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A06188 Summary:

A06188 Actions:

A06188 Committee Votes:

Committee:CODES   Chair:Lentol      
DATE:03/05/2019AYE/NAY:16/6  Action: Favorable         
Lentol
Aye
Ra
Nay
Schimminger
Aye
Giglio
Nay
Pretlow
Aye
Montesano
Nay
Cook
Aye
Morinello
Nay
Cymbrowitz
Aye
Palumbo
Nay
O'Donnell
Aye
Garbarino
Nay
Lavine
Aye
Perry
Aye
Zebrowski
Aye
Abinanti
Aye
Weprin
Aye
Mosley
Aye
Hevesi
Aye
Fahy
Aye
Seawright
Aye
Rosenthal
Aye

A06188 Floor Votes:

A06188 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          6188
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      March 1, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M. of A. LENTOL -- (at request of the Department of Law)
          -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes
 
        AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to harassment of a rent regu-
          lated tenant
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  This  act  shall be known and may be cited as the "tenant
     2  protection act of 2019".
     3    § 2. The penal law is amended by adding a new section 241.02  to  read
     4  as follows:
     5  § 241.02 Harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the second degree.
     6    An  owner  is  guilty  of harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the
     7  second degree when, with intent to induce a  rent  regulated  tenant  to
     8  vacate  a  housing  accommodation, such owner intentionally engages in a
     9  course of conduct that:
    10    1. impairs the habitability of a housing accommodation; or
    11    2. creates or maintains a condition  which  endangers  the  safety  or
    12  health of the dwelling's tenant; or
    13    3.  is reasonably likely to interfere with or disturb, and does inter-
    14  fere with or disturb, the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of  such  rent
    15  regulated  tenant in his or her use and occupancy of such housing accom-
    16  modation including, but not limited to, the interruption  or  discontin-
    17  uance  of essential services. The good faith commencement and pursuit of
    18  a lawful eviction action by an owner against a rent regulated tenant  in
    19  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction shall not, by itself, constitute a
    20  "course of conduct" in violation of this subdivision.
    21    Harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the second degree is a  class
    22  A misdemeanor.
    23    §  3.  Section 241.05 of the penal law, as added by chapter 116 of the
    24  laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
    25  § 241.05 Harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the first degree.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07418-01-9
        A. 6188                             2
 
     1    An owner is guilty of harassment of a rent  regulated  tenant  in  the
     2  first degree when [with]:
     3    1.  With  intent to [cause] induce a rent regulated tenant to vacate a
     4  housing accommodation, such owner:
     5    [1.] (a) With intent to cause physical injury to such  tenant,  causes
     6  such injury to such tenant or to a third person; or
     7    [2.]  (b)  Recklessly  causes  physical  injury to such tenant or to a
     8  third person[.]; or
     9    2. With intent to induce two or more rent regulated tenants  occupying
    10  different  housing accommodations to vacate such housing accommodations,
    11  such owner intentionally engages  in  a  systematic  ongoing  course  of
    12  conduct that:
    13    (a) impairs the habitability of such housing accommodations; or
    14    (b)  creates  or  maintains  a condition which endangers the safety or
    15  health of one or more of the dwellings' rent regulated tenants; or
    16    (c) is reasonably likely to interfere with or disturb, and does inter-
    17  fere with or disturb, the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of one or more
    18  of such rent regulated tenants in their use and occupancy of such  hous-
    19  ing  accommodations  including,  but not limited to, the interruption or
    20  discontinuance of essential services; or
    21    3. Such owner commits the crime of  harassment  of  a  rent  regulated
    22  tenant in the second degree as defined in section 241.02 of this article
    23  and  has  previously  been  convicted within the preceding five years of
    24  such crime or the crime of harassment of a rent regulated tenant in  the
    25  first degree.
    26    The good faith commencement and pursuit of a lawful eviction action by
    27  an  owner against a rent regulated tenant in a court of competent juris-
    28  diction shall not, by itself, constitute a "systematic ongoing course of
    29  conduct" in violation of  paragraph  (c)  of  subdivision  two  of  this
    30  section.
    31    Harassment of a rent regulated tenant in the first degree is a class E
    32  felony.
    33    §  4.  Subdivision  1  of section 241.00 of the penal law, as added by
    34  chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
    35    1. "Rent regulated tenant" shall mean a  person  occupying  a  housing
    36  accommodation or any lawful successor to the tenancy which is subject to
    37  the  regulations and control of residential rents and evictions pursuant
    38  to the emergency housing rent control law, the local  emergency  housing
    39  rent control act, the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seven-
    40  ty-four,  the  New York city rent and rehabilitation law or the New York
    41  city rent stabilization law of nineteen  hundred  sixty-nine,  and  such
    42  person is either a party to a lease or rental agreement for such housing
    43  accommodation, a statutory tenant or a person who lawfully occupies such
    44  housing  accommodation with such party to a lease or rental agreement or
    45  with such statutory tenant.  The definition of "rent  regulated  tenant"
    46  as  used  in this subdivision shall be applicable only to the provisions
    47  of this article and shall not be applicable to any  other  provision  of
    48  law.
    49    § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    50  it  shall  have  become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to
    51  article 241 of the penal law made by sections two,  three  and  four  of
    52  this act shall not affect the repeal of such article and shall be deemed
    53  repealed therewith.