between July 2019 and June 2020 in New York City. Individuals experiencing homelessness accounted for at least 25 percent of all cold-related hospitalizations between 2003 and 2015. The legislature therefore finds and declares that in order to prevent death, hardship, and other negative health outcomes to New York State residents, the provisions of this act are necessary to protect public health, safety, and general welfare. The necessity in the public inter- est for the provisions hereinafter enacted is hereby declared as a matter of legislative determination.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: None.   EFFECTS ON FINES. TERMS OF IMPRISONMENT AND OTHER PENAL SANCTIONS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on the 16th day after it shall have become a Law and apply to all proceedings on or after such date.
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A04093 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          4093
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 9, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  KELLES,  CUNNINGHAM,  RAGA  -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Housing
 
        AN ACT to amend the real property actions and proceedings  law  and  the
          real  property  law,  in relation to prohibiting residential evictions
          during the winter months

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Short  Title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  the "winter moratorium on evictions act of 2023".
     3    § 2. Legislative findings and declaration of emergency.  The  legisla-
     4  ture hereby finds and declares all of the following:
     5    The  serious  public  emergency  regarding  the scarcity of affordable
     6  housing across New York State continues to  exist,  and  such  emergency
     7  puts  families  and  individuals  at  a  heightened  risk  of  eviction,
     8  displacement, and homelessness.
     9    The legislature recognizes that  evictions  trigger  long-lasting  and
    10  irreparable  harm  to  public health and safety. Evictions are linked to
    11  all-cause mortality and lead to an array of negative mental and physical
    12  health outcomes including higher rates of  emergency  room  utilization,
    13  mental health hospitalizations, suicide, children's hospitalization, and
    14  depression.  Evictions  directly  result in job loss and disruption to a
    15  child's education. Those who have experienced an eviction are more like-
    16  ly to live in substandard housing and have greater residential precarity
    17  and are less likely to secure safe and affordable housing  in  the  long
    18  term. These consequences are disproportionately felt by Black and Latinx
    19  households, who face the highest rates of eviction.
    20    Evictions  are  a significant cause of homelessness, both directly and
    21  indirectly. In New York City, 25 percent of  shelter  residents  and  12
    22  percent  of unsheltered individuals are homeless due to an eviction. The
    23  Department of Housing and Urban Development identified at  least  91,271
    24  homeless  individuals  throughout  New  York  State  as of January 2020,
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02244-01-3

        A. 4093                             2
 
     1  including 77,943 individuals in New York  City  and  13,328  individuals
     2  throughout the rest of the State.
     3    The  well-documented  and devastating consequences of homelessness are
     4  exacerbated by cold weather. Unsheltered individuals have  an  increased
     5  risk  of  developing  exposure-related  health problems, particularly in
     6  cold weather. NYC Department of  Homeless  Services  reported  that  613
     7  homeless  individuals  died  between July 2019 and June 2020 in New York
     8  City. Individuals experiencing homelessness accounted for  at  least  25
     9  percent of all cold-related hospitalizations between 2003 and 2015.
    10    The legislature further recognizes that the statewide stock of shelter
    11  accommodations fails to ameliorate the threat to public health and safe-
    12  ty  posed  by  eviction  and  homelessness. A 2020 audit by the New York
    13  State Comptroller found unsafe conditions, including structural  damage,
    14  vermin  infestations,  and mold, in 60 percent of shelters. In 2020, the
    15  New York City Comptroller found widespread hazardous conditions jeopard-
    16  izing  infants'  health  and  safety  in  City  shelters.  Incidents  of
    17  violence,  theft, and police presence are pervasive in City shelters; 38
    18  percent of New York  City  residents  experiencing  street  homelessness
    19  choose  not  to  return to the shelter system and become street-homeless
    20  because of personal safety concerns. Convoluted and punitive  rules  and
    21  procedures,  loss  of  personal  agency,  inadequate resources and staff
    22  training, and a systemic failure to accommodate disabilities are further
    23  deterrents.
    24    The legislature further recognizes that, pursuant to Article  XVII  of
    25  the  New  York  State  Constitution,  the "aid, care, and support of the
    26  needy are public concerns and shall be  provided  by  the  state."  Such
    27  obligation  extends  to the State's homeless population, whose needs are
    28  heightened during winter months. The Executive Department has found that
    29  inclement winter weather presents a threat  to  the  life,  health,  and
    30  safety  of  the  State's  homeless  citizens  in particular, and defines
    31  "inclement winter weather" as air temperatures at or  below  32  degrees
    32  Fahrenheit,  including  National  Weather  Service calculations for wind
    33  chill. According to National  Weather  Service  data,  inclement  winter
    34  weather  falls  within  the normal temperature ranges in all or parts of
    35  New York State from November through April.
    36    The legislature therefore finds and declares that in order to  prevent
    37  death,  hardship,  and  other negative health outcomes to New York State
    38  residents, the provisions of this act are necessary  to  protect  public
    39  health,  safety, and general welfare. The necessity in the public inter-
    40  est for the provisions hereinafter  enacted  is  hereby  declared  as  a
    41  matter of legislative determination.
    42    §  3.  Subdivision  2  of section 711 of the real property actions and
    43  proceedings law, as amended by section 12 of part M of chapter 36 of the
    44  laws 2019, is amended to read as follows:
    45    2. [The] Except as provided in section seven  hundred  forty-seven  of
    46  this  article, the tenant has defaulted in the payment of rent, pursuant
    47  to the agreement under which the premises are held, and a written demand
    48  of the rent has been made with at least fourteen days' notice requiring,
    49  in the alternative, the payment of the rent, or the  possession  of  the
    50  premises,  has  been  served  upon  him  as  prescribed in section seven
    51  hundred thirty-five of this article. Any person succeeding to the  land-
    52  lord's  interest  in the premises may proceed under this subdivision for
    53  rent due his predecessor in interest if he has a right thereto. Where  a
    54  tenant  dies during the term of the lease and rent due has not been paid
    55  and the apartment is occupied by a person with a claim to possession,  a
    56  proceeding  may be commenced naming the occupants of the apartment seek-

        A. 4093                             3

     1  ing a possessory judgment only as against the estate. Entry  of  such  a
     2  judgment  shall  be  without  prejudice  to the possessory claims of the
     3  occupants, and any warrant issued shall not be effective as against  the
     4  occupants.
     5    §  4.  Section 741 of the real property actions and proceedings law is
     6  amended by adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows:
     7    7. State that a warrant of eviction may only be executed between April
     8  sixteenth and October thirty-first of any calendar year.
     9    § 5. Section 747 of the real property actions and proceedings  law  is
    10  amended by adding two new subdivisions 5 and 6 to read as follows:
    11    5.  In  any  case  for nonpayment of rent in which a judgment has been
    12  entered, the party maintaining the proceeding, or their heirs or succes-
    13  sor, shall move by order to show cause to vacate  such  judgment  within
    14  thirty  days  of  receiving  a  payment  amount satisfying the judgment.
    15  Unless such judgment has been vacated pursuant  to  subdivision  six  of
    16  this  section  or  pursuant  to  a  lawful written agreement between the
    17  parties filed with the court in which the judgment was  issued,  failure
    18  to comply with this subdivision shall prohibit a party from commencing a
    19  subsequent  proceeding for nonpayment of rent against any person covered
    20  by such judgment until such judgment has been vacated.
    21    6. In any case for nonpayment of rent in which  a  judgment  has  been
    22  entered,  any  person covered by such judgment may move by order to show
    23  cause at any time to have such judgment vacated. Within  sixty  days  of
    24  the  effective  date  of  this subdivision, the office of court adminis-
    25  tration shall promulgate a pro se order to show cause and  affidavit  to
    26  support  the  vacatur  of  such judgment, which shall be provided at the
    27  time the judgment is  entered  to  all  respondents  who  are  named  or
    28  appeared in the proceeding.
    29    §  6.  Subdivision  1  of section 749 of the real property actions and
    30  proceedings law, as amended by section 19 of part M of chapter 36 of the
    31  laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
    32    1. Upon rendering a final judgment for  petitioner,  the  court  shall
    33  issue  a warrant directed to the sheriff of the county or to any consta-
    34  ble or marshal of the city in which the property, or a portion  thereof,
    35  is  situated,  or,  if it is not situated in a city, to any constable of
    36  any town in the county, describing the property,  stating  the  earliest
    37  date  upon which execution may occur pursuant to the order of the court,
    38  and commanding the officer to remove all persons named in  the  proceed-
    39  ing,  provided  upon a showing of good cause, the court may issue a stay
    40  of re-letting or renovation of the premises for a reasonable  period  of
    41  time.  Pursuant  to section seven hundred fifty-three-a of this article,
    42  the earliest date upon which execution  may  occur  shall  fall  between
    43  April sixteenth and October thirty-first of any given calendar year.
    44    §  7.  The  real  property  actions  and proceedings law is amended by
    45  adding a new section 753-a to read as follows:
    46    § 753-a. Winter eviction moratorium in premises occupied for  dwelling
    47  purposes.  1. The winter moratorium period shall commence at 12:00 AM on
    48  November first of a calendar year and end at 11:59 PM on April fifteenth
    49  of the subsequent calendar year.
    50    (a) In a proceeding to recover possession  of  premises  occupied  for
    51  dwelling  purposes,  other than a room or rooms in a hotel occupied by a
    52  transient occupant for less than thirty days, the court shall not  issue
    53  a  warrant  pursuant to section seven hundred forty-nine of this article
    54  with an execution date during the winter moratorium period.

        A. 4093                             4
 
     1    (b) At the commencement of the winter moratorium period,  all  pending
     2  unexecuted  judgments and warrants shall automatically be stayed through
     3  the end of the winter moratorium period.
     4    2.  (a)  During  the  winter moratorium period, a person maintaining a
     5  proceeding shall maintain the same legal  rights  and  obligations  with
     6  respect  to the tenant that were held prior to the issuance of the judg-
     7  ment and warrant including, but not limited to, the obligations to  keep
     8  the  premises in livable, safe, and sanitary condition, to not discrimi-
     9  nate, harass, or retaliate, and to keep  the  premises  in  good  repair
    10  pursuant  to  federal,  state,  and local housing maintenance standards.
    11  Such person shall maintain the right to collect rent for use  and  occu-
    12  pancy during the winter moratorium period without prejudice to the judg-
    13  ment  stayed except as provided in subdivision four of this section. For
    14  the purposes of this section, "person maintaining  a  proceeding"  shall
    15  mean  a  person  who  may  maintain proceeding pursuant to section seven
    16  hundred twenty-one of this article.
    17    (b) During the winter moratorium period, a tenant against whom a judg-
    18  ment and warrant have been issued shall maintain  the  same  rights  and
    19  obligations  as  were  held  prior  to  the issuance of the judgment and
    20  warrant. Such obligations shall include the obligation  to  tender  rent
    21  for  use  and  occupancy at the last lawful rate previously agreed to by
    22  the parties or set by the court, subject to any  abatement,  offset,  or
    23  reduction  to  which  the tenant is lawfully entitled. Such rights shall
    24  include, but are not limited to, the right to livable, safe,  and  sani-
    25  tary premises, the right to be free from discrimination, harassment, and
    26  retaliation,  the  right  to bring legal action in any appropriate forum
    27  with respect to the violation of such rights, and all other  rights  and
    28  protections  afforded  to  tenants  and  occupants  by local, state, and
    29  federal law. For the purposes of this section, "tenant" shall  have  the
    30  same  meaning  as provided in section seven hundred eleven of this arti-
    31  cle.
    32    3. (a) During the winter moratorium period, any proceeding,  judgment,
    33  and warrant, stayed pursuant to this section shall be sufficient for the
    34  purposes  of  establishing  an  "emergency"  under 18 NYCRR 397.1(b), 18
    35  NYCRR 372.4, and/or section three hundred fifty-j of the social services
    36  law.
    37    (b) A person against whom a judgment  and  warrant  have  been  issued
    38  remains  the "subject of an eviction proceeding" during the winter mora-
    39  torium period for the purposes of 68 RCNY 10-03(B). Such a person  shall
    40  be   considered   "facing   eviction"  for  the  purposes  of  18  NYCRR
    41  352.3(a)(ii) and (iii).
    42    4. During the winter moratorium  period,  all  monies  tendered  to  a
    43  person maintaining a proceeding shall be presumed to apply to the earli-
    44  est  period for which rent for use and occupancy is owed pursuant to the
    45  judgment, unless such payment is earmarked by the payer as being  for  a
    46  specific purpose. Any agreement to the contrary shall be deemed null and
    47  void.
    48    § 8. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 768 of the real proper-
    49  ty  actions  and  proceedings  law,  as added by section 24 of part M of
    50  chapter 36 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
    51    (b) [Such] For each violation of this section occurring between  April
    52  sixteenth  and  October  thirty-first  of any calendar year, such person
    53  shall also be subject to a civil penalty of not less than  one  thousand
    54  nor  more  than  ten  thousand  dollars  for  each  violation.  For each
    55  violation of this section occurring  between  January  first  and  April
    56  fifteenth, or from November first to December thirty-first of any calen-

        A. 4093                             5
 
     1  dar  year,  such  person shall also be subject to a civil penalty of not
     2  less than five thousand dollars nor more than fifty thousand dollars for
     3  each violation. Each such violation shall be  a  separate  and  distinct
     4  offense.  In  the case of a failure to take all reasonable and necessary
     5  action to restore an occupant pursuant to paragraph (b)  of  subdivision
     6  one of this section, such person shall be subject to an additional civil
     7  penalty  of  not  more than one hundred dollars per day from the date on
     8  which restoration to occupancy is requested  until  the  date  on  which
     9  restoration occurs, provided, however, that such period shall not exceed
    10  [six] twelve months.
    11    § 9. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 235-j to
    12  read as follows:
    13    § 235-j. Credit of payment of rent. Upon the receipt of the payment of
    14  rent  for  residential  premises, it shall be the duty of the lessor, or
    15  any agent of the lessor, to  immediately  credit  such  payment  to  the
    16  rental  account  of  the  tenant,  which  shall be reflected on any rent
    17  statement, ledger, or bill provided to the tenant.
    18    § 10. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day  after  it  shall
    19  have  become  a  law  and shall apply to all proceedings commenced on or
    20  after such date.
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