Amd §§26-512 & 26-516, NYC Ad Cd; amd §§6 & 12, Emerg Ten Prot Act of 1974; amd §213-a, CPLR
 
Tolls the four year statute of limitations look back period on rent overcharges where the owner of a housing accommodation acts in a wrongful or fraudulent manner.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6973
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 29, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. TAYLOR, L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, the
emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, and the
civil practice law and rules, in relation to rent overcharges
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 26-516 of
2 the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a
3 new clause (iii) to read as follows:
4 (iii) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (i) of this paragraph,
5 for any year in which an owner or a landlord who is required to file an
6 annual rent registration statement, has failed to timely file such annu-
7 al rent registration statement, the division or a court of competent
8 jurisdiction shall consider such year or years when determining the
9 current legal regulated rent.
10 § 2. Section 26-512 of the administrative code of the city of New York
11 is amended by adding a new subdivision g to read as follows:
12 g. Upon the offering of a lease to a prospective tenant, an owner or a
13 landlord shall be required to provide such tenant with the documentation
14 used by such owner or landlord to support any allowable increases in the
15 legal regulated rent during the previous four years.
16 § 3. Paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 12 of section 4 of chap-
17 ter 576 of the laws of 1974 constituting the emergency tenant protection
18 act of nineteen seventy-four is amended by adding a new clause (iii) to
19 read as follows:
20 (iii) Notwithstanding the provisions of clause (i) of this paragraph,
21 for any year in which an owner or a landlord who is required to file an
22 annual rent registration statement, has failed to timely file such annu-
23 al rent registration statement, the division or a court of competent
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08850-01-9
A. 6973 2
1 jurisdiction shall consider such year or years when determining the
2 current legal regulated rent.
3 § 4. Section 6 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974 consti-
4 tuting the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four is
5 amended by adding a new subdivision h to read as follows:
6 h. Upon the offering of a lease to a prospective tenant, an owner or a
7 landlord shall be required to provide such tenant with the documentation
8 used by such owner or landlord to support any allowable increases in the
9 legal regulated rent during the previous four years.
10 § 5. Section 213-a of the civil practice law and rules, as amended by
11 chapter 116 of the laws of 1997, is amended to read as follows:
12 § 213-a. Actions to be commenced within four years; residential rent
13 overcharge. An action on a residential rent overcharge shall be
14 commenced within four years of the first overcharge alleged and no
15 determination of an overcharge and no award or calculation of an award
16 of the amount of any overcharge may be based upon an overcharge having
17 occurred more than four years before the action is commenced. This
18 section shall preclude examination of the rental history of the housing
19 accommodation prior to the four-year period immediately preceding the
20 commencement of the action; provided however, for any year in which an
21 owner or a landlord who is required to file an annual rent registration
22 statement, has failed to timely file such annual rent registration
23 statement, a court of competent jurisdiction shall consider such year or
24 years when determining the current legal regulated rent.
25 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately, and shall apply to any
26 action or proceeding pending in any court or any application, complaint
27 or proceeding before an administrative agency on the effective date of
28 this act, as well as any action or proceeding commenced thereafter;
29 provided, however, that:
30 (a) the amendments to subdivision a of section 26-516 of the adminis-
31 trative code of the city of New York made by section one of this act
32 shall expire on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect
33 the expiration of such section as provided under section 26-520 of such
34 code; and
35 (b) the amendments to section 26-512 of the administrative code of the
36 city of New York made by section two of this act shall expire on the
37 same date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration of
38 such section as provided under section 26-520 of such code; and
39 (c) the amendments to the emergency tenant protection act of nineteen
40 seventy-four made by sections three and four of this act shall expire on
41 the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of
42 such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974.