2023 New York Laws › ETP - Emergency Tenant Protection Act 576/74

§   4.  The  emergency  tenant  protection  act  of  nineteen  hundred
  seventy-four is hereby enacted to read as follows:
EMERGENCY TENANT PROTECTION ACT
OF NINETEEN SEVENTY-FOUR
 
  Section 1.    Short title.
2.    Legislative finding.
3.    Local determination of emergency; end of emergency.
4.    Establishment of rent guidelines boards; duties.
5.    Housing accommodations subject to regulation.
6.    Regulation of rents.
7.    Maintenance of services.
8.    Administration.
9.    Application for  adjustment  of  initial  legal  regulated
rent.
10.   Regulations.
10-a. Right to sublease.
10-b. Major   capital   improvements  and  individual  apartment
improvements in rent regulated units.
11.   Non-waiver of rights.
12.   Enforcement and procedures.
12-a. Rent registration.
13.   Cooperation with other governmental agencies.
14.   Application of act.
Section 1. Short title. This act shall be  known  and  may  be
cited  as  the  "emergency  tenant  protection  act  of nineteen
seventy-four".
§ 2. Legislative finding. The  legislature  hereby  finds  and
declares  that  a serious public emergency continues to exist in
the housing of a considerable number of persons in the state  of
New  York,  that such emergency necessitates the intervention of
federal,  state  and  local  government  in  order  to   prevent
speculative,  unwarranted  and abnormal increases in rents; that
there continues to exist in many areas of  the  state  an  acute
shortage  of  housing  accommodations  caused  by continued high
demand, attributable in part to  new  household  formations  and
decreased  supply,  in  large  measure  attributable  to reduced
availability  of  federal  subsidies,  and  increased  costs  of
construction  and other inflationary factors; that a substantial
number of persons residing in housing not presently  subject  to
the provisions of this act or the emergency housing rent control
law  or  the  local emergency housing rent control act are being
charged excessive and unwarranted rents and rent increases; that
preventive action by the legislature continues to be  imperative
in  order  to  prevent  exaction  of  unjust,  unreasonable  and
oppressive  rents  and  rental  agreements  and   to   forestall
profiteering, speculation and other disruptive practices tending
to  produce  threats  to  the  public health, safety and general
welfare; that in order  to  prevent  uncertainty,  hardship  and
dislocation,  the  provisions  of  this  act  are  necessary and
designed to  protect  the  public  health,  safety  and  general
welfare;  that the transition from regulation to a normal market
of free  bargaining  between  landlord  and  tenant,  while  the
ultimate  objective  of  state  policy, must take place with due
regard for such emergency; and that the policy herein  expressed
shall  be  subject to determination of the existence of a public
emergency requiring the regulation of residential  rents  within
any  city, town or village by the local legislative body of such
city, town or village.
§  3.  Local  determination of emergency; end of emergency. a.
The existence of public emergency requiring  the  regulation  of
residential  rents  for  all  or any class or classes of housing
accommodations, including any plot or parcel of land  which  had
been  rented prior to May first, nineteen hundred fifty, for the
purpose of permitting the tenant thereof to construct  or  place
his  own  dwelling  thereon  and on which plot or parcel of land
there exists a dwelling owned and occupied by a tenant  of  such
plot or parcel, heretofore destabilized; heretofore or hereafter
decontrolled,  exempt,  not subject to control, or exempted from
regulation and control under the  provisions  of  the  emergency
housing  rent  control  law,  the  local  emergency housing rent
control act or the New  York  city  rent  stabilization  law  of
nineteen  hundred  sixty-nine;  or  subject  to stabilization or
control under such rent stabilization law, shall be a matter for
local determination within each city, town or village. Any  such
determination  shall  be  made  by the local legislative body of
such city, town or village on the basis of the supply of housing
accommodations within such city, town or village, the  condition
of   such   accommodations  and  the  need  for  regulating  and
controlling residential rents within such city, town or village.
A declaration of emergency may  be  made  as  to  any  class  of
housing  accommodations  if  the  vacancy  rate  for the housing
accommodations in such class within such municipality is not  in
excess  of  five  percent  and a declaration of emergency may be
made as to all housing accommodations if the  vacancy  rate  for
the  housing  accommodations  within such municipality is not in
excess of five percent.
b. The local governing body of a city, town or village  having
declared  an emergency pursuant to subdivision a of this section
may at  any  time,  on  the  basis  of  the  supply  of  housing
accommodations  within such city, town or village, the condition
of such accommodations and the need for continued regulation and
control of residential rents within such  municipality,  declare
that  the emergency is either wholly or partially abated or that
the regulation of rents pursuant to this act does not  serve  to
abate  such  emergency and thereby remove one or more classes of
accommodations from regulation under  this  act.  The  emergency
must  be  declared  at an end once the vacancy rate described in
subdivision a of this section exceeds five percent.
c.  No  resolution  declaring  the  existence  or  end  of  an
emergency,  as  authorized  by  subdivisions  a  and  b  of this
section, may be adopted except after public hearing held on  not
less  than ten days public notice, as the local legislative body
may reasonably provide.
d. When requested by a municipality or a designee, as  a  part
of  a  study  to  determine  its  vacancy rate, owners, or their
agent,  of  housing  accommodations  in  the  class  of  housing
accommodations determined, shall provide the most recent records
of  rent  rolls  and,  if  available,  records for the preceding
thirty-six months.  Such  records  shall  include  the  tenant's
relevant  information  relating  to  finding the vacancy rate of
such  municipality  including  but  not  limited  to  the  name,
address,  and  amount  paid  or charged on a weekly, monthly, or
annual basis for each occupied housing accommodation  and  which
housing  accommodations are vacant at the time of the survey and
available for rent. Such records shall also include any  housing
accommodations  that  are  vacant and not available for rent and
provide the reason why such unit is not available for rent.
e.  A  municipality may impose a civil penalty or fee of up to
five hundred dollars on an owner or their agent if the owner  or
their  agent  refuses  to participate in such vacancy survey and
cooperate with the municipality or a designee  in  such  vacancy
survey,  or  submits  knowingly  and intentionally false vacancy
information.
f.  A  nonrespondent  owner  shall  be  deemed  to  have  zero
vacancies.
g.  Identifying data or information shall be kept confidential
and shall not be shared, traded, given, or  sold  to  any  other
entity for any purpose outside of such vacancy study.
§  4.  Establishment  of rent guidelines boards; duties. a. In
each county wherein any city having a population  of  less  than
one  million or any town or village has determined the existence
of an emergency pursuant to section three  of  this  act,  there
shall  be  created  a  rent  guidelines board to consist of nine
members appointed by the commissioner of housing  and  community
renewal  upon  recommendation  of the county legislature, except
that a rent guidelines board created subsequent to the effective
date of the chapter of the laws of two  thousand  nineteen  that
amended  this section shall consist of nine members appointed by
the  commissioner  of  housing  and   community   renewal   upon
recommendations  of  the  local  legislative  body  of each city
having a population of less than one million or town or  village
which  has  determined the existence of an emergency pursuant to
section three of this act. Such  recommendation  shall  be  made
within  thirty  days  after  the  first  local declaration of an
emergency  in  such  county;   two   such   members   shall   be
representative of tenants, two shall be representative of owners
of property, and five shall be public members each of whom shall
have  had  at  least  five  years  experience in either finance,
economics or housing. One public member shall be  designated  by
the  commissioner  to  serve as chairman and shall hold no other
public office. No member, officer or employee of  any  municipal
rent  regulation  agency  or  the  state division of housing and
community renewal and no person who owns or manages real  estate
covered  by this law or who is an officer of any owner or tenant
organization shall serve on a rent guidelines board. One  public
member,  one  member  representative  of  tenants and one member
representative of owners shall serve for a term ending two years
from  January  first  next  succeeding   the   date   of   their
appointment;  one  public  member,  one member representative of
tenants and one member representative of owners shall serve  for
terms  ending three years from the January first next succeeding
the date of their appointment and  three  public  members  shall
serve  for  terms  ending  four  years  from  January first next
succeeding the  dates  of  their  appointment.  Thereafter,  all
members  shall serve for terms of four years each. Members shall
continue in office until their successors  have  been  appointed
and qualified. The commissioner shall fill any vacancy which may
occur  by  reason of death, resignation or otherwise in a manner
consistent with  the  original  appointment.  A  member  may  be
removed  by  the  commissioner  for  cause,  but  not without an
opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel, in his defense,
upon not less than ten days notice. Compensation for the members
of the board shall be at the rate of  one  hundred  dollars  per
day,  for  no  more  than  twenty  days  a year, except that the
chairman shall  be  compensated  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred
twenty-five  dollars  a day for no more than thirty days a year.
The board shall be provided staff assistance by the division  of
housing  and community renewal. The compensation of such members
and the costs of staff assistance shall be paid by the  division
of  housing  and  community renewal which shall be reimbursed in
the manner prescribed in section four of  this  act.  The  local
legislative  body  of each city having a population of less than
one million and each town and village in which an emergency  has
been  determined to exist as herein provided shall be authorized
to designate one person who shall be representative  of  tenants
and one person who shall be representative of owners of property
to  serve at its pleasure and without compensation to advise and
assist the county rent guidelines board in matters affecting the
adjustment of rents for housing  accommodations  in  such  city,
town or village as the case may be.
a-1.  Notwithstanding  the provisions of subdivision a of this
section to the contrary, in each county that became  subject  to
this  act  pursuant  to  the chapter of the laws of two thousand
nineteen that  amended  this  section,  the  commissioner  shall
reconstitute  the  existing  rent guidelines board subsequent to
any initial local declaration of emergency  within  such  county
for  the purpose of ensuring representation of all cities having
a population of less than one million and all towns and villages
within  such  county  having  determined  the  existence  of  an
emergency  in accordance with this act are represented, pursuant
to rules and regulations promulgated by the division of  housing
and community renewal.
b.  A  county  rent  guidelines  board  shall establish annual
guidelines for rent adjustments which, at  its  sole  discretion
may be varied and different for and within the several zones and
jurisdictions of the board, and in determining whether rents for
housing  accommodations  as  to  which  an  emergency  has  been
declared pursuant to this act shall be adjusted, shall  consider
among other things (1) the economic condition of the residential
real estate industry in the affected area including such factors
as  the prevailing and projected (i) real estate taxes and sewer
and  water  rates,  (ii)  gross  operating   maintenance   costs
(including  insurance rates, governmental fees, cost of fuel and
labor  costs),  (iii)  costs  and  availability   of   financing
(including effective rates of interest), (iv) over-all supply of
housing  accommodations and over-all vacancy rates, (2) relevant
data from the current and projected cost of living  indices  for
the  affected area, (3) such other data as may be made available
to it. As soon as practicable after its creation and  thereafter
not  later than July first of each year, a rent guidelines board
shall file with the state  division  of  housing  and  community
renewal  its findings for the preceding calendar year, and shall
accompany such findings with a statement of the maximum rate  or
rates  of  rent  adjustment,  if any, for one or more classes of
accommodation subject to this  act,  authorized  for  leases  or
other  rental  agreements  commencing during the next succeeding
twelve  months.  The  standards  for  rent  adjustments  may  be
applicable  for  the entire county or may be varied according to
such zones or jurisdictions within  such  county  as  the  board
finds  necessary  to achieve the purposes of this subdivision. A
rent guidelines board shall not establish annual guidelines  for
rent  adjustments  based on the current rental cost of a unit or
on the amount of  time  that  has  elapsed  since  another  rent
increase was authorized pursuant to this chapter.
The  standards for rent adjustments established annually shall
be effective for leases commencing on October first of each year
and during the next succeeding twelve months whether or not  the
board  has  filed its findings and statement of the maximum rate
or rates of rent adjustment by July first of each year. If  such
lease  is  entered  into before such filing by the board, it may
provide for the rent to be adjusted by the rates then in effect,
subject to change by the applicable  rates  of  rent  adjustment
when  filed,  such  change to be effective as of the date of the
commencement of the lease. Said lease must provide that, if  the
new  rates  of  rent  adjustment  differ for leases of different
terms, the tenant has the option of changing the original  lease
term  to  any  other term for which a rate of rent adjustment is
set by the board, with the rental to be adjusted accordingly.
Where a city, town or  village  shall  act  to  determine  the
existence  of public emergency pursuant to section three of this
act subsequent to the establishment  of  annual  guidelines  for
rent  adjustments of the accommodations subject to this act, the
rent guidelines board as soon as  practicable  thereafter  shall
file  its  findings  and  rates of rent adjustment for leases or
other rental agreements for the housing accommodations in such a
city, town or village, which rates shall be effective for leases
or other rental agreements commencing on or after the  effective
date of the determination.
c.  In  a city having a population of one million or more, the
rent  guidelines  board  shall  be  the  rent  guidelines  board
established pursuant to the New York city rent stabilization law
of  nineteen hundred sixty-nine as amemded, and such board shall
have the powers granted pursuant  to  the  New  York  city  rent
stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine as amended.
d.  Maximum  rates of rent adjustment shall not be established
more than once annually for any housing accommodation  within  a
board's  jurisdiction.  Once  established,  no  such rate shall,
within the  one-year  period,  be  adjusted  by  any  surcharge,
supplementary adjustment or other modification.
e.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  this  act, the
adjustment for vacancy leases covered by the provisions of  this
act  shall  be determined exclusively pursuant to section ten of
this act. Rent guidelines  boards  shall  no  longer  promulgate
adjustments for vacancy leases.
§  5.  Housing  accommodations  subject  to  regulation.  a. A
declaration of emergency may be made pursuant to  section  three
as to all or any class or classes of housing accommodations in a
municipality, except:
(1)  housing  accommodations  subject to the emergency housing
rent control law, or the local emergency  housing  rent  control
act,  other  than housing accommodations subject to the New York
city rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine;
(2) housing accommodations owned or  operated  by  the  United
States, the state of New York, any political subdivision, agency
or  instrumentality  thereof,  any  municipality  or  any public
housing authority;
(3) housing accommodations in buildings in which  rentals  are
fixed  by or subject to the supervision of the state division of
housing and community renewal under other provisions of  law  or
the  New  York  city  department  of  housing  preservation  and
development or the New York state urban development corporation,
or, to the extent that regulation under this act is inconsistent
therewith  aided  by government insurance under any provision of
the National Housing Act;
(4) (a) housing accommodations in a building containing  fewer
than  six  dwelling units, other than any plot or parcel of land
in cities having a population of one million or more  which  had
been  rented prior to May first, nineteen hundred fifty, for the
purpose of permitting the tenant thereof to construct  or  place
his   own   dwelling   thereon   and   heretofore  or  hereafter
decontrolled, exempt, not subject to control  or  exempted  from
regulation  and  control  under  the provisions of the emergency
housing rent control law or the  local  emergency  housing  rent
control  act  and on which plot or parcel of land there exists a
dwelling owned and occupied by a tenant of such plot or parcel;
(b) for purposes of this paragraph four, a building  shall  be
deemed  to contain six or more dwelling units if it is part of a
multiple  family   garden-type   maisonette   dwelling   complex
containing  six  or more dwelling units having common facilities
such as a sewer line, water main or heating plant  and  operated
as   a   unit   under  common  ownership,  notwithstanding  that
certificates of occupancy were issued for  portions  thereof  as
one- or two-family dwellings.
(5) housing accommodations in buildings completed or buildings
substantially  rehabilitated as family units on or after January
first, nineteen hundred seventy-four;  provided  that  an  owner
claiming  exemption  from  rent  stabilization on the basis of a
substantial   rehabilitation,   where   the   work   for    such
rehabilitation  was  initiated  on  or  after  the  first day of
January, two thousand  twenty-four,  shall  seek  approval  from
state  division of housing and community renewal within one year
of  the  completion  of  the  substantial  rehabilitation,   and
ultimately  obtain  such  approval, which shall be denied on the
following grounds:
(a) the owner or its predecessors in interest have engaged  in
harassment of tenants in the five years preceding the completion
of the substantial rehabilitation;
(b)  the  building  was  not  in  a  substandard  or seriously
deteriorated condition requiring substantial rehabilitation; or
(c) any additional grounds as set forth by regulation;
(5-a) housing accommodations located outside of a city with  a
population  of  one  million  or more in any such buildings that
were vacant and unoccupied on June first, two thousand  nineteen
and  had  been  vacant  and unoccupied for at least the one-year
period immediately preceding such date;
(6) housing accommodations owned or operated  by  a  hospital,
convent,  monastery,  asylum,  public institution, or college or
school dormitory or any  institution  operated  exclusively  for
charitable  or  educational purposes on a non-profit basis other
than (i) those accommodations occupied by a tenant on  the  date
such  housing accommodation is acquired by any such institution,
or which are occupied  subsequently  by  a  tenant  who  is  not
affiliated  with  such  institution  at  the time of his initial
occupancy  or  (ii)  permanent   housing   accommodations   with
government contracted services, as of and after June fourteenth,
two  thousand nineteen, to vulnerable individuals or individuals
with disabilities who  are  or  were  homeless  or  at  risk  of
homelessness;  provided,  however,  that  the terms of leases in
existence as of June fourteenth, two  thousand  nineteen,  shall
only  be  affected upon lease renewal, and further provided that
upon the vacancy  of  such  housing  accommodations,  the  legal
regulated  rent  for  such  housing  accommodations shall be the
legal regulated rent paid for such housing accommodations by the
prior tenant, subject only to  any  adjustment  adopted  by  the
applicable rent guidelines board;
(7)  rooms  or  other  housing accommodations in hotels, other
than hotel accommodations in cities having a population  of  one
million or more not occupied on a transient basis and heretofore
subject  to  the  emergency  housing rent control law, the local
emergency housing rent control act or to the New York city  rent
stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine;
(8)  any  motor  court,  or  any part thereof, any trailer, or
trailer space used exclusively for transient  occupancy  or  any
part  thereof;  or  any  tourist  home  serving transient guests
exclusively, or any part thereof;
The term "motor court" shall  mean  an  establishment  renting
rooms,   cottages   or  cabins,  supplying  parking  or  storage
facilities for motor vehicles in connection  with  such  renting
and  other  services and facilities customarily supplied by such
establishments, and commonly known as  motor,  auto  or  tourist
court in the community.
The  term  "tourist  home"  shall  mean  a rooming house which
caters primarily to transient guests and is known as  a  tourist
home in the community.
(9)   non-housekeeping,   furnished   housing  accommodations,
located within a single dwelling unit not used as a  rooming  or
boarding house, but only if:
(a)  no  more  than two tenants for whom rent is paid (husband
and wife being considered one  tenant  for  this  purpose),  not
members  of  the  landlord's  immediate  family,  live  in  such
dwelling unit, and
(b) the remaining portion of such dwelling unit is occupied by
the landlord or his immediate family.
(10) housing accommodations in buildings operated  exclusively
for  charitable  purposes  on  a  non-profit  basis  except  for
permanent  housing  accommodations  with  government  contracted
services,  as  of and after the effective date of the chapter of
the laws of two thousand nineteen that amended  this  paragraph,
to  vulnerable  individuals or individuals with disabilities who
are or were homeless  or  at  risk  of  homelessness;  provided,
however,  that  the  terms  of  leases  in  existence  as of the
effective date of the  chapter  of  the  laws  of  two  thousand
nineteen  that  amended  this  paragraph, shall only be affected
upon lease renewal, and further provided that upon  the  vacancy
of  such  housing  accommodations,  the legal regulated rent for
such housing accommodations shall be the  legal  regulated  rent
paid  for  such  housing  accommodations  by  the  prior tenant,
subject only to any adjustment adopted by  the  applicable  rent
guidelines board;
(11)  housing  accommodations  which  are  not occupied by the
tenant, not including subtenants or occupants,  as  his  or  her
primary  residence,  as  determined  by  a  court  of  competent
jurisdiction. For the purposes of determining primary residency,
a tenant who is a victim of domestic  violence,  as  defined  in
section  four  hundred  fifty-nine-a of the social services law,
who has left the unit because of such violence, and who  asserts
an intent to return to the housing accommodation shall be deemed
to  be  occupying  the unit as his or her primary residence. For
the purposes of this paragraph, where a housing accommodation is
rented  to  a  not-for-profit  hospital  for  residential   use,
affiliated  subtenants  authorized to use such accommodations by
such hospital shall be deemed to be tenants. For the purposes of
this paragraph, where a housing accommodation  is  rented  to  a
not-for-profit for providing, as of and after the effective date
of the chapter of the laws of two thousand nineteen that amended
this paragraph, permanent housing to individuals who are or were
homeless  or  at  risk  of  homelessness,  affiliated subtenants
authorized to use such  accommodations  by  such  not-for-profit
shall  be deemed to be tenants. No action or proceeding shall be
commenced seeking to recover possession on  the  ground  that  a
housing  accommodation  is  not occupied by the tenant as his or
her primary residence unless the  owner  or  lessor  shall  have
given  thirty  days notice to the tenant of his or her intention
to commence such action or proceeding on such grounds.
(14) (i) housing accommodations  owned  as  a  cooperative  or
condominium  unit  which  are  or  become vacant on or after the
effective date of this paragraph, except that this  subparagraph
shall  not  apply  to  units  occupied by non-purchasing tenants
under  section  three  hundred  fifty-two-eee  of  the   general
business  law  until  the  occurrence  of  a  vacancy. (ii) This
paragraph shall not apply, however, to or become effective  with
respect   to   housing  accommodations  which  the  commissioner
determines or finds the landlord or any person acting on his  or
her  behalf,  with intent to cause the tenant to vacate, engaged
in any  course  of  conduct  (including,  but  not  limited  to,
interruption  or  discontinuance  of  required  services)  which
interfered with or disturbed or was intended to  interfere  with
or  disturb the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of the tenant in
his or her use or occupancy of the  housing  accommodations.  In
connection  with  such  course  of  conduct  any  other  general
enforcement provision of this act shall also apply;
b.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  this  section,
nothing  shall  prevent the declaration of an emergency pursuant
to section three of this act for rental  housing  accommodations
located  in  buildings  or  structures  which are subject to the
provisions of article eighteen of the  private  housing  finance
law.
§ 6. Regulation of rents. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of
any lease or other rental agreement, no owner shall, on or after
the  first  day  of  the  first  month  or  other  rental period
following a declaration of emergency pursuant to section  three,
which  date  shall  be  referred  to  in  this  act as the local
effective date, charge or collect any  rent  in  excess  of  the
initial legal regulated rent or adjusted initial legal regulated
rent  until  such time as a different legal regulated rent shall
be  authorized  pursuant  to  guidelines  adopted  by   a   rent
guidelines board pursuant to section four.
b.   The   initial   legal   regulated   rents   for   housing
accommodations in a city having a population of  less  than  one
million  or  a  town  or  village  as  to which a declaration of
emergency has been made pursuant to this act shall be:
(1)  For  housing  accommodations  subject  to  the  emergency
housing  rent  control  law  which become vacant on or after the
local effective date of this act, the  rent  agreed  to  by  the
landlord  and the tenant and reserved in a lease or provided for
in   a  rental  agreement;  provided  that  such  initial  legal
regulated rent may be adjusted on application of  the  owner  or
tenant  pursuant  to  subdivision a of section nine of this act;
and provided further that no increase of such initial  regulated
rent   pursuant   to  annual  guidelines  adopted  by  the  rent
guidelines board shall become effective until the expiration  of
the  first  lease  or  rental  agreement taking effect after the
local effective date, but in no event before one year  from  the
commencement of such rental agreement.
(2) For all other housing accommodations, the rent reserved in
the  last  effective  lease  or other rental agreement; provided
that an initial rent based upon the rent reserved in a lease  or
other  rental  agreement  which  became  effective  on  or after
January first, nineteen hundred seventy-four may be adjusted  on
application  of  the tenant pursuant to subdivision b of section
nine of this act or on application of either the owner or tenant
pursuant to subdivision a of such section; and further  provided
that  if a lease is entered into for such housing accommodations
after the local effective date, but before the effective date of
the first guidelines  applicable  to  such  accommodations,  the
lease  may  provide  for  an adjustment of rent pursuant to such
guidelines, to be effective on the first day of the  month  next
succeeding the effective date of such guidelines.
c.   The   initial   legal   regulated   rents   for   housing
accommodations in a city having a population of one  million  or
more  shall  be the initial rent established pursuant to the New
York city rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred  sixty-nine
as amended.
d.  Provision shall be made pursuant to regulations under this
act for individual adjustment of rents where:
* (1) there has been a substantial modification or increase of
dwelling space, or installation of new equipment or improvements
or new furniture or furnishings, provided in or  to  a  tenant's
housing accommodation, on written informed tenant consent to the
rent  increase.  In  the case of a vacant housing accommodation,
tenant consent shall not be required. The temporary increase  in
the  legal regulated rent for the affected housing accommodation
shall be one-one hundred sixty-eighth, in the case of a building
with thirty-five or  fewer  housing  accommodations  or  one-one
hundred  eightieth  in  the  case  of  a building with more than
thirty-five housing accommodations  where  such  increase  takes
effect on or after the effective date of the chapter of the laws
of  two  thousand  nineteen  that amended this paragraph, of the
total actual  cost  incurred  by  the  landlord  up  to  fifteen
thousand  dollars  in  providing  such reasonable and verifiable
modification  or  increase   in   dwelling   space,   furniture,
furnishings,  or  equipment,  including the cost of installation
but  excluding  finance  charges  and  any  costs  that   exceed
reasonable   costs   established   by   rules   and  regulations
promulgated by the division of housing  and  community  renewal.
Such  rules and regulations shall include:  (i) requirements for
work to be done by licensed contractors  and  a  prohibition  on
common  ownership  between  the  landlord  and the contractor or
vendor; and (ii) a requirement that the owner resolve within the
dwelling  space  all  outstanding   hazardous   or   immediately
hazardous violations of the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building
Code  (Uniform  Code), New York City Fire Code, or New York City
Building  and Housing Maintenance Codes, if applicable. Provided
further that an  owner  who  is  entitled  to  a  rent  increase
pursuant  to  this  paragraph shall not be entitled to a further
rent increase based upon the installation of similar  equipment,
or  new  furniture or furnishings within the useful life of such
new equipment, or new furniture or furnishings. Provided further
that the recoverable costs incurred by the landlord, pursuant to
this paragraph, shall be limited to an aggregate cost of fifteen
thousand dollars that may be expended  on  no  more  than  three
separate  individual  apartment  improvements  in a fifteen year
period beginning with the first individual apartment improvement
on or after June fourteenth,  two  thousand  nineteen.  Provided
further  that  increases to the legal regulated rent pursuant to
this paragraph shall be removed from the  legal  regulated  rent
thirty  years  from  the  date  the  increase  became  effective
inclusive of  any  increases  granted  by  the  applicable  rent
guidelines board.
* NB Effective until October 17, 2024
* (1) there has been a substantial modification or increase of
dwelling space, or installation of new equipment or improvements
or  new  furniture  or furnishings, provided in or to a tenant's
housing accommodation, on written informed tenant consent to the
rent increase. In the case of a  vacant  housing  accommodation,
tenant  consent  shall  not be required.   Except as provided in
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the increase  in  the  legal
regulated  rent  for the affected housing accommodation shall be
one-one hundred sixty-eighth, in the case  of  a  building  with
thirty-five  or  fewer housing accommodations or one-one hundred
eightieth in the case of a building with more  than  thirty-five
housing  accommodations  where  such increase takes effect on or
after the effective date of the  chapter  of  the  laws  of  two
thousand  nineteen  that  amended  this  paragraph, of the total
actual cost incurred by the landlord up to an amount  set  forth
in  this  paragraph  in providing such reasonable and verifiable
modification  or  increase   in   dwelling   space,   furniture,
furnishings,  or  equipment,  including the cost of installation
but  excluding  finance  charges  and  any  costs  that   exceed
reasonable   costs   established   by   rules   and  regulations
promulgated by the division of housing  and  community  renewal.
Such  rules and regulations shall include:  (i) requirements for
work to be done by licensed contractors  and  a  prohibition  on
common  ownership  between  the  landlord  and the contractor or
vendor; and (ii) a requirement that the owner resolve within the
dwelling  space  all  outstanding   hazardous   or   immediately
hazardous violations of the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building
Code  (Uniform  Code), New York City Fire Code, or New York City
Building and Housing Maintenance Codes, if applicable.  Provided
further  that  an  owner  who  is  entitled  to  a rent increase
pursuant to this paragraph shall not be entitled  to  a  further
rent  increase based upon the installation of similar equipment,
or new furniture or furnishings within the useful life  of  such
new equipment, or new furniture or furnishings. Provided further
that the recoverable costs incurred by the landlord, pursuant to
this  paragraph,  shall be limited to an aggregate cost pursuant
to the following:
(A)  thirty  thousand  dollars  that  may  be  expended  in  a
fifteen-year   period   beginning   with  the  first  individual
apartment improvement on or after June fourteenth, two  thousand
nineteen, provided further that:
(1)  if  there is a tenant in place at the time the individual
apartment improvement is undertaken, no costs  incurred  by  the
landlord  shall  be  recoverable  pursuant  to this subparagraph
unless the landlord obtains  written  tenant  consent  from  the
tenant in place at the time the individual apartment improvement
was undertaken;
(2)  increases  to  the  legal regulated rent pursuant to this
subparagraph shall be permanent; and
(3) the thirty  thousand  dollars  may  be  expended,  in  the
aggregate,  on  any  number  of  separate  individual  apartment
improvements in a fifteen-year period, but  in  no  event  shall
costs   above  thirty  thousand  dollars  be  recoverable  in  a
fifteen-year period pursuant to this subparagraph.
(B)  fifty  thousand  dollars  that  may  be  expended  in   a
fifteen-year   period   beginning   with  the  first  individual
apartment improvement on or after June fourteenth, two  thousand
nineteen,  pursuant  to regulation, operational bulletin or such
other guidance as the division of housing and community  renewal
may issue, provided further that:
(1)  costs shall only be recoverable by a landlord pursuant to
this  subparagraph  for  an  individual  apartment   improvement
undertaken during a vacancy;
(2)  costs shall only be recoverable by a landlord pursuant to
this subparagraph for an individual apartment improvement if (i)
the apartment was timely registered as vacant by no  later  than
the thirty-first of December in each of two thousand twenty-two,
two   thousand   twenty-three,  and  two  thousand  twenty-four,
provided that a landlord may recover costs on this basis no more
than once, or (ii) if the apartment is vacant following a period
of continuous occupancy  of  at  least  twenty-five  years  that
occurred   immediately   prior   to  the  commencement  of  such
individual apartment improvement;
(3) costs shall only be recoverable by a landlord pursuant  to
this   subparagraph   if   such   landlord  has  received  prior
certification to recover costs  pursuant  to  this  subparagraph
from  the  division  of  housing  and community renewal based on
establishing that the landlord satisfies one of the  eligibility
criteria delineated in clause two of this subparagraph, provided
further  that such certification shall not be deemed as evidence
that the work performed or  costs  claimed  for  the  individual
apartment improvement was substantiated or to otherwise act as a
defense   in   any   subsequent   rent   overcharge  proceeding,
determination, or audit;
(4) increases to the legal regulated  rent  pursuant  to  this
subparagraph shall be permanent;
(5)  the increase in the legal regulated rent for the affected
housing accommodation shall be one-one hundred forty-fourth,  in
the  case  of  a  building  with  thirty-five  or  fewer housing
accommodations or one-one hundred fifty-sixth in the case  of  a
building with more than thirty-five housing accommodations where
such increase takes effect on or after the effective date of the
chapter  of  the  laws  of two thousand twenty-four that amended
this paragraph,  of  the  total  actual  cost  incurred  by  the
landlord   up  to  fifty  thousand  dollars  in  providing  such
reasonable and verifiable modification or increase  in  dwelling
space,  furniture, furnishings, or equipment, including the cost
of installation but excluding finance charges and any costs that
exceed  reasonable  costs  established  by rules and regulations
promulgated by the division of housing and community renewal;
(6) costs shall only be recoverable by a landlord pursuant  to
this  subparagraph  for  an individual apartment improvement if,
immediately  prior  to  undertaking  such  individual  apartment
improvement, the landlord submits to the division of housing and
community  renewal any evidence that the division of housing and
community renewal  deems  necessary  and  requests  pursuant  to
regulation,    operational    bulletin    or   other   guidance,
demonstrating  that  the  improvement  was  necessitated  by   a
sub-standard  condition or exceeding its useful life immediately
prior to the  landlord's  work  to  improve  the  unit  and  the
landlord's planned work to improve the unit. Such evidence shall
include,  but  shall  not  be  limited  to, photos of any areas,
aspects or appliances in the apartment that  will  be  improved,
and   any   necessary   permits   required   to   undertake  the
improvements;
(7) costs shall only be recoverable by a landlord pursuant  to
this  subparagraph  for  an individual apartment improvement if,
immediately subsequent to undertaking the  individual  apartment
improvement, the landlord submits to the division of housing and
community  renewal any evidence that the division of housing and
community renewal  deems  necessary  and  requests  pursuant  to
regulation,  operational bulletin or other guidance, evidence of
the completed work. Such evidence shall include, but  shall  not
be  limited  to,  photographs  of  the  completed work, itemized
receipts for all parts, materials, appliances, and labor  costs,
and  proof of payment. Provided further, the division of housing
and community renewal shall require the payment of  a  fee  that
equals  one  percent  of  the  amount claimed for the individual
apartment improvement at the time of such filing;
(8) for costs recoverable pursuant to item (ii) of clause  two
of   this  subparagraph,  the  fifty  thousand  dollars  may  be
expended, in the aggregate, on any number of separate individual
apartment improvements in a fifteen-year period, but in no event
shall costs above fifty thousand dollars  be  recoverable  in  a
fifteen-year period pursuant to this subparagraph;
(9)  the division of housing and community renewal may perform
an audit  of  any  individual  apartment  improvement  conducted
pursuant   to   this   subparagraph  to  determine  whether  the
individual apartment improvement was undertaken  in  the  manner
described and to the extent claimed by the landlord, whether the
costs  claimed  were  substantiated  by records, and whether the
rent was  properly  adjusted.  Such  audit  may  incorporate  an
inspection  of  the  accommodation  at bar. The landlord and the
tenant living in  the  accommodation  may  participate  in  such
audit.  In  the event the audit finds that the recoverable costs
claimed by the landlord cannot be substantiated,  the  resulting
overcharge  shall  be considered to be willful. In addition, the
division of housing and community renewal may issue any fines or
penalties set forth in regulations;
(10) the division  of  housing  and  community  renewal  shall
perform  random  on-site inspections, as it deems necessary, for
any unit for which the owner seeks to recover costs pursuant  to
this subparagraph; and
(11) no owner shall be eligible for the rent increase based on
individual  apartment improvements pursuant to this subparagraph
if, within the five year period prior to filing such  individual
apartment improvement, any unit within any building owned by any
owner  of  the  building  in  which the unit for which the owner
seeks an individual apartment improvement is located,  including
but  not  limited  to partial or beneficial owners, has been the
subject of an award or determination by the division of  housing
and  community  renewal or a court of competent jurisdiction for
treble damages due to an overcharge or the owner of the building
in which the unit is located has been the subject of an award or
determination by the division of housing and  community  renewal
or  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  for harassment of any
tenants, provided that such owner  shall  provide  an  affidavit
confirming  such  owner's  eligibility  under this clause to the
division of housing and community renewal at the same  time  as,
and  in addition to, any other materials the division of housing
and community renewal shall require an owner to submit  pursuant
to  clause  six  of this subparagraph, and provided further that
such affidavit shall not be deemed to be evidence of  compliance
with  this clause or a defense in any subsequent rent overcharge
proceeding, determination, or audit.
* NB Effective October 17, 2024
(2) there has  been  since  January  first,  nineteen  hundred
seventy-four  an  increase  in  the  rental value of the housing
accommodations as a result of a  substantial  rehabilitation  of
the   building   or  the  housing  accommodation  therein  which
materially adds to the value  of  the  property  or  appreciably
prolongs  its life, excluding ordinary repairs, maintenance, and
replacements, or
(3) there has  been  since  January  first,  nineteen  hundred
seventy-four  a  major  capital  improvement  essential  for the
preservation,    energy    efficiency,     functionality,     or
infrastructure  of  the  entire  building,  improvement  of  the
structure including heating, windows, plumbing and roofing,  but
shall  not  be  for  operation  costs  or  unnecessary  cosmetic
improvements. An adjustment under this paragraph shall be in  an
amount  sufficient  to  amortize  the  cost  of the improvements
pursuant to this paragraph  over  a  twelve-year  period  for  a
building  with thirty-five or fewer housing accommodations, or a
twelve and  one-half  period  for  a  building  with  more  than
thirty-five housing accommodations and shall be removed from the
legal  regulated  rent  thirty  years from the date the increase
became effective inclusive  of  any  increases  granted  by  the
applicable  rent  guidelines board, for any determination issued
by the division of  housing  and  community  renewal  after  the
effective  date  of  the  chapter  of  the  laws of two thousand
nineteen that amended this paragraph.  Temporary  major  capital
improvement  increases shall be collectable prospectively on the
first day of the first month beginning sixty days from the  date
of  mailing notice of approval to the tenant.  Such notice shall
disclose the total monthly increase in rent and the first  month
in  which  the  tenant  would  be  required to pay the temporary
increase. An approval for a temporary major capital  improvement
increase  shall not include retroactive payments. The collection
of any increase shall not exceed two percent in  any  year  from
the  effective  date of the order granting the increase over the
rent  set  forth  in  the  schedule   of   gross   rents,   with
collectability  of any dollar excess above said sum to be spread
forward  in  similar  increments  and  added  to  the  rent   as
established  or  set in future years. Upon vacancy, the landlord
may  add  any  remaining  balance of the temporary major capital
improvement   increase   to   the    legal    regulated    rent.
Notwithstanding  any  other provision of the law, the collection
of any rent increases for any renewal  lease  commencing  on  or
after  June  14,  2019,  due  to  any major capital improvements
approved on or after June 16, 2012  and  before  June  16,  2019
shall  not  exceed  two  percent  in  any year for any tenant in
occupancy  on  the  date  the  major  capital  improvement   was
approved, or
(3-a) an application for a temporary major capital improvement
increase has been filed, a tenant shall have sixty days from the
date  of  mailing of a notice of a proceeding in which to answer
or reply. The state division of housing  and  community  renewal
shall  provide  any  responding  tenant with the reasons for the
division's approval or denial of such application; or
(4) an owner by application to the state division  of  housing
and  community  renewal  for increases in the rents in excess of
the rent adjustment authorized  by  the  rent  guidelines  board
under  this  act  establishes a hardship, and the state division
finds that the rate of rent  adjustment  is  not  sufficient  to
enable  the  owner  to  maintain  approximately  the  same ratio
between operating expenses, including taxes and labor costs  but
excluding  debt  service,  financing costs, and management fees,
and  gross  rents  which  prevailed  on  the  average  over  the
immediate  preceding five year period, or for the entire life of
the building if less than five years, or
(5) as an alternative to  the  hardship  application  provided
under  paragraph  four  of this subdivision, owners of buildings
acquired by the same owner or a related entity owned by the same
principals three years prior to  the  date  of  application  may
apply  to  the  division for increases in excess of the level of
applicable guideline increases established under this law  based
on  a  finding by the commissioner that such guideline increases
are not sufficient to enable the owner  to  maintain  an  annual
gross  rent  income  for  such building which exceeds the annual
operating expenses of such building by a sum equal to  at  least
five  percent  of  such  gross  rent.  For  the purposes of this
paragraph, operating  expenses  shall  consist  of  the  actual,
reasonable,  costs  of fuel, labor, utilities, taxes, other than
income or corporate franchise taxes,  fees,  permits,  necessary
contracted  services  and  non-capital repairs, insurance, parts
and supplies, management fees and other administrative costs and
mortgage interest. For the purposes of this paragraph,  mortgage
interest  shall  be  deemed  to  mean  interest  on  a bona fide
mortgage including  an  allocable  portion  of  charges  related
thereto.    Criteria to be considered in determining a bona fide
mortgage other than an  institutional  mortgage  shall  include;
condition  of  the  property,  location  of  the  property,  the
existing mortgage market at the time the mortgage is placed, the
term of the  mortgage,  the  amortization  rate,  the  principal
amount  of the mortgage, security and other terms and conditions
of the mortgage. The commissioner shall set a rental  value  for
any  unit occupied by the owner or a person related to the owner
or unoccupied at the owner's choice for more than one  month  at
the  last  regulated  rent plus the minimum number of guidelines
increases or, if no such regulated rent existed or is known, the
commissioner shall impute a rent consistent with other rents  in
the  building.  The amount of hardship increase shall be such as
may  be  required  to  maintain  the annual gross rent income as
provided by this paragraph.  The  division  shall  not  grant  a
hardship  application  under this paragraph or paragraph four of
this subdivision for a  period  of  three  years  subsequent  to
granting  a  hardship  application  under the provisions of this
paragraph. The collection of any increase in the  rent  for  any
housing  accommodation  pursuant  to  this  paragraph  shall not
exceed six percent in any year from the effective  date  of  the
order  granting  the  increase  over  the  rent set forth in the
schedule of gross  rents,  with  collectability  of  any  dollar
excess above said sum to be spread forward in similar increments
and  added to the rent as established or set in future years. No
application shall be approved unless the owner's equity in  such
building  exceeds  five percent of: (i) the arms length purchase
price of the property; (ii) the cost of any capital improvements
for which the owner has not collected  a  surcharge;  (iii)  any
repayment  of  principal of any mortgage or loan used to finance
the purchase of the property or  any  capital  improvements  for
which  the  owner  has  not  collected a surcharge; and (iv) any
increase in the equalized assessed value of the  property  which
occurred subsequent to the first valuation of the property after
purchase  by  the  owner.  For  the  purposes of this paragraph,
owner's equity shall mean the sum of (i) the purchase  price  of
the  property less the principal of any mortgage or loan used to
finance the purchase of the  property,  (ii)  the  cost  of  any
capital  improvement  for  which  the  owner has not collected a
surcharge less the principal of any mortgage  or  loan  used  to
finance  said  improvement, (iii) any repayment of the principal
of any mortgage or loan used to  finance  the  purchase  of  the
property  or any capital improvement for which the owner has not
collected a surcharge, and (iv) any increase  in  the  equalized
assessed  value of the property which occurred subsequent to the
first valuation of the property after purchase by the owner.
This subdivision shall apply to accommodations outside a  city
of one million or more.
e. Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of this act, on and
after   July  first,  nineteen  hundred  eighty-four  the  legal
regulated rent shall be the rent registered pursuant to  section
twelve-a  of  this  act  subject  to  any  modification  imposed
pursuant to this act.
f. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision  of  law,  rule,
regulation,  contract,  agreement, lease or other obligation, no
owner, in addition to the authorized collection of  rent,  shall
demand,  receive or retain a security deposit or advance payment
which exceeds the rent of one month for or  in  connection  with
the  use  or  occupancy  of  a  housing accommodation by (i) any
tenant who is sixty-five years of age or older for any lease  or
lease renewal entered into after July 1, 1996 or (ii) any tenant
who  is receiving disability retirement benefits or supplemental
security income pursuant to the federal social security act  for
any lease or lease renewal entered into after July 1, 2002.
f-1.  An  owner,  lessor  or agent thereof shall be prohibited
from assessing a lessee any fee, surcharge or other charges  for
legal  services  in connection with the operation or rental of a
residential unit unless the owner, lessor or agent has the legal
authority to do so pursuant to a  court  order.  Legal  services
include,   but   are   not   limited   to,   court  fees,  legal
representation,  attorney  fees,  notary  public  charges,   and
administrative  fees  incurred  by the owner, lessor or agent in
connection with management of the  building,  including  actions
and  proceedings  in a court of law. Any agreement or assessment
to the contrary shall be void as contrary to public policy.
g.  No  owner  of  a  housing  accommodation  subject  to  the
provisions  of  this  section shall impose any surcharge for the
installation and use of a tenant-installed air conditioner  unit
where the tenant pays for electric utility service.
§  7.  Maintenance  of services. a. In order to collect a rent
adjustment authorized pursuant to the provisions of  subdivision
b  of  section four, the owner of housing accommodations subject
to this act located in a city having a population of  less  than
one  million  or  a  town  or  village  must file with the state
division of housing and community renewal on  a  form  which  it
shall  prescribe, a written certification that he is maintaining
and will continue to maintain all services furnished on the date
upon which this act becomes a law or required to be furnished by
any law, ordinance or regulation applicable to the premises.  In
addition  to  any  other  remedy afforded by law, any tenant may
apply to the state division of housing and community renewal for
a reduction in the rent to the level in effect prior to its most
recent  adjustment,  and  the  state  division  of  housing  and
community  renewal  may  so reduce the rent if it finds that the
owner has failed to maintain such services. The owner  shall  be
supplied  with  a copy of the application and shall be permitted
to file an answer thereto.  A  hearing  may  be  held  upon  the
request  of  either  party, or the state division of housing and
community renewal may hold a hearing upon its  own  motion.  The
state  division of housing and community renewal may consolidate
the proceedings for two or more petitions applicable to the same
building. If the state division of housing and community renewal
finds that the owner has knowingly filed a false  certification,
it shall, in addition to abating the rent, assess the owner with
the  reasonable  costs  of  the proceeding, including reasonable
attorneys' fees, and impose a  penalty  not  in  excess  of  two
hundred  fifty  dollars for each false certification. The amount
of the reduction in  rent  ordered  by  the  state  division  of
housing  and  community  renewal under this subdivision shall be
reduced by any credit, abatement or offset  in  rent  which  the
tenant   has   received   pursuant   to   section   two  hundred
thirty-five-b of the real property law, that relates to  one  or
more conditions covered by such order.
b.  In  order to collect a rent adjustment authorized pursuant
to the provisions of subdivision c of section four, the owner of
housing accommodations located in a city having a population  of
more  than  one  million shall comply with the requirements with
respect to the maintenance of services of the New York city rent
stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine.
§ 8. Administration. a. Whenever a city having a population of
less than one million, or a town or village has  determined  the
existence of an emergency pursuant to section three of this act,
the  state  division  of  housing and community renewal shall be
designated as the sole administrative agency to  administer  the
regulation  of  residential  rents  as provided in this act. The
costs incurred by the state division of  housing  and  community
renewal  in  administering such regulation shall be paid by such
city, town or village. Such local resolution shall forthwith  be
transmitted  to  the  state  division  of  housing and community
renewal  and  shall  be  accompanied by an initial payment in an
amount previously determined by the commissioner of housing  and
community   renewal   as  necessary  to  defray  the  division's
anticipated first year cost.  Thereafter,  annually,  after  the
close  of  the  fiscal  year  of  the state, the commissioner of
housing and community renewal shall determine the amount of  all
costs  incurred  and  shall  certify  to each such city, town or
village its proportionate  share  of  such  costs,  after  first
deducting  therefrom  the  amount  of  such initial payment. The
amount so certified shall be paid to the  commissioner  by  such
city,  town  or  village within ninety days after the receipt of
such certification. In the event that the amount thereof is  not
paid  to the commissioner as herein prescribed, the commissioner
shall certify the unpaid amount  to  the  comptroller,  and  the
comptroller  shall withhold such amount from the next succeeding
payment of per capita assistance to be apportioned to such city,
town or village.
b. The legislative body of any city, town or village acting to
impose  regulation  of  residential  rents   pursuant   to   the
provisions of this act may impose on the owner of every building
containing  housing accommodations subject to such regulation an
annual charge for each such accommodation in such amount  as  it
determines  to  be  necessary for the expenses to be incurred in
the administration of such regulation.
c. Whenever a city having a population of one million or  more
has determined the existence of an emergency pursuant to section
three  of  this act, the provisions of this act and the New York
city rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine shall
be administered by the state division of housing  and  community
renewal  as provided in the New York city rent stabilization law
of nineteen hundred sixty-nine,  as  amended,  or  as  otherwise
provided  by  law.  The  costs incurred by the state division of
housing and community renewal in administering  such  regulation
shall be paid by such city. All payments for such administration
shall  be  transmitted  to  the  state  division  of housing and
community renewal as follows: on or after April  first  of  each
year  commencing  with  April, nineteen hundred eighty-four, the
commissioner of housing and community renewal,  in  consultation
with  the  director  of  the  budget,  shall determine an amount
necessary to defray the division's anticipated annual cost,  and
one-quarter  of  such  amount  shall  be paid by such city on or
before July first of such year, one-quarter of such amount on or
before October first of such year, one-quarter of such amount on
or before January first of the following year and one-quarter of
such amount on or before March  thirty-first  of  the  following
year.    After  the  close  of the fiscal year of the state, the
commissioner, in consultation with the director of  the  budget,
shall  determine the amount of all actual costs incurred in such
fiscal year and shall certify such amount to such city. If  such
certified  amount  shall differ from the amount paid by the city
for such fiscal year, appropriate adjustments shall be  made  in
the next quarterly payment to be made by such city. In the event
that  the  amount  thereof  is  not paid to the commissioner, in
consultation  with  the  director  of  the  budget,  as   herein
prescribed,  the commissioner, in consultation with the director
of  the  budget,  shall  certify  the  unpaid  amount   to   the
comptroller,  and  the  comptroller  shall,  to  the  extent not
otherwise prohibited by law, withhold such amount from any state
aid  payable  to such city. In no event shall the amount imposed
on the owners exceed twenty dollars per unit per year.
d. Notwithstanding subdivision c of this section or any  other
provision  of  law  to  the  contrary,  whenever  the  state has
incurred any  costs  as  a  result  of  administering  the  rent
regulation program for a city having a population of one million
or  more in accordance with subdivision c of this section, on or
after April first of each year, the commissioner of housing  and
community  renewal,  in  consultation  with  the director of the
budget, shall  determine  an  amount  necessary  to  defray  the
state's  anticipated annual cost. In the event that the division
does not send a bill  to  the  city  to  defray  such  costs  in
accordance  with  subdivision c of this section, it shall submit
to the city an  invoice  showing  all  such  costs  as  soon  as
practicable  after  the  start of the state fiscal year in which
the costs are to be incurred. The director  of  the  budget  may
direct  any other state agency to reduce the amount of any other
payment or payments owed to such city or any department, agency,
or  instrumentality  thereof;  provided   however,   that   such
reduction  shall  be  made  no sooner than thirty days after the
transmittal of the invoice of costs, and shall be in  an  amount
equal  to  the  costs incurred by the state in administering the
rent  regulation  program  for  such  city  in  accordance  with
subdivision c of this section. Within thirty days of the receipt
of  the  invoice of costs, the city may send to the division, in
written form, requests for additional  information  relating  to
such   costs,  including  any  recommendations  on  which  local
assistance payment would be reduced.  If  the  director  of  the
budget makes such direction in accordance with this subdivision,
the  impacted  city  shall  not  make  the  payments required by
subdivision c of this section, and the division of  housing  and
community  renewal  shall  notify  such  city in writing of what
payment or payments will  be  reduced  and  the  amount  of  the
reduction  and shall suballocate, as necessary, the value of the
costs it incurred to the agency or agencies  which  reduces  the
payments  to  such  city  or any department, agency or authority
thereof in accordance with this subdivision.
e. The failure to pay the prescribed assessment not to  exceed
twenty dollars per unit for any housing accommodation subject to
this act or the New York city rent stabilization law of nineteen
hundred  sixty-nine shall constitute a charge due and owing such
city, town or village which has imposed  an  annual  charge  for
each  such  housing  accommodation  pursuant to subdivision b of
this section. Any such city, town or village shall be authorized
to provide for the enforcement of the collection of such charges
by commencing an action or proceeding for the recovery  of  such
fees  or by the filing of a lien upon the building and lot. Such
methods for the enforcement of the collection  of  such  charges
shall be the sole remedy for the enforcement of this section.
f.  The  division  shall  maintain at least one office in each
county which is  governed  by  the  rent  stabilization  law  of
nineteen hundred sixty-nine or this act; provided, however, that
the  division shall not be required to maintain an office in the
counties of Nassau, Rockland, or Richmond.
§ 9. Application for adjustment  of  initial  legal  regulated
rent.  a.    The  owner  or  tenant  of  a housing accommodation
described in paragraph one or two of subdivision  b  of  section
six  may,  within sixty days of the local effective date of this
act  or  the  commencement  of  the  first  tenancy  thereafter,
whichever is later, file with the state division of housing  and
community  renewal  an application for adjustment of the initial
legal regulated rent for such housing accommodation.  The  state
division  of  housing  and  community  renewal  may  adjust such
initial legal regulated rent upon a finding that the presence of
unique  or  peculiar  circumstances  materially  affecting   the
initial  legal  regulated  rent  has resulted in a rent which is
substantially different from the rents generally  prevailing  in
the same area for substantially similar housing accommodations.
b.   The  tenant  of  a  housing  accommodation  described  in
paragraph two, subdivision b, of section six may file  with  the
state  division  of housing and community renewal, within ninety
days after notice has been received pursuant to subdivision c of
this section, an application for adjustment of the initial legal
regulated rent for such housing accommodation. Such tenant  need
only  allege that such rent is in excess of the fair market rent
and  shall  present  such  facts  which,  to  the  best  of  his
information  and  belief,  support  such  allegation.  The  rent
guidelines board shall promulgate as soon as  practicable  after
its  creation  guidelines  for  the determination of fair market
rents for housing accommodations as to which an application  may
be   made   pursuant   to   this  subdivision.  In  rendering  a
determination  on  an  application  filed   pursuant   to   this
subdivision  b,  the  state  division  of  housing and community
renewal shall be guided by  such  guidelines.  Where  the  state
division  of  housing  and community renewal has determined that
the rent charged is in excess of the fair market rent  it  shall
order a refund, of any excess paid since January first, nineteen
hundred  seventy-four  or  the  date  of the commencement of the
tenancy, whichever is later. Such refund shall be  made  by  the
landlord  in  cash  or  as  a credit against future rents over a
period not in excess of six months.
c. Upon receipt of any  application  filed  pursuant  to  this
section  nine,  the  state  division  of  housing  and community
renewal shall notify the owner or tenant, as the  case  may  be,
and  provide  a  copy  to him of such application. Such owner or
tenant shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to respond  to
the  application.  A  hearing  may  be  held upon the request of
either party, or the division may hold  a  hearing  on  its  own
motion.  The  division shall issue a written opinion to both the
tenant and the owner upon rendering its determination.
d. Within thirty days after the local effective date  of  this
act  the  owner of housing accommodations described in paragraph
two of subdivision b of section six, as to  which  an  emergency
has  been  declared  pursuant  to this act, shall give notice in
writing by certified mail to the tenant  of  each  such  housing
accommodation  on  a  form  prescribed  by the state division of
housing and community renewal of  the  initial  legal  regulated
rent  for  such housing accommodation and of such tenant's right
to file an application  for  adjustment  of  the  initial  legal
regulated rent of such housing accommodation.
e.   The   initial   legal   regulated   rents   for   housing
accommodations in a city having a population of one  million  or
more  shall  be  subject  to  adjustment  in accordance with the
provisions of the  New  York  city  rent  stabilization  law  as
amended.
§  10.  Regulations. a. For cities having a population of less
than one million and towns and villages, the state  division  of
housing  and  community  renewal shall be empowered to implement
this  act  by  appropriate  regulations.  Such  regulations  may
encompass  such speculative or manipulative practices or renting
or leasing practices  as  the  state  division  of  housing  and
community  renewal  determines constitute or are likely to cause
circumvention of  this  act.  Such  regulations  shall  prohibit
practices  which are likely to prevent any person from asserting
any right or remedy granted  by  this  act,  including  but  not
limited  to  retaliatory  termination  of periodic tenancies and
shall require owners to grant a new one or two year  vacancy  or
renewal  lease  at  the  option  of  the  tenant, except where a
mortgage  or  mortgage  commitment  existing  as  of  the  local
effective  date  of  this  act provides that the owner shall not
grant a one-year  lease;  and  shall  prescribe  standards  with
respect  to  the terms and conditions of new and renewal leases,
additional rent and such related matters as  security  deposits,
advance  rental payments, the use of escalator clauses in leases
and provision for increase in  rentals  for  garages  and  other
ancillary  facilities,  so  as  to ensure that the level of rent
adjustments authorized under this law will not be subverted  and
made ineffective. Any provision of the regulations permitting an
owner to refuse to renew a lease on grounds that the owner seeks
to  recover possession of a housing accommodation for his or her
own use and occupancy or for the use and occupancy of his or her
immediate family shall  permit  recovery  of  only  one  housing
accommodation, shall require that an owner demonstrate immediate
and  compelling  need and that the housing accommodation will be
the proposed occupants' primary residence and  shall  not  apply
where  a  member of the housing accommodation is sixty-two years
of age or older, has been a tenant in a housing accommodation in
that building for fifteen years or more, or  has  an  impairment
which  results  from  anatomical, physiological or psychological
conditions, other than addiction to alcohol,  gambling,  or  any
controlled   substance,  which  are  demonstrable  by  medically
acceptable clinical and laboratory  diagnostic  techniques,  and
which  are expected to be permanent and which prevent the tenant
from engaging in any substantial gainful  employment;  provided,
however,   that   a  tenant  required  to  surrender  a  housing
accommodation under this  subdivision  shall  have  a  cause  of
action  in  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction for damages,
declaratory,  and  injunctive  relief  against  a  landlord   or
purchaser  of  the  premises  who  makes  a fraudulent statement
regarding a proposed use of the housing  accommodation.  In  any
action  or  proceeding  brought  pursuant  to this subdivision a
prevailing tenant  shall  be  entitled  to  recovery  of  actual
damages, and reasonable attorneys' fees.
(a-2)  Where  the  amount  of  rent charged to and paid by the
tenant is less than the legal regulated  rent  for  the  housing
accommodation, the amount of rent for such housing accommodation
which may be charged upon vacancy thereof, may, at the option of
the  owner,  be  based  upon  such  previously established legal
regulated rent,  as  adjusted  by  the  most  recent  applicable
guidelines increases and other increases authorized by law.  For
any  tenant  who is subject to a lease on or after the effective
date of a chapter of the laws of  two  thousand  nineteen  which
amended  this  subdivision,  or  is or was entitled to receive a
renewal  or vacancy lease on or after such date, upon renewal of
such lease, the amount of rent for  such  housing  accommodation
that  may  be  charged  and  paid shall be no more than the rent
charged to and paid by the tenant  prior  to  that  renewal,  as
adjusted  by the most recent applicable guidelines increases and
any other increases authorized by law. Provided,  however,  that
for  buildings  that  are subject to this statute by virtue of a
regulatory agreement with a local government  agency  and  which
buildings   receive  federal  project  based  rental  assistance
administered by the United  States  department  of  housing  and
urban   development   or   a   state   or  local  section  eight
administering agency, where the rent set by the  federal,  state
or  local  governmental  agency is less than the legal regulated
rent for the housing accommodation, the amount of rent for  such
housing  accommodation which may be charged with the approval of
such federal, state or local governmental agency upon renewal or
upon  vacancy  thereof,  may  be  based  upon  such   previously
established legal regulated rent, as adjusted by the most recent
applicable guidelines increases or other increases authorized by
law;  and further provided that such vacancy shall not be caused
by the failure of the  owner  or  an  agent  of  the  owner,  to
maintain  the  housing  accommodation  in  compliance  with  the
warranty of habitability set forth in subdivision one of section
two hundred thirty-five-b of the real property law.
b. For cities having a population of one million or more, this
act may be implemented by regulations adopted  pursuant  to  the
New  York  city  rent  stabilization  law  of  nineteen  hundred
sixty-nine, as amended, or as otherwise provided by law.
c. Each owner of premises subject to this act shall furnish to
each tenant signing a new or renewal lease, a copy of the  fully
executed  new  or  renewal lease bearing the signatures of owner
and tenant and the beginning and ending dates of the lease term,
within thirty days from  the  owner's  receipt  of  the  new  or
renewal lease signed by the tenant.
§  10-a.  Right  to sublease. Units subject to this law may be
sublet pursuant to section two hundred twenty-six-b of the  real
property  law  provided  that  (a)  the  rental  charged  to the
subtenant does not exceed the legal regulated rent  plus  a  ten
percent  surcharge  payable to the tenant if the unit sublet was
furnished with  the  tenant's  furniture;  (b)  the  tenant  can
establish  that  at  all times he has maintained the unit as his
primary residence and intends  to  occupy  it  as  such  at  the
expiration  of  the  sublease;  (c)  an  owner may terminate the
tenancy of a tenant who sublets or assigns contrary to the terms
of this section  but  no  action  or  proceeding  based  on  the
non-primary  residence of a tenant may be commenced prior to the
expiration date of his lease; (d) where an apartment  is  sublet
the  prime  tenant shall retain the right to a renewal lease and
the rights and status of a tenant in occupancy as they relate to
conversion to condominium or cooperative ownership; (e) where  a
tenant  violates  the  provisions  of  subdivision  (a)  of this
section the subtenant shall be  entitled  to  damages  of  three
times  the overcharge and may also be awarded attorneys fees and
interest from the date of the overcharge at the rate of interest
payable on a judgment pursuant to section five thousand four  of
the  civil practice law and rules; (f) the tenant may not sublet
the unit for more than a total of two years, including the  term
of  the proposed sublease, out of the four-year period preceding
the termination date of the proposed sublease. The provisions of
this subdivision (f) shall only apply to subleases commencing on
and after July first, nineteen hundred eighty-three; (g) for the
purposes of this section only, the term of the proposed sublease
may extend beyond the term of the tenant's lease. In such event,
such  sublease  shall  be  subject  to  the  tenant's right to a
renewal lease. The subtenant shall have no right  to  a  renewal
lease.  It  shall  be  unreasonable  for  an  owner to refuse to
consent to a  sublease  solely  because  such  sublease  extends
beyond   the   tenant's   lease;  and  (h)  notwithstanding  the
provisions of section  two  hundred  twenty-six-b  of  the  real
property  law, a not-for-profit hospital shall have the right to
sublet any housing accommodation leased by it to its  affiliated
personnel  without  requiring the landlord's consent to any such
sublease  and  without  being  bound  by   the   provisions   of
subdivisions  (b), (c) and (f) of this section.  Commencing with
the   effective   date   of   this   subdivision,   whenever   a
not-for-profit  hospital  executes a renewal lease for a housing
accommodation, the legal regulated rent shall be increased by  a
sum  equal  to  fifteen percent of the previous lease rental for
such housing accommodation, hereinafter referred to as a vacancy
surcharge, unless the landlord shall have  received  within  the
seven year period prior to the commencement date of such renewal
lease  any  vacancy increases or vacancy surcharges allocable to
the said housing accommodation. In the event the landlord  shall
have  received  any such vacancy increases or vacancy surcharges
during such seven year period, the vacancy  surcharge  shall  be
reduced  by  the amount received by any such vacancy increase or
vacancy surcharges.
§ 10-b. Major capital improvements  and  individual  apartment
improvements  in  rent  regulated units. (a) Notwithstanding any
other provision of law to the contrary, the division of  housing
and  community  renewal,  the "division", shall promulgate rules
and regulations applicable to  all  rent  regulated  units  that
shall:
1.  establish a schedule of reasonable costs for major capital
improvements,  which  shall  set  a  ceiling  for  what  can  be
recovered   through   a   temporary  major  capital  improvement
increase, based on the type  of  improvement  and  its  rate  of
depreciation;
2. establish the criteria for eligibility of a temporary major
capital  improvement increase including the type of improvement,
which  shall  be  essential   for   the   preservation,   energy
efficiency,   functionality  or  infrastructure  of  the  entire
building, including heating, windows, plumbing and roofing,  but
shall  not  be  for  operational  costs  or unnecessary cosmetic
improvements.  Allowable  improvements  must   additionally   be
depreciable pursuant to the Internal Revenue Service, other than
for  ordinary  repairs,  that directly or indirectly benefit all
tenants; and no increase shall be approved for group  work  done
in individual apartments that is otherwise not an improvement to
an entire building. Only such costs that are actual, reasonable,
and  verifiable  may  be  approved  as a temporary major capital
improvement increase;
3.  require  that  any  temporary  major  capital  improvement
increase  granted  pursuant to these provisions be reduced by an
amount equal to (i)  any  governmental  grant  received  by  the
landlord,  where  such  grant  compensates  the landlord for any
improvements required by a city, state or federal government, an
agency  or  any  granting governmental entity to be expended for
improvements and (ii) any  insurance  payment  received  by  the
landlord  where  such insurance payment compensates the landlord
for any part of the costs of the improvements;
4. prohibit temporary major capital improvement increases  for
buildings  with  outstanding  hazardous or immediately hazardous
violations of the Uniform  Fire  Prevention  and  Building  Code
(Uniform  Code),  New  York  City  Fire  Code,  or New York City
Building and Housing Maintenance Codes, if applicable;
5. prohibit individual  apartment  improvement  increases  for
housing accommodations with outstanding hazardous or immediately
hazardous violations of the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building
Code  (Uniform  Code), New York City Fire Code, or New York City
Building and Housing Maintenance Codes, if applicable;
6. prohibit temporary major capital improvement increases  for
buildings  with  thirty-five  per centum or fewer rent-regulated
units;
7.  establish  that  temporary   major   capital   improvement
increases  shall  be  fixed  to  the unit and shall cease thirty
years from the date the  increase  became  effective.  Temporary
major  capital improvement increases shall be added to the legal
regulated rent as a temporary increase and shall be removed from
the legal regulated rent thirty years from the date the increase
became effective inclusive of any increases granted by the local
rent guidelines board;
8.  establish  that  temporary   major   capital   improvement
increases shall be collectible prospectively on the first day of
the  first  month  beginning sixty days from the date of mailing
notice of approval to the tenant.   Such notice  shall  disclose
the  total monthly increase in rent and the first month in which
the tenant would be required to pay the temporary  increase.  An
approval  for  a  temporary  major  capital improvement increase
shall not include retroactive payments. The  collection  of  any
increase  shall  not  exceed  two  percent  in any year from the
effective date of the order granting the increase over the  rent
set forth in the schedule of gross rents, with collectability of
any dollar excess above said sum to be spread forward in similar
increments and added to the rent as established or set in future
years.  Upon vacancy, the landlord may add any remaining balance
of the temporary major capital improvement increase to the legal
regulated rent. Notwithstanding any other provision of the  law,
for  any renewal lease commencing on or after June 14, 2019, the
collection of any  rent  increases  due  to  any  major  capital
improvements  approved on or after June 16, 2012 and before June
16, 2019 shall not exceed two percent in any year for any tenant
in occupancy on the  date  the  major  capital  improvement  was
approved;
9.  ensure  that the application procedure for temporary major
capital improvement increases shall include an itemized list  of
work performed and a description or explanation of the reason or
purpose of such work;
10.  provide,  that  where  an application for a major capital
improvement rent increase has been filed, a  tenant  shall  have
sixty  days from the date of mailing of a notice of a proceeding
in which to answer or reply;
11.  establish  a notification and documentation procedure for
individual apartment improvements that requires an itemized list
of work performed and a description or explanation of the reason
or purpose of such  work,  inclusive  of  photographic  evidence
documenting  the  condition prior to and after the completion of
the performed  work.  Provide  for  the  centralized  electronic
retention   of  such  documentation  and  any  other  supporting
documentation to be made available in cases  pertaining  to  the
adjustment of legal regulated rents; and
* 12.  establish  a  form  in the top six languages other than
English spoken in the state according to  the  latest  available
data  from  the U.S. Bureau of Census for a temporary individual
apartment improvement rent increase for a  tenant  in  occupancy
which  shall  be  used  by  landlords to obtain written informed
consent that shall include  the  estimated  total  cost  of  the
improvement  and  the estimated monthly rent increase. Such form
shall be completed and preserved in the  centralized  electronic
retention  system  to  be  operational by June 14, 2020. Nothing
herein shall relieve a landlord, lessor, or agent thereof of his
or her duty to retain proper documentation of  all  improvements
performed   or   any   rent   increases   resulting   from  said
improvements.
* NB Effective until October 17, 2024
* 12. establish a form in the top  six  languages  other  than
English  spoken  in  the state according to the latest available
data from the U.S. Bureau of Census for an individual  apartment
improvement  rent increase for a tenant in occupancy which shall
be used by landlords to obtain  written  informed  consent  that
shall  include  the  estimated total cost of the improvement and
the estimated monthly  rent  increase.  Such  consent  shall  be
executed  in  the  tenant's primary language. Such form shall be
completed and preserved in the centralized electronic  retention
system to be operational by June 14, 2020, provided further that
any changes to the form required due to the individual apartment
improvement being permanent shall be completed as of October 14,
2024.  Nothing herein shall relieve a landlord, lessor, or agent
thereof of such person's duty to retain proper documentation  of
all  improvements performed or any rent increases resulting from
said improvements.
* NB Effective October 17, 2024
13. (i) where an owner combines two  or  more  vacant  housing
accommodations  or  combines a vacant housing accommodation with
an occupied housing accommodation, such initial  rent  for  such
new  housing  accommodation shall be the combined legal rent for
both previous housing accommodations, subject to any  applicable
guideline  increases  and any other increases authorized by this
chapter including any individual apartment improvement increases
applicable for both housing accommodations. If an owner combines
a rent regulated accommodation with an apartment not subject  to
rent  regulation,  the  resulting  apartment shall be subject to
this act. If an owner increases the area  of  an  apartment  not
subject  to  rent regulation by adding space that was previously
part of a rent regulated  apartment,  each  apartment  shall  be
subject to this act.
(ii)   where   an  owner  substantially  increases  the  outer
dimension of a vacant housing accommodation, such  initial  rent
shall be the prior rent of such housing accommodation, increased
by  a percentage that is equal to the percentage increase in the
dwelling space and such other increases authorized by  this  act
including  any  applicable  guideline  increase  and  individual
apartment improvement increase that could be authorized for  the
unit prior to the alteration of the outer dimensions.
(iii)  notwithstanding  subparagraphs  (i)  and  (ii)  of this
paragraph, such increases may be denied based on the  occurrence
of  such  vacancy  due  to  harassment,  fraud, or other acts of
evasion which may require that such rent be  set  in  accordance
with section twelve of this act.
(iv)  where  the  vacant  housing accommodations are combined,
modified, divided or the dimension of such housing accommodation
otherwise altered and these changes are being made pursuant to a
preservation regulatory agreement with a federal, state or local
governmental agency  or  instrumentality,  the  rent  stabilized
rents  charged  thereafter shall be based on an initial rent set
by such agency or instrumentality.
(v)  where  an  owner  substantially   decreases   the   outer
dimensions  of a vacant housing accommodation, such initial rent
shall be the prior rent of such housing accommodation, decreased
by the same  percentage  the  square  footage  of  the  original
apartment  was  decreased by and such other increases authorized
by this act including  any  applicable  guideline  increase  and
individual   apartment   improvement   increase  that  could  be
authorized for the apartment prior  to  the  alteration  of  the
outer dimensions.
(vi)(1)  when  an  owner  combines  two or more rent regulated
apartments, the owner may use each of the  previous  apartments'
remaining  individual  apartment  improvement allowances for the
purposes of a temporary individual  apartment  improvement  rent
increase.  The  owner  shall  subsequently designate a surviving
apartment for the purposes of registration  that  has  the  same
apartment  number  as one of the prior apartments. If that prior
apartment has any reimbursable individual apartment  improvement
money  remaining  after  the  combination,  that  money  may  be
reimbursed  for   future   individual   apartment   improvements
undertaken  within  the  subsequent  fifteen years following the
combination.
(2)  in  order  for  an  owner  to  qualify  for  a  temporary
individual  apartment  improvement rent increase when apartments
are combined,  the  requirements  for  an  individual  apartment
improvement,  including all notification requirements under this
act shall be met.
(vii) owners shall maintain the records and rent histories  of
all combined apartments, both prior to and post combination, for
the   purposes   of  rent  setting,  overcharge  and  all  other
proceedings to which the records are applicable.
(b) The division shall  establish  an  annual  inspection  and
audit   process   which  shall  review  twenty-five  percent  of
applications for a temporary major capital improvement  increase
that  have  been  submitted  and  approved.  Such  process shall
include individual inspections and  document  review  to  ensure
that  owners  complied with all obligations and responsibilities
under the law for temporary major capital improvement increases.
Inspections  shall  include  in-person  confirmation  that  such
improvements have been completed in such way as described in the
application.
(c)  The division shall issue a notice to the landlord and all
the tenants sixty days prior to the end of the  temporary  major
capital  improvement  increase  and  shall  include  the initial
approved increase and the total amount to be  removed  from  the
legal  regulated  rent inclusive of any increases granted by the
applicable rent guidelines board.
§ 11. Non-waiver of rights. Any provision of a lease or  other
rental agreement which purports to waive a tenant's rights under
this  act  or  regulations promulgated pursuant thereto shall be
void as contrary to public policy.
§ 12. Enforcement  and  procedures.  a.  (1)  Subject  to  the
conditions  and  limitations  of  this  paragraph,  any owner of
housing accommodations in a city having  a  population  of  less
than  one  million or a town or village as to which an emergency
has been declared pursuant to section three, who, upon complaint
of a tenant or of the state division of  housing  and  community
renewal, is found by the state division of housing and community
renewal,  after  a  reasonable  opportunity to be heard, to have
collected an overcharge above the rent authorized for a  housing
accommodation  subject to this act shall be liable to the tenant
for  a  penalty  equal  to  three  times  the  amount  of   such
overcharge.  If  the owner establishes by a preponderance of the
evidence  that  the   overcharge   was   neither   willful   nor
attributable  to  his  negligence, the state division of housing
and community renewal shall establish the penalty as the  amount
of  the overcharge plus interest at the rate of interest payable
on a judgment pursuant to section  five  thousand  four  of  the
civil  practice  law  and  rules.  After  a  complaint  of  rent
overcharge has been filed and served on an owner, the  voluntary
adjustment  of  the rent and/or the voluntary tender of a refund
of rent overcharges shall not be considered by the  division  of
housing   and   community   renewal  or  a  court  of  competent
jurisdiction as evidence that the overcharge  was  not  willful.
(i)  Except  as  to  complaints filed pursuant to clause (ii) of
this  paragraph,  the  legal  regulated  rent  for  purposes  of
determining  an  overcharge,  shall  be  deemed  to  be the rent
indicated  in  the  most  recent  reliable  annual  registration
statement for a rent stabilized tenant filed and served upon the
tenant  six  or more years prior to the most recent registration
statement, (or, if more recently filed, the initial registration
statement) plus in each case any subsequent lawful increases and
adjustments. The division of housing and community renewal or  a
court  of competent jurisdiction, in investigating complaints of
overcharge  and  in  determining  legal  regulated  rent,  shall
consider   all   available  rent  history  which  is  reasonably
necessary to make such determinations.  (ii)  As  to  complaints
filed  within  ninety  days  of  the  initial  registration of a
housing accommodation, the legal regulated rent for purposes  of
determining an overcharge shall be deemed to be the rent charged
on  the  date  six  years  prior  to  the  date  of  the initial
registration of the housing accommodation (or,  if  the  housing
accommodation  was  subject to this act for less than six years,
the initial legal regulated rent) plus in each case, any  lawful
increases  and  adjustments.  Where the rent charged on the date
six years prior to the date of the initial registration  of  the
accommodation   cannot   be  established,  such  rent  shall  be
established by the division.
(a) The order of the state division of housing  and  community
renewal  shall  apportion the owner's liability between or among
two or more tenants found to have been overcharged by such owner
during their particular tenancy of a unit.
(b)  (i)  Except  as  provided under clauses (ii) and (iii) of
this subparagraph, a complaint under  this  subdivision  may  be
filed  with  the state division of housing and community renewal
or in a court of competent jurisdiction at any time, however any
recovery of overcharge penalties shall be  limited  to  the  six
years preceding the complaint.
(ii) A penalty of three times the overcharge shall be assessed
upon  all  overcharges willfully collected by the owner starting
six years before the complaint is filed.
(iii) Any complaint based upon overcharges occurring prior  to
the  date of filing of the initial rent registration as provided
in subdivision b of section twelve-a of this act shall be  filed
within  ninety  days  of  the mailing of notice to the tenant of
such registration.
(c) Any affected tenant shall be  notified  of  and  given  an
opportunity  to  join  in  any  complaint filed by an officer or
employee of the state division of housing and community renewal.
(d) An owner found to have overcharged shall, in all cases, be
assessed  the  reasonable  costs  and  attorney's  fees  of  the
proceeding,  and interest from the date of the overcharge at the
rate of interest payable on a judgment pursuant to section  five
thousand four of the civil practice law and rules.
(e)  The  order of the state division of housing and community
renewal awarding penalties  may,  upon  the  expiration  of  the
period in which the owner may institute a proceeding pursuant to
article  seventy-eight  of  the civil practice law and rules, be
filed and enforced by a tenant in the same manner as a  judgment
or,  in the alternative, not in excess of twenty percent thereof
per month may be offset against  any  rent  thereafter  due  the
owner.
(f) Unless a tenant shall have filed a complaint of overcharge
with  the  division  which  complaint  has  not  been withdrawn,
nothing contained in this section shall be deemed to  prevent  a
tenant  or  tenants,  claiming  to  have  been overcharged, from
commencing an action or interposing a counterclaim in a court of
competent jurisdiction for damages equal to the  overcharge  and
the  penalty  provided  for  in this section, including interest
from the date of the overcharge at the rate of interest  payable
on  a  judgment  pursuant  to  section five thousand four of the
civil practice law and  rules,  plus  the  statutory  costs  and
allowable  disbursements  in connection with the proceeding. The
courts and the  division  shall  have  concurrent  jurisdiction,
subject to the tenant's choice of forum.
(2) In addition to issuing the specific orders provided for by
other  provisions of this act, the state division of housing and
community renewal shall be empowered to enforce this act and its
regulations by issuing, upon notice and a reasonable opportunity
for the affected party to be heard, such other orders as it  may
deem appropriate.
(3) If the owner is found by the commissioner:
(i) to have violated an order of the division the commissioner
may  impose  by  administrative  order  after  hearing,  a civil
penalty at minimum in the amount of  one  thousand  but  not  to
exceed  two  thousand dollars for the first such offense, and at
minimum in the amount of two thousand but not  to  exceed  three
thousand dollars for each subsequent offense; or
(ii)  to  have  harassed  a  tenant  to  obtain vacancy of his
housing  accommodation,   the   commissioner   may   impose   by
administrative order after hearing, a civil penalty for any such
violation. Such penalty shall be at minimum in the amount of two
thousand  but not to exceed three thousand dollars for the first
such offense, and at minimum in the amount of ten  thousand  but
not  to  exceed  eleven  thousand  dollars  for  each subsequent
offense or for a violation consisting of conduct directed at the
tenants of more than one housing accommodation.
Such order shall be  deemed  a  final  determination  for  the
purposes   of  judicial  review.  Such  penalty  may,  upon  the
expiration of the period for seeking review pursuant to  article
seventy-eight  of  the civil practice law and rules, be docketed
and enforced in the manner of a judgment of the supreme court.
(4) Any proceeding pursuant to article  seventy-eight  of  the
civil  practice  law  and  rules  seeking  review  of any action
pursuant to this act shall be brought within sixty days  of  the
expiration  of  the  ninety day period and any extension thereof
provided in subdivision c of this section or the rendering of  a
determination,  whichever  is  later.  Any  action or proceeding
brought by or against the commissioner under this act  shall  be
brought  in  the  county  in  which the housing accommodation is
located.
(5) Violations of this act or of the  regulations  and  orders
issued  pursuant  thereto  may  be enjoined by the supreme court
upon proceedings commenced by the state division of housing  and
community  renewal or the tenant or tenants who allege they have
been overcharged. The division shall not  be  required  to  post
bond.
(6)  In furtherance of its responsibility to enforce this act,
the state division of housing and  community  renewal  shall  be
empowered   to   administer   oaths,  issue  subpoenas,  conduct
investigations, make inspections and designate officers to  hear
and  report. The division shall safeguard the confidentiality of
information furnished  to  it  at  the  request  of  the  person
furnishing  same, unless such information must be made public in
the interest of establishing a record for the future guidance of
persons subject to this act.
(7) In any action or proceeding before a court wherein a party
relies for a ground of relief or  defense  or  raises  issue  or
brings into question the construction or validity of this act or
any regulation, order or requirement hereunder, the court having
jurisdiction  of  such  action  or  proceeding  may at any stage
certify such fact to the state division of housing and community
renewal. The state division of housing and community renewal may
intervene in any such action or proceeding.
(8) Except where a specific provision of this law requires the
maintenance of rent  records  for  a  longer  period,  including
records  of  the useful life of improvements made to any housing
accommodation or any building, any owner who has duly registered
a housing accommodation pursuant to section twelve-a of this act
shall not  be  required  to  maintain  or  produce  any  records
relating  to  rentals  of such accommodation more than six years
prior to the most recent registration or  annual  statement  for
such accommodation. However, an owner's election not to maintain
records shall not limit the authority of the division of housing
and  community  renewal  and  the  courts  to examine the rental
history and determine legal regulated  rents  pursuant  to  this
subdivision.
(9)  The  division  of  housing  and community renewal and the
courts,  in  investigating  complaints  of  overcharge  and   in
determining  legal regulated rents, shall consider all available
rent  history  which  is  reasonably  necessary  to  make   such
determinations,  including  but  not  limited  to  (a)  any rent
registration or other records filed with the state  division  of
housing  and community renewal, or any other state, municipal or
federal agency, regardless of the date to which the  information
on  such registration refers; (b) any order issued by any state,
municipal or federal agency; (c) any records maintained  by  the
owner  or tenants; and (d) any public record kept in the regular
course of business by any state, municipal  or  federal  agency.
Nothing  contained in this paragraph shall limit the examination
of rent history relevant to a determination as to:
(i) whether  the  legality  of  a  rental  amount  charged  or
registered  is  reliable  in  light  of  all  available evidence
including, but not limited to, whether an  unexplained  increase
in  the  registered  or  lease  rents, or a fraudulent scheme to
destabilize the housing accommodation,  rendered  such  rent  or
registration unreliable;
(ii)  whether  an  accommodation  is  subject to the emergency
tenant protection act;
(iii) whether an order issued by the division of  housing  and
community   renewal   or  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,
including, but not  limited  to  an  order  issued  pursuant  to
section  seven of this act, or any regulatory agreement or other
contract with any governmental agency, and remaining  in  effect
within  six  years of the filing of a complaint pursuant to this
section, affects or limits  the  amount  of  rent  that  may  be
charged or collected;
(iv) whether an overcharge was or was not willful;
(v)  whether  a  rent  adjustment  that  requires  information
regarding the length of occupancy by a present or  prior  tenant
was lawful;
(vi)  the  existence or terms and conditions of a preferential
rent, or the propriety of  a  legal  registered  rent  during  a
period when the tenants were charged a preferential rent;
(vii) the legality of a rent charged or registered immediately
prior to the registration of a preferential rent; or
(viii)  the  amount  of  the  legal  regulated  rent where the
apartment was vacant or temporarily exempt on the date six years
prior to a tenant's complaint.
b. Within a city having a population of one million  or  more,
the  state  division of housing and community renewal shall have
such powers to enforce this act as shall be provided in the  New
York city rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine,
as  amended,  or as shall otherwise be provided by law. Unless a
tenant shall have filed  a  complaint  of  overcharge  with  the
division   which  complaint  has  not  been  withdrawn,  nothing
contained in this section shall be deemed to prevent a tenant or
tenants, claiming to have been overcharged, from  commencing  an
action  or  interposing  a  counterclaim in a court of competent
jurisdiction for damages equal to the overcharge and the penalty
provided for in this section, including interest from  the  date
of  the overcharge at the rate of interest payable on a judgment
pursuant to section five thousand four of the civil practice law
and rules, plus the statutory costs and allowable  disbursements
in  connection  with the proceeding. The courts and the division
shall  have  concurrent  jurisdiction,  subject  to the tenant's
choice of forum.
c. The state division of housing and community renewal may, by
regulation, provide for administrative review of all orders  and
determinations  issued  by  it  pursuant  to  this act. Any such
regulation shall provide that if a petition for such  review  is
not determined within ninety days after it is filed, it shall be
deemed  to  be  denied.    However,  the  division may grant one
extension not to exceed thirty days  with  the  consent  of  the
party  filing  such  petition; any further extension may only be
granted with the consent of all  parties  to  the  petition.  No
proceeding  may  be brought pursuant to article seventy-eight of
the civil practice law and  rules  to  challange  any  order  or
determination  which  is  subject  to such administrative review
unless  such  review  has  been  sought   and   either   (1)   a
determination thereon has been made or (2) the ninety-day period
provided  for  determination  of the petition for review (or any
extension thereof) has expired.
§ 12-a. Rent registration. a. Each housing accommodation in  a
city  having  a population of less than one million or a town or
village as to which an emergency has been declared  pursuant  to
section  three of this act which is subject to this act shall be
registered by the owner  thereof  with  the  state  division  of
housing  and  community  renewal  prior  to July first, nineteen
hundred eighty-four upon forms prescribed by the commissioner of
such division. The data to  be  provided  on  such  forms  shall
include  the following: (1) the name and address of the building
or group of buildings  or  development  in  which  such  housing
accommodation  is  located and the owner and the tenant thereof;
(2) the number of housing  accommodations  in  the  building  or
group   of  buildings  or  development  in  which  such  housing
accommodation  is   located;   (3)   the   number   of   housing
accommodations  in  such  building  or  group  of  buildings  or
development subject to this act and the number of  such  housing
accommodations  subject  to  the  emergency housing rent control
law; (4) the rent charged on  the  registration  date;  (5)  the
number  of  rooms  in  such  housing  accommodation; and (6) all
services  provided  in  the  last  lease  or  rental   agreement
commencing at least six months prior to the local effective date
of this act.
b.  Registration pursuant to this section shall not be subject
to the freedom of information law,  provided  that  registration
information  relative  to  a  tenant, owner, lessor or subtenant
shall  be  made  available  to  such  party  or  his  authorized
representative.
c.  Housing  accommodations  which  become subject to this act
after the initial registration period must be registered  within
ninety  days  thereafter. Registration of housing accommodations
subject to the emergency housing rent  control  law  immediately
prior  to  the date of filing the initial registration statement
as provided in this section shall include, in  addition  to  the
items listed above, where existing, the maximum rent immediately
prior  to  the  date  that  such  housing  accommodations became
subject to this act.
d. Copies of the registration shall be filed  with  the  state
division  of  housing  and  community  renewal  in such place or
places as it may require.  In addition, one copy of that portion
of the registration statement which  pertains  to  the  tenant's
unit  must be mailed by the owner to the tenant in possession at
the time of initial registration  or  to  the  first  tenant  in
occupancy  if  the  apartment  is  vacant at the time of initial
registration.
e. The failure to file a proper and timely initial  or  annual
rent  registration  statement  shall,  until  such  time as such
registration is  filed,  bar  an  owner  from  applying  for  or
collecting  any  rent  in  excess of the legal regulated rent in
effect on the date of the last preceding registration  statement
or  if  no  such statements have been filed, the legal regulated
rent in effect on the date that the housing accommodation became
subject to the registration requirements of  this  section.  The
filing  of  a  late registration shall result in the prospective
elimination of such sanctions and provided that increases in the
legal regulated rent were lawful except for the failure to  file
a timely registration, the owner, upon the service and filing of
a  late  registration,  shall  not be found to have collected an
overcharge  at  any  time  prior  to  the  filing  of  the  late
registration. In addition to all other requirements set forth in
this subdivision, in the event a timely rent registration is not
filed  and  after  notice of such delinquency is provided by the
division of housing and community renewal to the  owner  in  the
form  of  electronic  mail and mail to the address listed in the
owner's most recent registration statement, the owner  shall  be
subject  to a fine of five hundred dollars per unregistered unit
for each month the registration is delinquent. Such a fine shall
be imposed by order, and such order imposing  a  fine  shall  be
deemed  a  final  determination  for  the  purposes  of judicial
review. Such fine may, upon the expiration  of  the  period  for
seeking  review  pursuant  to article seventy-eight of the civil
practice law and rules, be docketed and enforced in  the  manner
of  a  judgment  of the supreme court by the division of housing
and community renewal.
f. An annual statement shall be filed containing  the  current
rent  for  each  unit  and  such  other information contained in
subdivision a of this  section  as  shall  be  required  by  the
division.  The owner shall provide each tenant then in occupancy
with a copy of that portion of such annual statement as pertains
to the tenant's unit.
g. Within a city having a population of one million  or  more,
each   housing  accommodation  subject  to  this  act  shall  be
registered with the state  division  of  housing  and  community
renewal  as  shall  be  provided  in  the  New  York  city  rent
stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine.
h. Each housing accommodation for which a timely  registration
statement  was  filed  between  April  first,  nineteen  hundred
eighty-four and June thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred  eighty-four,
pursuant  to  subdivision  a of this section shall designate the
rent charged on April first, nineteen  hundred  eighty-four,  as
the rent charged on the registration date.
§  13. Cooperation with other governmental agencies. The state
division  of  housing  and  community  renewal  and   any   rent
guidelines  board  may request and shall receive cooperation and
assistance in effectuating the purposes of  this  act  from  all
departments, divisions, boards, bureaus, commissions or agencies
of the state and political subdivisions thereof.
§  14. Application of act. The provisions of this act shall be
applicable:
a. in the city of New York; and
b. in all counties within the state of New  York  outside  the
city of New York and shall become and remain effective only in a
city,  town  or  village  located therein as provided in section
three of this act.