STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 11056 IN ASSEMBLY June 1, 2018 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Hevesi) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to the termination of a residential lease by a victim of domestic violence; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 227-c of the real property law is REPEALED and a 2 new section 227-c is added to read as follows: 3 § 227-c. Termination of residential lease by victims of domestic 4 violence. 1. Lease or rental agreement. In any lease or rental agree- 5 ment covering premises occupied for dwelling purposes, where a tenant or 6 a member of the tenant's household is a victim of domestic violence as 7 defined by section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services law 8 and reasonably fears remaining in the leasehold premises because of 9 potential further domestic violence, such tenant shall be permitted to 10 terminate such lease or rental agreement and quit and surrender 11 possession of the leasehold premises and the land so leased or occupied 12 pursuant to the provisions of this section and to be released from any 13 liability to pay to the lessor or owner, rent or other payments in lieu 14 of rent for the time subsequent to the date of termination of such lease 15 in accordance with subdivision two of this section. 16 2. Lease termination procedure. (a) A tenant who meets the require- 17 ments in subdivision one of this section may terminate his or her lease 18 by notice in writing delivered to the lessor or owner of the premises 19 occupied by such person, or to the lessor's or owner's agent, and to any 20 co-tenants of such lessee or tenant other than the perpetrator of domes- 21 tic violence. The notice shall specify the termination date which shall 22 be no earlier than thirty days after such notice is delivered. If the 23 notice is mailed via first class mail, it shall be deemed delivered five 24 days after mailing. If the tenant asserts that the lessor or owner is 25 the perpetrator of domestic violence, a person authorized by the tenant 26 may deliver such notice on the tenant's behalf. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD16172-01-8
A. 11056 2 1 (b) Such notice shall state that the tenant or a member of the 2 tenant's household has experienced domestic violence and reasonably 3 believes he or she, or the member of the tenant's household, is unable 4 to safely remain in the leased premises as a result of the domestic 5 violence. 6 (c) Within twenty-five days of such notice, the tenant shall provide 7 documentation demonstrating that the tenant or a member of the tenant's 8 household has been a victim of domestic violence as described in subdi- 9 vision one of this section. This documentation may include any one or 10 more of the following: 11 (i) A temporary or final order of protection issued by a court of 12 competent jurisdiction; 13 (ii) A record, complaint, or report from a federal, state, or local 14 law enforcement agency of an act of domestic violence as described in 15 section four hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services law or a family 16 offense as described in section eight hundred twelve of the family court 17 act, or certifying that the tenant or a member of the tenant's household 18 has been subjected to domestic violence; 19 (iii) A record from a health care provider for treatment related to 20 domestic violence as described in section four hundred fifty-nine-a of 21 the social services law or a family offense as described in section 22 eight hundred twelve of the family court act; 23 (iv) A written verification from any other qualified third party to 24 whom the tenant, or a member of the tenant's household reported the 25 domestic violence. 26 (A) "Qualified third party" shall include: any law enforcement offi- 27 cer; employee of a court of the state; attorney, physician, psychia- 28 trist, psychologist, social worker, registered nurse, therapist, or 29 clinical professional counselor licensed to practice in any state; 30 person employed by a government or non-profit agency or service that 31 advises or provides services to persons regarding domestic violence; or 32 any member of the clergy of a church or religious society or denomi- 33 nation. 34 (B) Written verification as described herein shall be satisfied by any 35 sworn or notarized statement including the required information. 36 (C) The following sample form shall satisfy the verification require- 37 ments but is not required. This sample form shall be posted to the New 38 York state unified court system's website, and shall be made available 39 in the state's family, civil, housing, criminal, and supreme courts: 40 Part I. Tenant/Legal Occupant Statement 41 I, (insert name of tenant), state as follows: 42 (Choose the next part (A, B, or C) that most accurately describes your 43 situation) 44 (A) I have been subject to domestic violence. Date(s) of recent 45 incident(s) happened on or about: 46 (B) A member of my household has been subject to domestic violence. 47 Date(s) of recent incident(s) happened on or about: 48 (C) Both I and at least one member of my household have been subject to 49 domestic violence. Date(s) of recent incident(s) happened on or about:
A. 11056 3 1 The person I have asserted has perpetrated domestic violence is my 2 co-tenant, and I cannot safely give notice of my termination to my 3 co-tenant. (YES/NO) 4 I reasonably fear that I cannot safely remain in my current apartment. I 5 hereby terminate my lease effective (date at least thirty days after the 6 next rent payment is due). 7 _______________________ ___________ 8 (signature of tenant) (date) 9 Acknowledgement 10 State of _____________________) 11 )ss.: 12 County of ____________________) 13 On the ______ day of __________ in the year _____, before me, the under- 14 signed notary public, personally appeared _______________________, 15 personally known to me or proved to me on the basis of satisfactory 16 evidence to be the individual(s) whose name(s) is (are) subscribed to 17 the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed 18 the same in his/her/their capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their 19 signature(s) on the instrument, the individual(s), or the person upon 20 behalf of which the individual(s) acted, executed the instrument. 21 _________________________ 22 Notary Public 23 Part II. Qualified Third Party Statement 24 I, (insert name of qualified third party), state as follows: 25 My employer name/address/phone number/e-mail address are as follows: 26 I am: 27 ____ A law enforcement officer employed by the (insert law enforcement 28 agency). 29 ____ An employee of __________________________ court located in the 30 state of _______________. 31 ____ An attorney licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)). 32 ____ A physician licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)). 33 ____ A psychiatrist licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)). 34 ____ A psychologist licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)). 35 ____ A social worker licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)). 36 ____ A nurse licensed to practice in (insert name of state(s)). 37 ____ A therapist or clinical professional counselor licensed to practice 38 in (insert name of state(s)); 39 ____ Employed by a government or non-profit agency or service that 40 advises persons regarding domestic violence or refers them to 41 persons or agencies for services or advice. 42 ____ A member of the clergy of a church or religious society or denomi- 43 nation.
A. 11056 4 1 ____ Other (describe):_________________________________________________ 2 The person who signed the Tenant/Legal Occupant Statement above has 3 stated to me that he or she, or a member of his or her household, has 4 been subject to domestic violence. 5 This person further stated to me the incident(s) occurred on or about 6 the date(s) stated above. 7 I understand that the person who signed the Tenant/Legal Occupant State- 8 ment may use this document as a basis for terminating a lease with the 9 person's lessor. 10 __________________________________________ 11 (name of qualified third party) 12 __________________________________________ 13 (signature of qualified third party) 14 ______________ 15 (date) 16 Acknowledgement 17 State of ______________________) 18 )ss.: 19 County of _____________________) 20 On the _______ day of ___________ in the year _____, before me, the 21 undersigned notary public, personally appeared 22 _________________________, personally known to me or proved to me on the 23 basis of satisfactory evidence to be the individual(s) whose name(s) is 24 (are) subscribed to the within instrument and acknowledged to me that 25 he/she/they executed the same in his/her/their capacity(ies), and that 26 by his/her/their signature(s) on the instrument, the individual(s), or 27 the person upon behalf of which the individual(s) acted, executed the 28 instrument. 29 ____________________________________________ 30 Notary Public 31 Part III. Statement of Interpretation/Translation 32 I am bilingual in English and ____________ and have translated or inter- 33 preted this document to the best of my ability for the signer above. 34 _________________________________________ 35 (name of interpreter/translator)
A. 11056 5 1 _________________________________________ 2 (signature of interpreter/translator) 3 ___________________ 4 (date) 5 Acknowledgement 6 State of ______________________) 7 )ss.: 8 County of _____________________) 9 On the _______ day of ___________ in the year _____, before me, the 10 undersigned notary public, personally appeared ________________, 11 personally known to me or proved to me on the basis of satisfactory 12 evidence to be the individual(s) whose name(s) is (are) subscribed to 13 the within instrument and acknowledged to me that he/she/they executed 14 the same in his/her/their capacity(ies), and that by his/her/their 15 signature(s) on the instrument, the individual(s), or the person upon 16 behalf of which the individual(s) acted, executed the instrument. 17 ____________________________________________ 18 Notary Public 19 3. Treatment of rent. (a) The tenant terminating the lease shall pay 20 rent, pro-rata, up to the lease termination date pursuant to this 21 section. 22 (b) The tenant terminating the lease shall be entitled to a refund for 23 any prepaid rent or other payments covering the period after the effec- 24 tive date of the lease termination, as long as the tenant has vacated 25 the premises. Such refund shall be provided within ten days of delivery 26 of the written notice as outlined in subdivision two of this section. 27 (c) A tenant who meets the requirements in subdivision one of this 28 section and submits proper notice pursuant to subdivision two of this 29 section shall have a defense in any action brought by a landlord against 30 such tenant to recover rent and/or damages for breach of lease and shall 31 not be liable for any rent after the effective termination date. 32 (d) The lessor or owner may withhold a security deposit in part or in 33 full to the extent allowed by the lease or statute, except for the early 34 termination granted by this section, and shall not withhold any part of 35 the security deposit due to the tenant's exercise of rights under this 36 section. 37 (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to be a defense against 38 an action for rent for a period of time before the tenant vacated the 39 premises and gave notice as required in subdivision two of this section. 40 4. Co-tenants and other occupants. Upon termination: 41 (a) If the terminating tenant is the sole leaseholder, the premises 42 shall be delivered to the lessor or owner: 43 (i) free of all tenants and occupants, provided that the terminating 44 tenant shall not be responsible for ensuring that the abusive household 45 member is not present; and 46 (ii) in accordance with the terms of the lease relating to delivery of 47 the premises at the termination of the lease. 48 (b) If there are tenants on the lease other than the terminating 49 tenant:
A. 11056 6 1 (i) the landlord shall not, except upon consent of such additional 2 tenants, terminate or sever the co-tenancy. The landlord must provide 3 the remaining tenant at least thirty days from the termination date to 4 decide whether to consent to a termination or severance. 5 (ii) The remaining co-tenant or co-tenants hold the right to add an 6 additional occupant as defined by paragraph (b) of subdivision one of 7 section two hundred thirty-five-f of this article. 8 5. Confidentiality provisions. (a) Unless the terminating tenant 9 provides written authorization for the release of such information or 10 unless required by law, court order, or statute, the information shall 11 not be released. 12 (b) Pursuant to this section, the landlord, tenant or co-tenant shall 13 not divulge, describe, or characterize the termination of the rental 14 agreement as an early termination by a current lessor to a prospective 15 lessor or any third party. 16 6. Violations. (a) Anybody who recklessly, knowingly, or inten- 17 tionally violates any part of this section may be liable for liquidated 18 damages, not to exceed one thousand dollars, actual damages, costs and 19 attorneys' fees. 20 (b) Any agreement by a lessee or tenant of premises occupied for 21 dwelling purposes waiving or modifying his or her rights as set forth in 22 this section shall be void as contrary to public policy. 23 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.