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, and in no event shall such fee exceed $30.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3325
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 29, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CYMBROWITZ, BARRON -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Housing
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 2. If a landlord or his or her agent charges a potential tenant an
14 application fee, such application fee may not exceed the actual cost of
15 a credit check or other related services paid for by a landlord to a
16 third party, provided, however, that the total of such fee or fees shall
17 not exceed thirty dollars.
18 3. Where a landlord charges application fees in violation of this
19 section, a potential tenant may file a complaint with the commissioner
20 of the division of housing and community renewal. Upon a finding by the
21 commissioner that a landlord has violated the provisions of this
22 section, the commissioner shall impose a fine of one hundred dollars for
23 a first or second violation and a fine of two hundred fifty dollars for
24 a third or any subsequent violation.
25 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
26 have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07409-01-9
