Pol: Add time for rent gripes
ALBANY — A Harlem state senator is set to introduce a bill to give tenants who believed they’ve been overcharged on their rent an additional two years to file complaints, the Daily News has learned.
Under current law, tenants have four years to seek action against what they believe were unlawful rent hikes. Landlords can only be hit with penalties if there is a finding the rent overcharges were due to fraud or illegality.
But under the bill to be introduced this week by Sen. Brian Benjamin, a Democrat, that timeframe to bring a complaint would be upped to six years.
It would also return apartments that were deregulated as a result of the rent overcharges back into the rent regulated system and would allow for penalties against landlords even in cases where there were overcharges but no illegality or fraud is proven.
The state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, under the bill, would be able to revoke an order of eviction due to an overcharge even in cases where there was no finding of fraud or illegality on the part of the landlord.
Benjamin said the statute of limitations on most contract disputes is six years.
“It’s about fundamental fairness,” he said. “There’s no reason for special treatment for landlords on this. The tenants should have the same amount of time to address a dispute that any other general contract in New York State does.”
Frank Ricci, director of government affairs for the Rent Stabilization Association that represents landlords, said his organization will oppose the legislation and questioned whether the Division of Housing and Community Renewal can legally overturn a court-ordered eviction.
“The whole bill sounds like pandering by the senator,” Ricci said. “There’s no justification to look back six years. If you can’t resolve something looking back four years, then it’s nothing more than trying to give leverage to one party over another, and that’s pandering.”
Benjamin argued that reputable landlords having nothing do worry about.
“If you’re a great landlord and you’re doing the right thing, it shouldn’t impact you,” the senator said. “It should impact those who either are willfully trying to defraud or steal from renters or those who have bad staff, but that shouldn’t be the tenants’ problem.”