File #: Int 0048-2014    Version: Name: Rights and responsibilities guide for tenants and owners.
Type: Introduction Status: Enacted
Committee: Committee on Housing and Buildings
On agenda: 2/26/2014
Enactment date: 9/30/2014 Law number: 2014/045
Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to a rights and responsibilities guide for tenants and owners.
Sponsors: Fernando Cabrera , Corey D. Johnson, Peter A. Koo, Deborah L. Rose, Helen K. Rosenthal, Antonio Reynoso, Donovan J. Richards, Ben Kallos, Costa G. Constantinides, Maria Del Carmen Arroyo, Mathieu Eugene, David G. Greenfield, Jumaane D. Williams
Council Member Sponsors: 13
Attachments: 1. Int. No. 48 - 2/26/14, 2. Proposed Int. No. 48-A - 6/18/14, 3. Committee Report 6/18/14, 4. Hearing Testimony 6/18/14, 5. Hearing Testimony 6/18/14 (Con't), 6. Hearing Transcript 6/18/14, 7. Committee Report 9/10/14, 8. Hearing Transcript 9/10/14, 9. Committee Report - Stated Meeting, 10. Hearing Transcript - Stated Meeting 9-10-14, 11. Fiscal Impact Statement, 12. Mayor's Letter, 13. Local Law 45, 14. Minutes of the Stated Meeting - September 10, 2014
Date Ver.Prime SponsorAction ByActionResultAction DetailsMeeting DetailsMultimedia
9/30/2014AFernando Cabrera City Council Recved from Mayor by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available
9/30/2014AFernando Cabrera Mayor Signed Into Law by Mayor  Action details Meeting details Not available
9/30/2014AFernando Cabrera Mayor Hearing Held by MayorFail Action details Meeting details Not available
9/10/2014AFernando Cabrera City Council Sent to Mayor by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available
9/10/2014AFernando Cabrera City Council Approved by CouncilPass Action details Meeting details Not available
9/10/2014*Fernando Cabrera Committee on Housing and Buildings Hearing Held by Committee  Action details Meeting details Not available
9/10/2014*Fernando Cabrera Committee on Housing and Buildings Amendment Proposed by Comm  Action details Meeting details Not available
9/10/2014*Fernando Cabrera Committee on Housing and Buildings Amended by Committee  Action details Meeting details Not available
9/10/2014AFernando Cabrera Committee on Housing and Buildings Approved by CommitteePass Action details Meeting details Not available
6/18/2014*Fernando Cabrera Committee on Housing and Buildings Hearing Held by Committee  Action details Meeting details Not available
6/18/2014*Fernando Cabrera Committee on Housing and Buildings Amendment Proposed by Comm  Action details Meeting details Not available
6/18/2014*Fernando Cabrera Committee on Housing and Buildings Laid Over by Committee  Action details Meeting details Not available
2/26/2014*Fernando Cabrera City Council Referred to Comm by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available
2/26/2014*Fernando Cabrera City Council Introduced by Council  Action details Meeting details Not available
Int. No. 48-A
 
By Council Members Cabrera, Johnson, Koo, Rose, Rosenthal, Reynoso, Richards, Kallos, Constantinides, Arroyo, Eugene, Greenfield and Williams
 
 
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to a rights and responsibilities guide for tenants and owners.
 
 
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
      Section 1. Title 26 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new chapter 11 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 11
HOUSING INFORMATION GUIDE FOR TENANTS AND OWNERS
      §26-1101 Definitions.
      §26-1102 Housing information guide for tenants and owners.
      §26-1103 Notice required.
      §26-1104 Violations and penalties.
 
      §26-1101 Definitions. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms are defined as follows:
"Department" means the department of housing preservation and development.
"Dwelling unit" means a dwelling unit as defined in paragraph thirteen of subdivision a of section 27-2004 of the code.
"Multiple dwelling" means a dwelling as defined in paragraph seven of subdivision a of section 27-2004 of the code.
"Owner" means an owner as defined in paragraph forty-five of subdivision a of section 27-2004 of the code.
"Tenant" means any lawful occupant of a dwelling unit in a multiple dwelling.
§26-1102 Housing information guide for tenants and owners. a. The department shall maintain a housing information guide for tenants and owners in English, Spanish and, in the discretion of the department, other languages. Such guide shall be available on the department's website and shall be available in printed form upon request.
b. The guide maintained pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, information about:
(1) owners' responsibilities with respect to eviction, heat and hot water, pest management, repairs and maintenance, tenant organizations, rent-regulated leases, rental assistance for elderly or disabled tenants, and housing discrimination;
(2) tenants' responsibilities with respect to responding to required notices, allowing access for inspections and repairs, and not causing violations;
(3) the availability of free and low-cost legal services; and
(4) other topics deemed relevant by the department.
§26-1103 Notice of housing information guide for tenants and owners. a. Posting required. Every owner of a multiple dwelling shall post a notice in English and Spanish regarding the availability of the housing information guide for tenants and owners maintained pursuant to section 26-1102 of this chapter. Such notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place within view of the area in the multiple dwelling to which mail is delivered.
b. Upon request by a tenant occupying a dwelling unit in a multiple dwelling, the owner of such multiple dwelling shall make best efforts to provide the notice required by subdivision a in a language other than English or Spanish.
c. The notice required by subdivision a of this section shall, at a minimum, indicate that the guide maintained pursuant to section 26-1102 of this chapter includes information about:
(1) owners' responsibilities with respect to eviction, heat and hot water, pest management, repairs and maintenance, tenant organizations, rent-regulated leases, rental assistance for elderly or disabled tenants, and housing discrimination;
(2) topics related to tenants' responsibilities; and
(3) the availability of free and low-cost legal services.
d. Contents of posted notice. The department shall determine the form of the notice required pursuant to subdivision a of this section.
§26-1104 Violations and penalties. Any owner who violates the provisions of subdivision a of section 26-1103 of this chapter shall be liable for a civil penalty of two hundred fifty dollars. For purposes of this section, each multiple dwelling in which an owner fails to post the notice required pursuant to subdivision a of section 26-1103 of this chapter shall be deemed a separate violation.
§2. This local law shall take effect 150 days after its enactment, except that the commissioner of housing preservation and development may take such actions as are necessary for its implementation, including the promulgation of rules, prior to such effective date.
 
 
JW
LS 375/2014
8/11/14