2023 New York Laws › RPP - Real Property › Article 7 - Landlord and Tenant › 227-C - Termination of Residential Lease by Victims of Domestic Violence.

§  227-c.  Termination  of  residential  lease  by victims of domestic
violence. 1. Lease or rental agreement. In any lease or rental agreement
covering premises occupied for dwelling purposes, where a  tenant  or  a
member  of  the  tenant's  household is a victim of domestic violence as
defined by section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services  law
and  reasonably  fears  remaining  in  the leasehold premises because of
potential further domestic violence, such tenant shall be  permitted  to
terminate  such  lease  or  rental  agreement  and  quit  and  surrender
possession of the leasehold premises and the land so leased or  occupied
pursuant  to  the provisions of this section and to be released from any
liability to pay to the lessor or owner, rent or other payments in  lieu
of rent for the time subsequent to the date of termination of such lease
in accordance with subdivision two of this section.
2.   Lease   termination   procedure.  (a)  A  tenant  who  meets  the
requirements in subdivision  one  of  this  section  may  terminate  the
tenant's  lease by notice in writing delivered to the lessor or owner of
the premises occupied by such person, or  to  the  lessor's  or  owner's
agent,  and  to  any  co-tenants of such lessee or tenant other than the
perpetrator  of  domestic  violence.  The  notice  shall   specify   the
termination  date  which shall be no earlier than thirty days after such
notice is delivered. If the notice is mailed via first  class  mail,  it
shall be deemed delivered five days after mailing. If the tenant asserts
that  the  lessor  or  owner  is the perpetrator of domestic violence, a
person authorized by the tenant may deliver such notice on the  tenant's
behalf.
(b)  Such  notice  shall  state  that  the  tenant  or a member of the
tenant's household has  experienced  domestic  violence  and  reasonably
believes  the tenant, or the member of the tenant's household, is unable
to safely remain in the leased premises as  a  result  of  the  domestic
violence.
(c)  Within  twenty-five days of such notice, the tenant shall provide
documentation demonstrating that the tenant or a member of the  tenant's
household  has  been  a  victim  of  domestic  violence  as described in
subdivision one of this section. This documentation may include any  one
or more of the following:
(i)  A  temporary  or  final  order of protection issued by a court of
competent jurisdiction;
(ii) A record, complaint, or report from a federal,  state,  or  local
law  enforcement  agency  of an act of domestic violence as described in
section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services law or a family
offense as described in section eight hundred twelve of the family court
act, or certifying that the tenant or a member of the tenant's household
has been subjected to domestic violence;
(iii) A record from a health care provider for  treatment  related  to
domestic  violence  as described in section four hundred fifty-nine-a of
the social services law or a family  offense  as  described  in  section
eight hundred twelve of the family court act;
(iv)  A  written  verification from any other qualified third party to
whom the tenant, or a member of  the  tenant's  household  reported  the
domestic violence.
(A)  "Qualified  third  party"  shall  include:  any  law  enforcement
officer;  employee  of  a  court  of  the  state;  attorney,  physician,
psychiatrist,  psychologist, social worker, registered nurse, therapist,
or clinical professional counselor licensed to practice  in  any  state;
person  employed  by  a  government or non-profit agency or service that
advises or provides services to persons regarding domestic violence;  or
any   member  of  the  clergy  of  a  church  or  religious  society  or
denomination.
(B) Written verification as described herein shall be satisfied by any
sworn or notarized statement including the required information.
(d)   The   following  sample  forms  shall  satisfy  the  notice  and
verification requirements but are not required. These sample forms shall
be posted to the New York state  unified  court  system's  website,  and
shall be made available in the state's family, civil, housing, criminal,
and supreme courts:
 
Part I. Tenant/Legal Occupant Statement
 
I, (insert name of tenant), state as follows:
 
(Choose  the  next part (A, B, or C) that most accurately describes your
situation)
 
(A) I  have  been  subject  to  domestic  violence.  Date(s)  of  recent
incident(s) happened on or about:
 
(B)  A  member  of  my  household has been subject to domestic violence.
Date(s) of recent incident(s) happened on or about:
 
(C) Both I and at least one member of my household have been subject  to
domestic violence. Date(s) of recent incident(s) happened on or about:
 
The  person  I  have  asserted  has  perpetrated domestic violence is my
co-tenant, and I cannot safely give  notice  of  my  termination  to  my
co-tenant. (YES/NO)
 
I reasonably fear that I cannot safely remain in my current apartment. I
hereby  terminate  my  lease  effective (date at least thirty days after
this notice is delivered).
 
_______________________        ___________
(signature of tenant)
(date)
Acknowledgement
 
State of _____________________)
)ss.:
County of ____________________)
On the ______ day of __________  in  the  year  _____,  before  me,  the
undersigned  notary public, personally appeared _______________________,
personally known to me or proved to me  on  the  basis  of  satisfactory
evidence  to  be  the individual(s) whose name(s) is (are) subscribed to
the within instrument and acknowledged to me that  he/she/they  executed
the  same  in  his/her/their  capacity(ies),  and  that by his/her/their
signature(s) on the instrument, the individual(s), or  the  person  upon
behalf of which the individual(s) acted, executed the instrument.
 
_________________________
Notary Public
 
Part II. Qualified Third Party Statement
 
I, (insert name of qualified third party), state as follows:
My employer name/address/phone number/e-mail address are as follows:

I am:
 
____ A  law  enforcement officer employed by the (insert law enforcement
agency).
____ An employee of  __________________________  court  located  in  the
state of _______________.
____ An attorney licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)).
____ A physician licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)).
____ A psychiatrist licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)).
____ A psychologist licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)).
____ A social worker licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)).
____ A nurse licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)).
____ A therapist or clinical professional counselor licensed to practice
in (insert name of state(s));
____ Employed  by  a  government  or  non-profit  agency or service that
advises persons regarding  domestic  violence  or  refers  them  to
persons or agencies for services or advice.
____ A  member  of  the  clergy  of  a  church  or  religious society or
denomination.
____ Other (describe):_________________________________________________
 
The person who signed the  Tenant/Legal  Occupant  Statement  above  has
stated  to  me that he/she/they, or a member of his/her/their household,
has been subject to domestic violence.
 
This person further stated to me the incident(s) occurred  on  or  about
the date(s) stated above.
 
I  understand  that  the  person  who  signed  the Tenant/Legal Occupant
Statement may use this document as a basis for terminating a lease  with
the person's lessor.
 
__________________________________________
(name of qualified third party)
 
__________________________________________
(signature of qualified third party)
 
______________
(date)
Acknowledgement
 
State of ______________________)
)ss.:
County of _____________________)
 
On  the  _______  day  of  ___________ in the year _____, before me, the
undersigned       notary       public,        personally        appeared
_________________________, personally known to me or proved to me on the
basis  of satisfactory evidence to be the individual(s) whose name(s) is
(are) subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged  to  me  that
he/she/they  executed  the same in his/her/their capacity(ies), and that
by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument, the  individual(s),  or

the  person  upon  behalf of which the individual(s) acted, executed the
instrument.
 
____________________________________________
Notary Public
 
Part III. Statement of Interpretation/Translation
 
I  am  bilingual  in  English  and  ____________  and have translated or
interpreted this document to the best  of  my  ability  for  the  signer
above.
 
_________________________________________
(name of interpreter/translator)
 
_________________________________________
(signature of interpreter/translator)
 
___________________
(date)
Acknowledgement
 
State of ______________________)
)ss.:
County of _____________________)
 
On  the  _______  day  of  ___________ in the year _____, before me, the
undersigned  notary  public,   personally   appeared   ________________,
personally  known  to  me  or  proved to me on the basis of satisfactory
evidence to be the individual(s) whose name(s) is  (are)  subscribed  to
the  within  instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed
the same in  his/her/their  capacity(ies),  and  that  by  his/her/their
signature(s)  on  the  instrument, the individual(s), or the person upon
behalf of which the individual(s) acted, executed the instrument.
 
____________________________________________
Notary Public
3. Treatment of rent. (a) The tenant terminating the lease  shall  pay
rent,  pro-rata,  up  to  the  lease  termination  date pursuant to this
section.
(b) The tenant terminating the lease shall be entitled to a refund for
any prepaid rent  or  other  payments  covering  the  period  after  the
effective  date  of  the  lease  termination,  as long as the tenant has
vacated the premises. Such refund shall be provided within ten  days  of
delivery  of  the  written notice as outlined in subdivision two of this
section.
(c) A tenant who meets the requirements in  subdivision  one  of  this
section  and  submits  proper notice pursuant to subdivision two of this
section shall have a defense in any action brought by a landlord against
such tenant to recover rent and/or damages for breach of lease and shall
not be liable for any rent after the effective termination date.
(d) The lessor or owner may withhold a security deposit in part or  in
full to the extent allowed by the lease or statute, except for the early
termination  granted by this section, and shall not withhold any part of
the security deposit due to the tenant's exercise of rights  under  this
section.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to be a defense against
an  action  for  rent for a period of time before the tenant vacated the
premises and gave notice as required in subdivision two of this section.
4. Co-tenants and other occupants. Upon termination:
(a) If the terminating tenant is the sole  leaseholder,  the  premises
shall be delivered to the lessor or owner:
(i)  free  of all tenants and occupants, provided that the terminating
tenant shall not be responsible for ensuring that the abusive  household
member is not present; and
(ii) in accordance with the terms of the lease relating to delivery of
the premises at the termination of the lease.
(b)  If  there  are  tenants  on  the lease other than the terminating
tenant:
(i) the landlord shall not, except upon  consent  of  such  additional
tenants,  terminate  or  sever the co-tenancy. The landlord must provide
the remaining tenant at least thirty days from the termination  date  to
decide whether to consent to a termination or severance.
(ii)  The  remaining  co-tenant or co-tenants hold the right to add an
additional occupant as defined by paragraph (b) of  subdivision  one  of
section two hundred thirty-five-f of this article.
5.  Confidentiality  provisions.  (a)  Unless  the  terminating tenant
provides written authorization for the release of information or  unless
required  by  law, court order, or statute, the information shall not be
released. Information that shall  be  kept  confidential  shall  include
information obtained during the process of the tenant terminating his or
her  lease  in  accordance with this section, such as: (i) the nature of
the termination, (ii) the status of the tenant or member of the tenant's
household as a victim of domestic violence, and  (iii)  any  information
contained in documentation provided to demonstrate status as a victim of
domestic violence.
(b)  Pursuant  to  this  section,  the  landlord  shall  not  divulge,
describe, or characterize the termination of the rental agreement as  an
early  termination  by  a  current lessor to a prospective lessor or any
third party.
6. Violations. (a) Landlords who knowingly, or  intentionally  violate
any  part  of  this section may be liable for liquidated damages, not to
exceed one thousand dollars, actual damages, costs and attorneys' fees.
(b) Any agreement by a lessee  or  tenant  of  premises  occupied  for
dwelling purposes waiving or modifying his or her rights as set forth in
this section shall be void as contrary to public policy.