Amd S26-412, add S26-519.1, NYC Ad Cd; add S12-b, Emerg Ten Prot Act of 1974
Provides that with respect to apartments covered by rent control, rent stabilization, or the emergency tenant protection act, a landlord must be free of outstanding building code violations to bring an action or proceeding for rent or eviction; provides alternative provisions for disputed violations; requires tenants to pay rent into an interest bearing account to be maintained by the court during the pendency of the dispute over the violation; payments may be made from such account to cover utility bills and the making of necessary repairs if the dispute is resolved in favor of the tenant; provides that if such dispute is resolved in favor of the landlord, then he or she shall receive all such payments with interest thereon.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
593
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 7, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and
Community Development
AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and the
emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in relation
to conditions precedent to the bringing of certain actions or
proceedings
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 26-412 of the administrative code of the city of
2 New York is amended by adding a new subdivision g to read as follows:
3 g. (1) It shall be unlawful for a landlord to bring an action or
4 proceeding for rent or eviction against a tenant or tenants of housing
5 accommodations that are subject to an outstanding official charge of, or
6 an uncured, violation of any applicable building code. The pleadings of
7 the landlord in any such action or proceeding shall be accompanied by a
8 certificate from the department of buildings stating whether or not
9 there are any such outstanding violations. In the event that a landlord
10 disputes a violation, he or she shall so state in his or her pleadings
11 his or her reasons for such dispute. He or she may then proceed with the
12 action or proceeding.
13 (2) During the pendency of the dispute over the violation, the tenant
14 or tenants shall pay rent, or any judgment or order therefor awarded to
15 the landlord, into an interest bearing account to be maintained by the
16 court. If the disputed violation is resolved in the landlord's favor, he
17 or she shall receive all such payments together with interest thereon.
18 If the disputed violation is resolved against the landlord, such
19 payments shall first be applied to funding the curing of such violations
20 and the balance thereof, if any, shall then be paid to the landlord. In
21 the event that a landlord or tenant or tenants are able to demonstrate
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04062-01-5
S. 593 2
1 financial necessity therefor, the court may, in its discretion, apply
2 funds in its custody to the payment of utility bills, if such utilities
3 are currently provided by the landlord, and the making of necessary
4 repairs in the presence of conditions that threaten the health and
5 welfare of the tenant.
6 § 2. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended by
7 adding a new section 26-519.1 to read as follows:
8 § 26-519.1 Conditions precedent to action or proceeding. a. It shall
9 be unlawful for a landlord to bring an action or proceeding for rent or
10 eviction against a tenant or tenants of housing accommodations that are
11 subject to an outstanding official charge of, or an uncured, violation
12 of the building code. The pleadings of the landlord in any such action
13 or proceeding shall be accompanied by a certificate from the department
14 of buildings stating whether or not there are any such outstanding
15 violations. In the event that a landlord disputes a violation, he or she
16 shall so state in his or her pleadings his or her reasons for such
17 dispute. He or she may then proceed with the action or proceeding.
18 b. During the pendency of the dispute over the violation, the tenant
19 or tenants shall pay rent, or any judgment or order therefor awarded to
20 the landlord, into an interest bearing account to be maintained by the
21 court. If the disputed violation is resolved in the landlord's favor, he
22 or she shall receive all such payments together with interest thereon.
23 If the disputed violation is resolved against the landlord, such
24 payments shall first be applied to funding the curing of such violations
25 and the balance thereof, if any, shall then be paid to the landlord. In
26 the event that a landlord or tenant or tenants are able to demonstrate
27 financial necessity therefor, the court may, in its discretion, apply
28 funds in its custody to the payment of utility bills, if such utilities
29 are currently provided by the landlord, and the making of necessary
30 repairs in the presence of conditions that threaten the health and
31 welfare of the tenant.
32 § 3. Section 4 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974, constituting the
33 emergency tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, is amended by
34 adding a new section 12-b to read as follows:
35 § 12-b. Conditions precedent to action or proceeding. a. It shall be
36 unlawful for a landlord to bring an action or proceeding for rent or
37 eviction against a tenant or tenants of housing accommodations that are
38 subject to an outstanding official charge of, or an uncured, violation
39 of any applicable building code. The pleadings of the landlord in any
40 such action or proceeding shall be accompanied by a certificate from the
41 department of buildings stating whether or not there are any such
42 outstanding violations. In the event that a landlord disputes a
43 violation, he or she shall so state in his or her pleadings his or her
44 reasons for such dispute. He or she may then proceed with the action or
45 proceeding.
46 b. During the pendency of the dispute over the violation, the tenant
47 or tenants shall pay rent, or any judgment or order therefor awarded to
48 the landlord, into an interest bearing account to be maintained by the
49 court. If the disputed violation is resolved in the landlord's favor, he
50 or she shall receive all such payments together with interest thereon.
51 If the disputed violation is resolved against the landlord, such
52 payments shall first be applied to funding the curing of such violations
53 and the balance thereof, if any, shall then be paid to the landlord. In
54 the event that a landlord or tenant or tenants are able to demonstrate
55 financial necessity therefor, the court may, in its discretion, apply
56 funds in its custody to the payment of utility bills, if such utilities
S. 593 3
1 are currently provided by the landlord, and the making of necessary
2 repairs in the presence of conditions that threaten the health and
3 welfare of the tenant.
4 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that:
5 (a) the amendment to section 26-412 of the city rent and rehabili-
6 tation law made by section one of this act shall remain in full force
7 and effect only so long as the public emergency requiring the regulation
8 and control of residential rents and evictions continues, as provided in
9 subdivision 3 of section 1 of the local emergency housing rent control
10 act;
11 (b) the addition of section 26-519.1 to the rent stabilization law of
12 nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by section two of this act shall expire
13 on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration
14 of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law; and
15 (c) the addition of section 12-b to the emergency tenant protection
16 act of nineteen seventy-four made by section three of this act shall
17 expire on the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the
18 expiration of such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the
19 laws of 1974, as amended.
