On June 14, 2019, Governor Cuomo signed into law the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, primarily affecting residential landlords and tenants statewide. The new laws are heavily pro-tenant and generally extend the time that tenants may remain in possession of a premises despite non-payment. Key changes include:

Eviction Proceedings

• Landlord’s duty to mitigate damages – if a tenant vacates the leased premises prior to termination of the lease, the landlord must take “reasonable and customary actions” to re-let the premises
• No fees, charges, or penalties other than rent may be sought in a summary proceeding
• Service of Petition – must be made at least 10 and not more than 17 days before the return date of the Petition
• Warrant of Eviction – tenant has 14 days after service of the eviction warrant to vacate, replacing the former 72 hour notice to vacate
• Unlawful Eviction – punishable as a Class A Misdemeanor; $1,000 - $10,000 fine
• 14-day adjournment of summary proceeding – must be given to tenant upon request to court, unless landlord, tenant, and court agree to a shorter time

Fees

• Landlords may not charge application fees – subject to a background check or credit check exception
• Tenants have a 5 day grace period to pay rent – landlord may not demand a late fee unless the payment of rent is not made within 5 days of its due date; landlord must send late notice, by certified mail, upon failure to receive rent payment within 5 days of its due date, replacing the former 3-day non-payment notice
• Late fees may not exceed $50 or 5% of monthly rent, whichever is less

Leases

• Notification of non-renewal of lease (including month-to-month) or rent increase by more than 5% – amount of notice now depends upon length of occupancy or length of lease term
• 14 day written rent demand – landlords must give 14 days’ notice before commencing a summary proceeding
• Tenant discrimination­ – a rental application may not be refused on the basis of a past or present landlord-tenant action or summary proceeding; violation of this carries a $500-$1,000 civil penalty per violation

The attorneys at Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP can help you with your landlord/tenant issues under the new law. For more information or questions about the new laws, please contact Jared Mack at jmack@lgtlegal.com, Jordan Charnetsky at jcharnetsky@lgtlegal.com  or a member of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Groups.