Standardizes the language across the relevant court acts to allow tenants statewide to sue in the county where the real property at issue is located in matters relating to a tenancy or lease; requires the Office of Court Administration to develop necessary forms, procedures and deliver a report.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9789
IN SENATE
April 6, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the uniform city court act and the uniform justice court
act, in relation to obtaining jurisdiction over certain defendants
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 1803 of the uniform city court
2 act, as amended by chapter 485 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read
3 as follows:
4 (a) Small claims shall be commenced upon the payment by the claimant
5 of a filing fee of fifteen dollars for claims in the amount of one thou-
6 sand dollars or less and twenty dollars for claims in the amount of more
7 than one thousand dollars, without the service of a summons and, except
8 by special order of the court, without the service of any pleading other
9 than a statement of [his] the cause of action by the claimant or someone
10 [in his] on the claimant's behalf to the clerk, who shall reduce the
11 same to a concise, written form and record it in a docket kept especial-
12 ly for such purpose. Such procedure shall provide for the sending of
13 notice of such claim by ordinary first class mail and certified mail
14 with return receipt requested to the party complained against (1) at
15 [his] their residence, if [he] such person resides within the county,
16 and [his] their residence is known to the claimant, or (2) at [his]
17 their office or place of regular employment within the county if [he]
18 such person does not reside therein or [his] their residence within the
19 county is not known to the claimant, or (3) where the claimant is or was
20 a tenant or lessee of real property owned by the defendant and the claim
21 relates to such tenancy or lease and the notice of claim cannot be sent
22 under paragraph one or two of this subdivision, at any place in the
23 [county or an adjoining county] state where claimant may mail or other-
24 wise deliver rent. If, after the expiration of twenty-one days, such
25 ordinary first class mailing has not been returned as undeliverable, the
26 party complained against shall be presumed to have received notice of
27 such claim. Such notice shall include a clear description of the proce-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01403-01-5
S. 9789 2
1 dure for filing a counterclaim, pursuant to subdivision (c) of this
2 section.
3 Such procedure shall further provide for an early hearing upon and
4 determination of such claim. No filing fee, however, shall be demanded
5 or received on small claims of employees who shall comply with [§ 1912]
6 section nineteen hundred twelve of this act which is hereby made appli-
7 cable, except that necessary mailing costs shall be paid.
8 § 2. Subdivision (a) of section 1803 of the uniform justice court act,
9 as amended by chapter 485 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as
10 follows:
11 (a) Small claims shall be commenced upon the payment by the claimant
12 of a filing fee of ten dollars for claims in the amount of one thousand
13 dollars or less and fifteen dollars for claims in the amount of more
14 than one thousand dollars, without the service of a summons and, except
15 by special order of the court, without the service of any pleading other
16 than a statement of [his] the cause of action by the claimant or someone
17 [in his] on the claimant's behalf to the clerk, who shall reduce the
18 same to a concise, written form and record it in a filing system main-
19 tained especially for such purpose. Such procedure shall provide for the
20 sending of notice of such claim by ordinary first class mail and certi-
21 fied mail with return receipt requested to the party complained against
22 (1) at [his] their residence, if [he] such person resides within the
23 county and [his] their residence is known to the claimant, (2) at [his]
24 such person's office or place of regular employment within the munici-
25 pality if [he] such person does not reside within the county or [his]
26 their residence within the county is not known to the claimant, or (3)
27 where claimant is or was a tenant or lessee of real property owned by
28 the defendant and the claim relates to such tenancy or lease and the
29 notice of claim cannot be sent under paragraph one or two of this subdi-
30 vision, at any place in the [county or an adjoining county] state where
31 claimant may mail or otherwise deliver rent. If, after the expiration of
32 twenty-one days, such ordinary first class mailing has not been returned
33 as undeliverable, the party complained against shall be presumed to have
34 received notice of such claim. Such notice shall include a clear
35 description of the procedure for filing a counterclaim, pursuant to
36 subdivision (c) of this section.
37 Such procedure shall further provide for an early hearing upon and
38 determination of such claim. No filing fee, however, shall be demanded
39 or received on small claims of employees who shall comply with section
40 nineteen hundred twelve of this act which is hereby made applicable,
41 except that necessary mailing costs shall be paid.
42 § 3. The office of court administration shall develop necessary forms,
43 procedures, court personnel guidance and public information materials to
44 implement the provisions of this act on or before its effective date and
45 shall provide a report to the chairs of the senate judiciary committee
46 and the assembly judiciary committee detailing the measures implemented.
47 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
48 have become a law.
