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S05720 Summary:

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S05720 Floor Votes:

S05720 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          5720
 
                               2009-2010 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                      June 1, 2009
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen. SAMPSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
 
        AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to online listing  of
          property for sale or rent
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 440 of the real property  law,  as
     2  amended  by  chapter  324  of  the  laws  of 1998, is amended to read as
     3  follows:
     4    1. Whenever used in  this  article  "real  estate  broker"  means  any
     5  person, firm, limited liability company or corporation, who, for another
     6  and  for  a  fee,  commission or other valuable consideration, lists for
     7  sale, compiles and provides online listings of real property for rent or
     8  sale, sells, at auction or  otherwise,  exchanges,  buys  or  rents,  or
     9  offers  or  attempts  to  negotiate  a  sale,  at  auction or otherwise,
    10  exchange, purchase or rental of an estate or interest in real estate, or
    11  collects or offers or attempts to collect  rent  for  the  use  of  real
    12  estate, or negotiates or offers or attempts to negotiate, a loan secured

    13  or  to be secured by a mortgage, other than a residential mortgage loan,
    14  as defined in section five hundred ninety of the banking law,  or  other
    15  incumbrance  upon or transfer of real estate, or is engaged in the busi-
    16  ness of a tenant relocator, or who, notwithstanding any other  provision
    17  of  law,  performs any of the above stated functions with respect to the
    18  resale  of  condominium  property  originally  sold  pursuant   to   the
    19  provisions of the general business law governing real estate syndication
    20  offerings.  In  the  sale  of lots pursuant to the provisions of article
    21  nine-A of this chapter, the term "real estate broker" shall also include
    22  any person, partnership, association or corporation employed  by  or  on
    23  behalf  of  the owner or owners of lots or other parcels of real estate,
    24  at a stated salary, or upon a commission, or upon a salary  and  commis-

    25  sion,  or  otherwise, to sell such real estate, or any parts thereof, in
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05673-01-9
        S. 5720                             2
 
     1  lots or other parcels, and who shall  sell  or  exchange,  or  offer  or
     2  attempt  or  agree to negotiate the sale or exchange, of any such lot or
     3  parcel of real estate.  For  purposes  of  this  subdivision  the  term,
     4  "interest  in  real estate" shall include the sale of a business wherein
     5  the value of the real estate transferred as part of the business is  not
     6  merely  incidental to the transaction, and shall not include the assign-
     7  ment of a lease, and further, the transaction itself  is  not  otherwise

     8  subject  to regulation under state or federal laws governing the sale of
     9  securities. In connection with the sale of a  business  the  term  "real
    10  estate  broker"  shall  not include a person, firm or corporation regis-
    11  tered pursuant to the provisions of article twenty-three-A of the gener-
    12  al business law or federal securities laws.
    13    § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 442-k of the real property law, as added
    14  by chapter 248 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
    15    1. The state real estate board shall  have  the  power  to  promulgate
    16  rules  or  regulations  affecting  brokers and sales persons in order to
    17  administer and effectuate the purposes  of  this  article,  except  that
    18  matters  pertaining  to  commingling  money  of  a  principal, rendering
    19  accounts for a client, managing property for a client, broker's purchase

    20  of property listed with him or her, inducing breach of contract of  sale
    21  or lease, and records of transactions to be maintained, and online post-
    22  ings  of  real  property for rent or sale are reserved for the exclusive
    23  regulatory authority of the secretary of state.  The secretary of state,
    24  and not the state real estate board, shall promulgate  rules  and  regu-
    25  lations  to  administer  or  implement  the  provisions of sections four
    26  hundred forty-one and four hundred forty-two-h  of  this  article.    In
    27  addition, the secretary of state shall have exclusive regulatory author-
    28  ity  to  promulgate  rules  regarding the duties and responsibilities of
    29  real estate brokers and salespersons with  regard  to  the  handling  of
    30  clients' funds.
    31    §  3.  Subdivision  2  of  section  446-a of the real property law, as

    32  amended by chapter 805 of the laws  of  1980,  is  amended  to  read  as
    33  follows:
    34    2.  "Apartment information vendor" means any person who engages in the
    35  business of claiming, demanding,  charging,  receiving,  collecting,  or
    36  contracting  for the collection of, a fee from a customer for furnishing
    37  information concerning the location and availability of  real  property,
    38  including  apartment  housing,  which  may  be leased, rented, shared or
    39  sublet as a private dwelling, abode, or place of  residence.  The  defi-
    40  nition  of apartment information vendor shall include an apartment shar-
    41  ing agent which means any person who, for  a  fee,  arranges,  conducts,
    42  coordinates,  handles  or  causes  meetings  between  a customer and the
    43  current owner or occupant of legally occupied real  property,  including
    44  apartment  housing,  who  wishes  to share that housing with one or more

    45  individuals as a private dwelling, abode or place of residence,  but  it
    46  shall  not  apply  to  a  licensed  real  estate broker who compiles and
    47  provides for a fee online listings of real property for rent or sale, or
    48  to any person who for another and for a fee, commission or  other  valu-
    49  able   consideration,   supervises,  organizes,  arranges,  coordinates,
    50  handles or is otherwise in charge of or responsible for  the  relocation
    51  of  commercial  or residential tenants from buildings or structures that
    52  are to be demolished, rehabilitated, remodeled or otherwise structurally
    53  altered.
    54    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.