Imposes additional requirements with respect to the duty of a landlord to provide tenants with a written receipt for rent paid and directs the office of court administration to embark upon a campaign to inform tenants of their right to the same; authorizes the court to impose a twenty-five dollar rent reduction for each failure to comply with this section.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6192
SPONSOR: Ortiz TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the real property law, in relation to
the duty of a landlord to provide a written receipt of rent paid
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 235-e of the Real Property Law is amended by authorizing that
the printed name and address of the managing agent or designee of a
residential real property can substitute for the signature and title of
the person receiving the rent on a rent receipt and adding three new
subdivisions" Subdivision (b) directs landlords upon a tenant's written
request to provide the tenant in cases where the rent is paid in part by
the office of social services or the office of temporary and disability
with a receipt. Subdivision (c) authorizes the court to impose a twenty
five dollar rent reduction for each failure to comply with this section
subdivision (d) directs the Office of Court Administration to inform
tenants of their right to receive a rent receipt and the information
that must be included in the receipt.
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation makes several technical adjustments in Section 235-e of
the real property law to strengthen tenant's rights and reinforce land-
lord's obligations to provide tenants with rent receipts. The wide-
spread use of receipts will aid the court in fairly resolving disputes
involving nonpayment of rent. The existing law made no provisions for
the thousands of tenants whose rental payments are made by public
assistance and are not entitled to formal notification from their land-
lord that their rent had been paid. The bill corrects this oversight.
The statute contains no enforcement mechanism to insure tenants are
provided with receipts. The $25 penalty set forth in the bill will
encourage compliance with this statute. Finally many tenants continue
to be unaware of a landlord's obligation to provide their tenants with a
written rent receipt or the necessary information that receipts must
include. The bill takes stronger steps towards tenant self-advocacy by
increasing public awareness about tenant's rights.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2009/10: A7510 Referred to Housing 2011/12: A157 Held in Housing
2013/14: A1772 Referred to Housing
2015/16: A5860 Referred to Housing
2017/18: A7550 Referred to Housing
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state
EFFECTIVE DATE:
November 1st after enactment
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6192
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 4, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Housing
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to the duty of a
landlord to provide a written receipt of rent paid
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 235-e of the real property law, as amended by chap-
2 ter 848 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 235-e. Duty of landlord to provide written receipt. (a) Upon the
4 receipt of rent for residential premises in the form of cash or any
5 instrument other than the personal check of the tenant, it shall be the
6 duty of the landlord to provide the payor or if paid in whole or part by
7 a social services district or the office of temporary and disability
8 assistance, then the tenant, with a written receipt containing the
9 following:
10 1. The date;
11 2. The amount;
12 3. The identity of the premises and period for which paid; and
13 4. The signature and title of the person receiving the rent or the
14 printed name, address and telephone number of the licensed real estate
15 broker or firm in charge of the dwelling or the printed name, New York
16 city address and telephone number of the managing agent or designee
17 described in paragraph five of subdivision a of section 27-2098 of the
18 administrative code of the city of New York.
19 (b) Where a tenant, in writing, requests that a landlord provide a
20 receipt for rent paid by personal check, it shall be the duty of the
21 landlord to provide the payor with the receipt described in subdivision
22 (a) of this section for each such request made in writing.
23 (c) In addition to any other remedy authorized by law, a court may
24 impose a twenty-five dollar reduction in the rent for each failure to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02940-01-9
A. 6192 2
1 comply with the provisions of this section in any proceeding commenced
2 under article seven of the real property actions and proceedings law.
3 (d) The office of court administration shall develop, distribute and
4 where necessary provide tenants with an explanation of the written
5 receipt each landlord must present to a tenant upon payment of rent.
6 Such office shall take such steps as are necessary to inform tenants of
7 their right to receive such receipt and a landlord's obligation to
8 provide such receipt.
9 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
10 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
