Landlords Be Aware of NYS Tenant Protection Act

It’s possible, that with all good intentions, the Governor and NYS Legislature enacted into law a Housing Tenant Protection Act (June 2019), so broad based that is has had unintended consequences affecting landlords, tenants and realtors.  “The Act is a sweeping and comprehensive collection of new provisions that strengthen tenant protections,” says the New York Department of State. They have recently issued guidance for realtors. 

Many restrictions have been placed on what landlords can and cannot do. There was a need to review and revise some of the rental practices, but the broad based application of the provisions of the Act  may have the unintended consequence of impeding and possibly decreasing the number of  rentals available, and discourage realtors from acting as agents for landlords and tenants.

The law applies to our summer rental landlords and tenants as well, and we thought it would be a helpful to summarize some of the most notable provisions below:

1.    Security deposits are limited to 1 month’s rent. The security deposit must be returned within 14 days after the tenant vacates with an itemized statement indicating the basis for amounts retained. If a landlord fails to return the remaining portion and itemized statement within 14 days, the landlord forfeits any right to retain any portion of the deposit.

2.    Processing, review or acceptance application fees are prohibited (with some exceptions for COOP’s and Condos.

3.    Background check fees are limited to lesser of actual cost or $20.

4.    Late payment fees are capped to lesser of $50 or 5% of monthly rent.

5.    If a tenant breaks a lease, the landlord must attempt to re-lease the property.  

6.    Damages in eviction proceeding are no longer recoverable. There are a number of additional provisions that address timing, of eviction proceedings, warrants, etc., that landlords should be aware of.

If you are a landlord, talk with your attorney and find out how the new law applies to you, and make sure your lease is updated for the new provisions of the 2019 Act.

Sources:

New York Department of State, Guidance for Real Estate Professionals Concerning the Statewide Housing Security & Tenant Protection Act of 2019.

NYSAR (New York State Association of REALTORS, Inc.), 13 Things to Know: Expansion of Rent Regulation and Tenant Protection, prepared for NYSAR by Harris Beach, PLLC, Attorneys at Law.