Allows landlords to charge potential tenants application fees no greater than the actual cost of a credit check or related services paid to a third party by the landlord.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2852
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 29, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sens. KRUEGER, HAMILTON, HASSELL-THOMPSON, HOYLMAN -- read
twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the
Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to fees landlords may
charge tenants
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The real property law is amended by adding a new section
2 220-a to read as follows:
3 § 220-a. Application fees. 1. Wherever used in this section:
4 a. "application fee" means any application processing fee or credit
5 check charge or similar charge that a potential tenant must pay or is in
6 any way requested to pay to a landlord in order to be considered for
7 rental or lease of any real property or portion thereof used for resi-
8 dential purposes.
9 b. "potential tenant" means any person with an intention to lease or
10 rent any real property or portion thereof for residential purposes,
11 excluding potential tenant shareholders of cooperative housing corpo-
12 rations.
13 c. "landlord" means any owner, managing agent or prime lessor of real
14 property or any real estate broker, provided, that this section shall
15 not limit the fee that can be lawfully charged by such broker if the
16 potential tenant enters into a lease or occupies real property for resi-
17 dential purposes as a result of the broker's services.
18 2. A landlord may charge a potential tenant an application fee equal
19 to the actual cost of a credit check or other related services paid for
20 by a landlord to a third party.
21 3. Where a landlord charges application fees in violation of this
22 section, a potential tenant may file a complaint with the division of
23 housing and community renewal. Upon a finding by the division that a
24 landlord has violated the provisions of this section, the division shall
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03732-01-5
S. 2852 2
1 impose a fine of one hundred dollars for a first or second violation and
2 a fine of two hundred fifty dollars for a third or any subsequent
3 violation.
4 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
5 have become a law.
