Establishes it shall be unlawful for a person to have his or her application to rent or lease a residence to be denied due to a previous housing court proceeding; allows a person aggrieved to maintain a civil action.

---

S3163-2013 Actions

• Jan 31, 2013: REFERRED TO JUDICIARY

S3163-2013 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S3163

TITLE  OF  BILL:   An act to amend the real property law, in relation to
prohibiting certain prior housing court proceedings from  being  consid-
ered by landlords in the lease of property for residential purposes

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:  To protect tenants from discrimination
based  on prior landlord-tenant litigation, or tenant screening reports,
when applying for new housing.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill  states  the  underlying  legislative  findings:
that  some landlords discriminate against some prospective tenants based
on prior landlord-tenant litigation or based on tenant screening reports
that are used to blacklist some tenants.

Section 2 of the bill adds a new section 235-h to the Real Property  Law
("RPL").  New RPL section 235-h(1) defines the following terms:  housing
accommodation, tenant screening report, person, and  consumer  reporting
agency. New RPL section 235-h(2) makes it an unlawful practice to refuse
to  rent  residential  units  based  on information obtained from tenant
screening reports or based on prior landlord-tenant litigation, or facts
derived from such  litigation,  unless  the  tenant  had  a  warrant  of
eviction issued against him or her and did not voluntarily enter into an
agreement that would allow the warrant of eviction to be issued. New RPL
section  235-h(3) allows aggrieved tenants to sue for injunctive relief,
damages, costs and fees.

Section 3 establishes that this act shall take effect immediately.

JUSTIFICATION:  Landlords typically review  prospective  tenants'  back-
ground  in  order to evaluate their desirability as tenants. In addition
to credit history and income, landlords also examine court  history.  In
fact,  an  entire  industry,  comprised  of  so-called  tenant screening
bureaus or tenant screening companies, has  been  created  in  order  to
provide landlords with information on tenants, and these companies often
provide a tenant's court history. Unfortunately, these companies are not
necessarily  thorough,  and  they do not always include the outcome of a
tenant's court case. Tenants who have appeared in court  cases  relating
to  landlord-tenant  disputes,  and  who  might  have won their cases or
settled out of court, still find  their  applications  for  new  housing
rejected, simply based on their prior appearances in court.

This  bill  would  make it unlawful for landlords to consider a tenant's
history in court cases that arise from landlord-tenant disputes,  unless
that  tenant was evicted against his or her will. This would ensure that
appearance in court in and of itself would not  prevent  a  tenant  from
obtaining  new  housing.  Lawyers involved in housing court cases report
that there are 375,000 housing court cases a year in New York State, and
only 25,000 result in warrants of eviction. That means  that  there  are

potentially  350,000  residents  of  New  York  State  who are suffering
because the law does not prevent landlords from  discriminating  against
them.  The  bill  would  continue  to permit the use of prior litigation
history  that resulted in a contested (i.e., non-consented to) eviction,
following a court ruling in favor of a petitioner-landlord, thus  allow-
ing legitimate use of a relatively small number of cases, while prevent-
ing discrimination based on cases that did not have such a result.

Additionally,  this bill would eliminate a threat that landlords can use
against their tenants. Currently, tenants who  may  wish  to  sue  their
landlord  - over a failure to deliver services, harassment, or any other
number of reasons - may  be  unwise  to  do  so,  simply  because  their
involvement  in  housing court can be used adversely against them in the
future, Similarly, landlords who wish to  exercise  control  over  their
tenants  can  threaten to sue to evict them, knowing full well that even
if they lose the case, they have caused irreparable harm to the tenants'
ability to find new housing. Tenants  should  not  feel  that  they  are
unable  to  exercise  their  rights by appearing in court, and landlords
should not be able to manipulate the judicial system to intimidate their
tenants. This bill would prevent both of these phenomena, and would also
allow tenants who have appeared in court,  but  have  not  been  evicted
against their will, from suffering unreasonable hardship.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:  2009/2010: S.3856B/A.3243A 2011/2012: S.457/A4203

EFFECTIVE DATE:  This act shall take effect immediately.

S3163-2013 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    3163

                         2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                              January 31, 2013
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by Sens. KRUEGER, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered printed,
    and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary

  AN ACT to amend the  real  property  law,  in  relation  to  prohibiting
    certain prior housing court proceedings from being considered by land-
    lords in the lease of property for residential purposes

    THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds that  some
  landlords  refuse  to  offer available units because prospective tenants
  have previously been party to  a  judicial  proceeding  arising  from  a
  dispute  between  themselves  and  a prior landlord, and also finds that
  tenant screening reports are also being used by some landlords to  inap-
  propriately   blacklist  some  prospective  tenants.    The  legislature
  believes that a tenant's prior appearance in a  judicial  proceeding  is
  not  worthy  of consideration when a landlord is reviewing a prospective
  tenant's application, except under the limited  circumstances  permitted
  by this act.
    S 2. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 235-h to
  read as follows:

    S  235-H. UNLAWFUL REFUSAL TO RENT TO A PROSPECTIVE TENANT. 1. AS USED
  IN THIS SECTION, THE TERMS:

    (A) "HOUSING  ACCOMMODATION"  INCLUDES  ANY  BUILDING,  STRUCTURE,  OR
  PORTION  THEREOF  WHICH  IS USED OR OCCUPIED OR IS INTENDED, ARRANGED OR
  DESIGNED TO BE USED OR OCCUPIED, AS  THE  HOME,  RESIDENCE  OR  SLEEPING
  PLACE OF ONE OR MORE HUMAN BEINGS.
    (B) "TENANT SCREENING REPORT" MEANS ANY WRITTEN, ORAL, OR OTHER COMMU-
  NICATION  OF ANY INFORMATION BY A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY BEARING ON A
  CONSUMER'S CREDIT WORTHINESS, CREDIT STANDING, CREDIT CAPACITY,  CHARAC-
  TER,  GENERAL  REPUTATION,  PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS, HISTORY OF CONTACT
  WITH ANY HOUSING, CIVIL OR CRIMINAL COURT  OF  ANY  STATE,  OR  MODE  OF
  LIVING,  WHICH  IS USED FOR OR EXPECTED TO BE USED OR COLLECTED IN WHOLE

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD01586-01-3

 S. 3163                             2

  OR PART FOR THE PURPOSE OF SERVING AS A FACTOR IN EVALUATING A  PROSPEC-
  TIVE TENANT.
    (C)  "PERSON"  MEANS  ANY  NATURAL  PERSON,  FIRM,  PARTNERSHIP, JOINT
  VENTURE, CORPORATION OR ASSOCIATION.
    (D) "CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY" MEANS ANY  PERSON  WHO,  FOR  MONETARY
  FEES,  DUES,  OR  ON A COOPERATIVE NONPROFIT BASIS, REGULARLY ENGAGES IN
  WHOLE OR IN PART IN THE PRACTICE OF ASSEMBLING  OR  EVALUATING  CONSUMER
  CREDIT  INFORMATION OR OTHER INFORMATION ON CONSUMERS FOR THE PURPOSE OF
  FURNISHING CONSUMER REPORTS, TENANT SCREENING REPORTS OR OTHER  INVESTI-
  GATIVE CONSUMER REPORTS TO THIRD PARTIES.
    2.  IT  SHALL BE AN UNLAWFUL PRACTICE FOR ANY PERSON, BEING THE OWNER,
  LANDLORD, LESSEE, PROPRIETOR, MANAGER, SUPERINTENDENT, AGENT OR EMPLOYEE
  OF ANY HOUSING ACCOMMODATION TO DENY ANY PERSON'S APPLICATION TO RENT OR
  LEASE A UNIT INTENDED TO BE  USED  PRIMARILY  FOR  RESIDENTIAL  PURPOSES
  BASED,  WHOLLY OR IN PART, ON INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM A TENANT SCREEN-
  ING REPORT.  IT SHALL ALSO BE UNLAWFUL TO DO SO BASED ON ANY INFORMATION
  INDICATING THAT SUCH PERSON WAS A LITIGANT IN AN  ACTION  OR  PROCEEDING
  BROUGHT  UNDER ARTICLE SEVEN OF THE REAL PROPERTY ACTIONS AND PROCEEDING
  LAW OR SECTION ONE HUNDRED TEN OF THE NEW YORK CITY CIVIL COURT  ACT  IN
  THE  SUPREME  COURT  OR  IN  THE HOUSING PART OF THE NEW YORK CITY CIVIL
  COURT, OR BASED ON ANY OF THE FACTS OR ALLEGED FACTS DERIVED FROM SUCH A
  PROCEEDING, UNLESS:

    (A) SUCH PERSON PREVIOUSLY APPEARED AS RESPONDENT OR DEFENDANT  IN  AN
  ACTION  TO  RECOVER  REAL  PROPERTY  OR  A SUMMARY PROCEEDING TO RECOVER
  POSSESSION OF REAL PROPERTY; AND
    (B) A JUDGE RULED IN FAVOR OF THE PETITIONER OR PLAINTIFF; AND
    (C) A WARRANT OF EVICTION WAS  ISSUED  AGAINST  SUCH  PERSON  IN  THAT
  ACTION OR PROCEEDING; AND
    (D) SUCH PERSON, HAD NOT ENTERED INTO A VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT, SUCH AS A
  STIPULATION,  CONSENT  DECREE,  OR  ANY  OTHER AGREEMENT CONSENTING TO A
  JUDGMENT OF POSSESSION.
    3. ANY PERSON AGGRIEVED BY A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION MAY MAINTAIN AN
  ACTION IN ANY COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION FOR:

    (A) AN INJUNCTION TO ENJOIN AND RESTRAIN SUCH UNLAWFUL PRACTICE;
    (B) ACTUAL DAMAGES SUSTAINED AS A RESULT OF SUCH UNLAWFUL PRACTICE;
    (C) COURT COSTS;
    (D) LEGAL FEES;
    (E) PUNITIVE DAMAGES AS DETERMINED BY THE TRIER OF FACT; AND
    (F) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES AS DETERMINED BY THE TRIER OF FACT.
    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  all
  landlord  tenant  relationships entered into or renewed on or after such
  date.