Requires that the entire amount of a rental deposit or advance be refundable to the tenant upon the tenant's vacating of the premises except for an amount lawfully retained for non-payment of rent or utilities, damage caused by the tenant, or storage costs; requires landlord to provide an itemized statement of damages and to return the balance of the deposit within 14 days; requires that tenant be given the opportunity to inspect the rental premises prior to signing a lease; allows a grantee or assignee of the leased premises to demand that an escrow account be opened.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6423A
SPONSOR: Lasher TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general obligations law, in relation to the liabil-
ity of a grantee or assignee for deposits made by tenants upon convey-
ance of rent stabilized dwelling units
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To update New York's General Obligation Law to include the protections
afforded to tenants with security deposits under the Housing Stability
and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019 to rent stabilized tenants.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends Section 7-107 of the General Obligations
Law to replicate the provisions in Section 7-108 of the General Obli-
gations Law -- security deposits made by tenants of non-rent stabilized
dwelling units - into Section 7-107 of the General Obligations Law to
make the provisions applicable for rent stabilized dwelling units.
Section 2 of the bill sets forth the effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
Technical amendments to retitle § 7-107 of the General Obligations law
to reflect the new function of the section more accurately, and to
remove language to effectuate the intent of the bill.
JUSTIFICATION:
The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) of 2019 estab-
lished new protections for tenants with Security Deposits, including
requirements that landlords return security deposits within fourteen
days from the tenant's vacatur, provide an itemized list of any damages
beyond wear and tear for which they are deducting any part of the depos-
it return, and conduct an inspection within two weeks of tenants' vaca-
tur to give tenants time to correct any damages.
However, these protections do not extend to the hundreds of thousands of
units that are rent stabilized, since the HSTPA included these
protections in a Section of the General Obligations Law (7-108) that
explicitly excludes rent stabilized dwelling units. These protections
have helped level the playing field for tenants and have eliminated long
standing abuses in the security deposit system; they should be extended
to all tenants in the State of New York.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S2088 (Kavanagh) - Passed Senate /A3025 (O'Donnell) - Referred to
Judiciary
2023: S2088 (Kavanagh) - Passed Senate /A3025 (O'Donnell) - Referred to
Judiciary
2022: S6340 (Kavanagh) - Referred to Judiciary /A4627 (O'Donnell)
Referred to Judiciary
2021: S6340 (Kavanagh) - Referred to Judiciary /A4627 (O'Donnell)
Referred to Judiciary
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall hate
become a law and shall apply to any lease or rental agreement or renewal
of a lease or rental agreement entered into on or after such date.
