Gottfried, Ortiz, Scarborough, Wright, Millman, Kellner, Rivera N, Farrell, Rosenthal, Rivera P
MLTSPNSR
Glick, Schimel
Amd SS26-413 & 26-515, NYC Ad Cd
Provides that an owner or lessor of a rent controlled or rent stabilized unit who commences an action in bad faith to recover possession on the grounds that it is not occupied as the tenant's primary residence shall be liable for the tenant's court costs and attorney's fees in addition to an amount which is three times the monthly rent or actual damages.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5986
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 3, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KAVANAGH, GOTTFRIED, ORTIZ, SCARBOROUGH, WRIGHT,
MILLMAN, KELLNER, N. RIVERA, FARRELL, ROSENTHAL -- Multi-Sponsored by
-- M. of A. GLICK, SCHIMEL -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Cities
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in
relation to primary residence
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 26-413 of the administrative code of the city of
2 New York is amended by adding a new subdivision f to read as follows:
3 f. (1) In addition to the requirements of any other applicable
4 provision of law, where an owner or lessor seeks to recover possession
5 of a dwelling unit pursuant to item ten of subparagraph (i) of paragraph
6 two of subdivision e of section 26-403 of this chapter, on the ground
7 that the dwelling unit is not occupied by the tenant as such tenant's
8 primary residence, such owner or lessor shall commence the action or
9 proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction only upon a good faith
10 belief that such dwelling unit is not the primary residence of such
11 tenant.
12 (2) If any owner or lessor commences an action or proceeding to
13 recover possession of a dwelling unit in violation of paragraph one of
14 this subdivision, such owner or lessor shall be liable to such tenant
15 for three times the monthly rent charged such tenant, or three times the
16 damages, if any, sustained by such tenant, whichever is greater, plus
17 reasonable attorney's fees and costs as determined by such court.
18 § 2. Section 26-515 of the administrative code of the city of New York
19 is amended by adding a new subdivision e to read as follows:
20 e. (1) In addition to the requirements of any other applicable
21 provision of law, where an owner or lessor seeks to recover possession
22 of a dwelling unit pursuant to subparagraph (f) of paragraph one of
23 subdivision a of section 26-504 of this chapter, on the ground that the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00944-01-1
A. 5986 2
1 dwelling unit is not occupied by the tenant as such tenant's primary
2 residence, such owner or lessor shall commence the action or proceeding
3 in a court of competent jurisdiction only upon a good faith belief that
4 such dwelling unit is not the primary residence of such tenant.
5 (2) If any owner or lessor commences an action or proceeding to
6 recover possession of a dwelling unit in violation of paragraph one of
7 this subdivision, such owner or lessor shall be liable to such tenant
8 for three times the monthly rent charged such tenant, or three times the
9 damages, if any, sustained by such tenant, whichever is greater, plus
10 reasonable attorney's fees and costs as determined by such court.
11 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
12 actions or proceedings pending on or commenced after such date, provided
13 that the amendments to section 26-413 of the city rent and rehabili-
14 tation law made by section one of this act shall remain in full force
15 and effect only so long as the public emergency requiring the regulation
16 and control of residential rents and evictions continues, as provided in
17 subdivision 3 of section 1 of the local emergency housing rent control
18 act and provided further that the amendment to section 26-515 of the
19 rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by section
20 two of this act shall expire on the same date as such law expires and
21 shall not affect the expiration of such law as provided under section
22 26-520 of such law.
