NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4134
SPONSOR: Bing (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the executive law, in relation to a
tenant blacklist
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To prohibit tenant blacklisting - the
practice by which landlords deny housing to potential tenants because
the tenant has been involved in landlord-tenant litigation.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 2-a(a-l) amends § 296 of the
Executive Law to prohibit discrimination in public housing against
potential tenants who have been, or are currently, involved in a land-
lord-tenant action or summary proceeding, except where tenant has not
complied with a court order.
Section 3-b amends § 296 of the Executive Law to include landlord-tenant
actions on the list of prohibited discriminatory behavior.
Section 5-a(l-i) amends § 296 of the Executive Law to prohibit discrimi-
nation against potential tenants who have been, or are currently,
involved in a landlord-tenant action or summary proceeding, except where
tenant has not complied with a court order.
JUSTIFICATION: When tenants are involved in any landlord-tenant
action, whether to assert their own legal rights or for other reasons,
they thereafter find themselves on a blacklist that keeps them from
being able to secure future housing.
The Metropolitan Council on Housing reports that the New York City Hous-
ing Court hears 365,000 cases ever year. Because screening bureaus
report cases up to seven years old, tenant blacklisting affects almost
two million New Yorkers.
Tenant blacklisting becomes an increasingly critical issue when there is
a housing crisis. In New York City, a housing crisis occurs when the
vacancy rate for available housing units drops below 5%; the vacancy
rate in New York was 3.4% in 2008. In a crisis, affordable housing
becomes scarce and blacklisted tenants find it increasingly difficult to
secure such housing. Because of the combined effects of tenant black-
listing and the housing crisis, tenants are often afraid to assert
legitimate legal claims for fear of being blacklisted by the screening
bureaus.
Tenant blacklisting occurs when a tenant screening bureau, including the
widely-used First Advantage SafeRent ("FASR"), purchases electronic data
about landlord-tenant actions from the New York State Office of Court
Administration's ("OCA"). The bureaus then compile the information into
a list that they provide to landlords conducting investigations about
potential tenants. This practice is currently legal because court
records are considered public information. Any tenant who has been
involved in a landlord-tenant action can be named on the screening
bureau's list, regardless of who initiated the action, the cause of the
action, and the outcome. The bureaus issue thousands of reports on
potential tenants every day. These lists become blacklists for those
seeking housing in New York State.
This legislation would address tenant blacklisting by classifying it as
illegal discriminatory behavior. Tenant screening bureaus will be
prohibited from using court records to form a tenant blacklist. Tenants
would no longer fear that asserting their legal right to due process
would land them on a blacklist.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: None.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Unknown.
EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4134
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2009
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BING, GOTTFRIED, HEVESI, LANCMAN, DINOWITZ,
COLTON, GREENE, MAISEL, CYMBROWITZ, V. LOPEZ, N. RIVERA -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. BRENNAN, MENG, NOLAN, PHEFFER, REILLY, SCARBOR-
OUGH, SCHIMEL, TOWNS, WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to a tenant blacklist
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 296 of the executive law is
2 amended by adding a new paragraph (a-1) to read as follows:
3 (a-1) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for the owner,
4 lessee, sublessee, assignee, or managing agent of publicly-assisted
5 housing accommodations or other person having the right of ownership or
6 possession of or the right to rent or lease such accommodations to
7 refuse to sell, rent or lease or otherwise deny or to withhold from any
8 person or group of persons such a housing accommodation on the basis
9 that such person or group of persons were involved in past, ongoing or
10 current landlord-tenant action or summary proceeding emanating from
11 article seven of the real property law, except where the tenant or group
12 of tenants have not satisfied the order.
13 § 2. Subdivision 3-b of section 296 of the executive law, as amended
14 by chapter 106 of the laws of 2003, is amended to read as follows:
15 3-b. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any real
16 estate broker, real estate salesperson or employee or agent thereof or
17 any other individual, corporation, partnership or organization for the
18 purpose of inducing a real estate transaction from which any such person
19 or any of its stockholders or members may benefit financially, to repre-
20 sent that a change has occurred or will or may occur in the composition
21 with respect to race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation,
22 military status, sex, disability, past, ongoing or current landlord-ten-
23 ant action or summary proceeding emanating from article seven of the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05952-01-9
A. 4134 2
1 real property law, marital status, or familial status of the owners or
2 occupants in the block, neighborhood or area in which the real property
3 is located, and to represent, directly or indirectly, that this change
4 will or may result in undesirable consequences in the block, neighbor-
5 hood or area in which the real property is located, including but not
6 limited to the lowering of property values, an increase in criminal or
7 anti-social behavior, or a decline in the quality of schools or other
8 facilities.
9 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 296 of the executive
10 law is amended by adding a new subparagraph 1-a to read as follows:
11 (1-a) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for the owner,
12 lessee, sublessee, assignee, or managing agent of, or any other person
13 having the right to sell, rent or lease a housing accommodation,
14 constructed or to be constructed, or any agent or employee thereof, to
15 refuse to sell, rent or lease or otherwise deny or to withhold from any
16 person or group of persons such a housing accommodation on the basis
17 that such person or group of persons were involved in past, ongoing or
18 current landlord-tenant action or summary proceeding emanating from
19 article seven of the real property law, except where the tenant or
20 group of tenants have not satisfied the order.
21 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
