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New York Rent Laws
EHRCL Table of Contents
The Local Emergency Housing Rent Control Act [1962]
Section 10. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Whenever in the judgment of the city housing rent agency any
person has engaged or is about to engage in any acts or
practices which constitute or will constitute a violation of
any provision of subdivision nine of this section, the city
housing rent agency may make application to the supreme
court for an order enjoining such acts or practices, or for
an order enforcing compliance with such provision, or for an
order directing the landlord to correct the violation, and
upon a showing by the city housing rent agency that such
person has engaged or is about to engage in any such acts or
practices a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining
order, or other order shall be granted without bond.
Jurisdiction shall not be deemed lacking in the supreme
court because the defense is based upon an order of an
inferior court.
(b) Any person who willfully violates any provision of
subdivision nine of this section, and any person who makes
any statement or entry false in any material respect in any
document or report required to be kept or filed under any
local law adopted pursuant to subdivision five of this
section or any regulation, order, or requirement thereunder,
and any person who willfully omits or neglects to make any
material statement or entry required to be made in any such
document or report, shall, upon conviction thereof, be
subject to a fine of not more than five thousand dollars, or
to imprisonment for not more than two years in the case of a
violation of paragraph (c) of subdivision nine of this
section and for not more than one year in all other cases,
or to both such fine and imprisonment. Whenever the city
housing rent agency has reason to believe that any person is
liable to punishment under this paragraph, the city housing
rent agency may certify the facts to the district attorney
of any county having jurisdiction of the alleged violation,
who shall cause appropriate proceedings to be brought.
(c) Any court shall advance on the docket and expedite the
disposition of any criminal or other proceedings brought
before it under this subdivision.
(d) No officer or employee of the city housing rent agency shall
be held liable for damages or penalties in any court, on any
grounds for or in respect of anything done or omitted to be
done in good faith pursuant to any provision of the state
emergency housing rent control law or any local law adopted
pursuant to subdivision five of this section or any
regulation, order, or requirement thereunder,
notwithstanding that subsequently such provision,
regulation, order, or requirement may be modified,
rescinded, or determined to be invalid. In any action or
proceeding wherein a party relies for ground of relief or
defense or raises issue or brings into question the
construction or validity of such local law or any
regulation, order, or requirement thereunder, the court
having jurisdiction of such action or proceeding may at any
state certify such fact to the city housing rent agency. The
city housing rent agency may intervene in any such action or
proceeding.
(e) If any landlord who receives rent from a tenant violates a
regulation or order of the temporary state housing rent
commission or the city housing rent agency prescribing the
maximum rent with respect to the housing accommodations for
which such rent is received from such tenant, the tenant
paying such rent may, within two years from the date of the
occurrence of the violation, except as hereinafter provided,
bring an action against the landlord on account of the
overcharge as hereinafter defined. In such action, the
landlord shall be liable for reasonable attorney's fees and
costs as determined by the court, plus whichever of the
following sums is the greater: (a) such amount not more than
three times the amount of the overcharge, or the
overcharges, upon which the action is based as the court in
its discretion may determine, or (b) an amount not less than
twenty-five dollars nor more than fifty dollars, as the
court in its discretion may determine; provided, however,
that such amount shall be the amount of the overcharge or
overcharges or twenty-five dollars, whichever is greater, if
the defendant proves that the violation of the regulation or
order in question was neither willful nor the result of
failure to take practicable precautions against the
occurrence of the violation. As used in this section, the
word "overcharge" shall mean the amount by which the
consideration paid by a tenant to a landlord exceeds the
applicable maximum rent. If any landlord who receives rent
from a tenant violates a regulation or order of the
temporary state housing rent commission or the city housing
rent agency prescribing maximum rent with respect to the
housing accommodations for which such rent is received from
such tenant, and such tenant either fails to institute an
action under this paragraph within thirty days from the date
of the occurrence of the violation or is not entitled for
any reason to bring the action, the city housing rent agency
may institute an action within such two-year period. If such
action is instituted by the city housing rent agency, the
tenant affected shall thereafter be barred from bringing an
action for the same violation or violations. Any action
under this paragraph by either the tenant or the city
housing rent agency, as the case may be, may be brought in
any court of competent jurisdiction. A judgment in an action
for damages under this subdivision shall be a bar to the
recovery under this paragraph of any damages in any other
action against the same landlord on account of the same
overcharge prior to the institution of the action in which
such judgment was rendered. Where judgment is rendered in
favor of the city housing rent agency in such action, there
shall be paid over to the tenant from the moneys recovered
one-third of such recovery, exclusive of costs and
disbursements.
(f) If any landlord who receives rent from a tenant violates any
order of the city housing rent agency containing a directive
that rent collected by the landlord in excess of the maximum
rent be refunded to the tenant within thirty days, the city
housing rent agency may, within one year after the
expiration of such thirty day period or after such order
shall become final by regulation of the city housing rent
agency, bring an action against the landlord on account of
the failure of the landlord to make the prescribed refund.
In such action, the landlord shall be liable for reasonable
attorney's fees and costs as determined by the court, plus
whichever of the following sums is the greater: (a) such
amount not more than three times the amount directed to be
refunded, or the amount directed to be refunded, upon which
the action is based as the court in its discretion may
determine, or (b) an amount not less than twenty-five
dollars nor more than fifty dollars, as the court in its
discretion may determine; provided, however, that such
amount shall be the amount directed to be refunded or twenty-
five dollars, whichever is greater, if the defendant proves
that the violation of the order in question was neither
willful nor the result of failure to take practical
precautions against the occurrence of the violation. The
tenant paying such rent may also institute an action under
this section if the city housing rent agency fails to
institute an action within thirty days from the date of
occurrence of the violation. If an action is instituted by
the city housing rent agency, the tenant affected shall
thereafter be barred from bringing an action for the same
violation. Any action under this section by either the city
housing rent agency or the tenant, as the case may be, may
be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction. A
judgment in an action for damages under this section shall
be a bar to recovery under this subdivision of any damages
in any other action against the same landlord on account of
the same violation prior to the institution of the action in
which such judgment was rendered. Where an action is brought
by the tenant the damages which shall be awarded to the
tenant shall be the same as if such action was brought by
the city housing rent agency. Where judgment is rendered in
favor of the city housing rent agency in such action, there
shall be paid over to the tenant from the moneys recovered
one-third of such recovery, exclusive of the costs and
disbursements.
(g) Where after the city housing rent agency has granted a
certificate of eviction certifying that the landlord may
pursue his remedies pursuant to local law to acquire
possession, and a tenant voluntarily removes from a housing
accommodation or has been removed therefrom by action or
proceeding to evict from or recover possession of a housing
accommodation upon the ground that the landlord seeks in
good faith to recover possession of such accommodation for
any purpose specified in a local law adopted pursuant to
subdivision five of this section and such landlord shall
lease or sell the housing accommodation or the space
previously occupied thereby, or permit use thereof in any
manner other than contemplated in such eviction certificate,
such landlord shall, unless for good cause shown, be liable
to the tenant for three times the damages sustained on
account of such removal plus reasonable attorney's fees and
costs as determined by the court; in addition to any other
damage, the cost of removal of property shall be a lawful
measure of damage.
(h) Any tenant who has vacated his housing accommodations
because the landlord or any person acting on his behalf,
with intent to cause the tenant to vacate, engaged in any
course of conduct (including but not limited to,
interruption or discontinuance of essential services) which
interfered with or disturbed or was intended to interfere
with or disturb the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of the
tenant in his use or occupancy of the housing accommodations
may, within ninety days after vacating, apply for a
determination that the housing accommodations were vacated
as a result of such conduct, and may, within one year after
such determination, institute a civil action against the
landlord by reason of such conduct. Application for such
determination may be made to the city housing rent agency
with respect to housing accommodations which, by local law
or ordinance, are made directly subject to regulation and
control by such agency. For all other housing accommodations
subject to regulation and control pursuant to the New York
city rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred sixty-nine,
application for such determination may be made to the New
York city conciliation and appeals board. For the purpose of
making and enforcing any determination of the New York city
conciliation and appeals board as herein provided, the
provisions of section seven, eight and ten, whenever they
refer to the city housing rent agency, shall be deemed to
refer to such board. In such action the landlord shall be
liable to the tenant for three times the damages sustained
on account of such conduct plus reasonable attorney's fees
and costs as determined by the court. In addition to any
other damages the cost of removal of property shall be a
lawful measure of damages.
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