N.Y. Emergency Housing Rent Control Law 274/46 337/61 § 2: Definitions

§ 2. Definitions. When used in this act, unless a different meaning

clearly appears from the context, the following terms shall mean and

include:

1. "Commission". Prior to July first, nineteen hundred sixty-four, the

temporary state housing rent commission created by this act. On and

after July first, nineteen hundred sixty-four, the division of housing

and community renewal in the executive department.

2. "Housing accommodation." Any building or structure, permanent or

temporary, or any part thereof, occupied or intended to be occupied by

one or more individuals as a residence, home, sleeping place, boarding

house, lodging house or hotel, together with the land and buildings

appurtenant thereto, and all services, privileges, furnishings,

furniture and facilities supplied in connection with the occupation

thereof, including (a) entire structures or premises as distinguished

from the individual housing accommodations contained therein, wherein

twenty-five or less rooms are rented or offered for rent by any lessee,

sublessee or other tenant of such entire structure or premises, and (b)

housing accommodations which were previously exempt, or not subject to

control as a result of conversion or a change from a non-housing to a

housing use and which have subsequently been certified by a municipal

department having jurisdiction to be a fire hazard or in a continued

dangerous condition or detrimental to life or health but only so long as

such illegal or hazardous condition continues and further certification

with respect thereto shall not be required notwithstanding any

inconsistent provision of this act, and any plot or parcel of land which

had been rented prior to May first, nineteen hundred fifty, for the

purpose of permitting the tenant thereof to construct or place his own

dwelling thereon, unless exempt or excluded from control pursuant to any

other provision of this act, except that it shall not include structures

in which all of the housing accommodations are exempt or not subject to

control under this act or any regulation issued thereunder; or

(a) a hospital, convent, monastery, asylum, public institution, or

college or school dormitory or any institution operated exclusively for

charitable or educational purposes on a non-profit basis; or

(b) notwithstanding any previous order, finding, opinion or

determination of the commission, housing accommodations in any

establishment which on March first, nineteen hundred fifty, was and

still is commonly regarded as a hotel in the community in which it is

located and which customarily provides hotel services such as maid

service, furnishing and laundering of linen, telephone and secretarial

or desk service, use and upkeep of furniture and fixtures and bellboy

service, provided, however, that the term hotel shall not include any

establishment which is commonly regarded in the community as a rooming

house, nor shall it include any establishment not identified or

classified as a "hotel", "transient hotel" or "residential hotel"

pursuant to the federal act, irrespective whether such establishment

provides either some services customarily provided by hotels, or is

represented to be a hotel, or both; and provided further that housing

accommodations in hotels only within the cities of Buffalo and New York

which have been and still are occupied by a tenant who has resided in

such hotel continuously since December second, nineteen hundred

forty-nine, so long as such tenant occupies the same, shall continue to

remain subject to control under this act; or

(c) any motor court, or any part thereof; any trailer, or trailer

space used exclusively for transient occupancy or any part thereof; or

any tourist home serving transient guests exclusively, or any part

thereof; or

(d) nonhousekeeping, furnished housing accommodations, located within

a single dwelling unit not used as a rooming or boarding house, but only

if (1) no more than two tenants for whom rent is paid (husband and wife

being considered one tenant for this purpose), not members of the

landlord's immediate family live in such dwelling unit, and (2) the

remaining portion of such dwelling unit is occupied by the landlord or

his immediate family; or

(e) housing accommodations operated by the United States, the state of

New York, or any political subdivision thereof, or by any municipal or

public authority, only so long as they are so operated; or housing

accommodations in buildings in which rentals are fixed by or subject to

the supervision of the commissioner of housing and community renewal

pursuant to powers granted under laws other than the emergency housing

rent control law;

(f) housing accommodations in buildings operated exclusively for

charitable purposes on a non-profit basis; or

(g) housing accommodations which were completed on or after February

first, nineteen hundred forty-seven, provided, however, that maximum

rents established under the veterans emergency housing act for priority

constructed housing accommodations completed on or after February first,

nineteen hundred forty-seven, shall continue in full force and effect,

if such accommodations are being rented to veterans of world war II or

their immediate families, who, on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred

forty-seven, either occupied such housing accommodations or had a right

to occupy such housing accommodations at any time on or after July

first, nineteen hundred forty-seven, under any agreement whether written

or oral; or which are (1) housing accommodations created by a change

from a non-housing to a housing use on or after February first, nineteen

hundred forty-seven, or which are (2) additional housing accommodations,

other than rooming house accommodations, created by conversion on or

after February first, nineteen hundred forty-seven; provided, however,

that any housing accommodations created as a result of any conversion of

housing accommodations on or after May first, nineteen hundred fifty,

shall continue to be subject to rent control as provided for herein

unless the commission issues an order decontrolling them which it shall

do if there has been a structural change involving substantial

alterations or remodeling and such change has resulted in additional

housing accommodations consisting of self-contained family units as

defined by regulations issued by the commission; provided further,

however, that such order of decontrol shall not apply to that portion of

the original housing accommodation occupied by a tenant in possession at

the time of the conversion but only so long as that tenant continues in

occupancy; and provided further, that no such order of decontrol shall

be issued unless such conversion occurred after the entire structure, or

any lesser portion thereof as may have been thus converted, was vacated

by voluntary surrender of possession or in the manner provided in

section five of this act; or

(h) housing accommodations which are rented after April first,

nineteen hundred fifty-three, and have been continuously occupied by the

owner thereof for a period one year prior to the date of renting;

provided, however, that this paragraph shall not apply where the owner

acquired possession of the housing accommodation after the issuance of a

certificate of eviction under subdivision two of section five of this

act within the two year period immediately preceding the date of such

renting, and provided further, that this exemption shall remain

effective only so long as the housing accommodations are not occupied

for other than single family occupancy; or

(i) housing accommodations which become vacant provided, however, that

this exemption shall not apply or become effective where the commission

determines or finds that the housing accommodations became vacant

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; and

further provided that housing accommodations as to which a housing

emergency has been declared pursuant to the emergency tenant protection

act of nineteen seventy-four shall be subject to the provisions of such

act for the duration of such emergency; or

(j) housing accommodations (not otherwise exempt or excluded from

control) in two family houses occupied in whole or in part by the owner

thereof, and in one family houses whether or not so occupied, on and

after July first, nineteen hundred fifty-five, in the counties of

Monroe, Nassau, Oneida, Onondaga and Schenectady, and, on and after July

first, nineteen hundred fifty-seven, any housing accommodations in the

county of Onondaga containing four rental units or less, provided,

however, that this exemption with respect to one and two family houses

shall remain effective only so long as the housing accommodations are

not occupied for other than single family occupancy, and provided

further, however, that this exemption shall become or remain effective

in any city or town within the counties of Monroe, Oneida or Schenectady

subject to the provisions of subdivision four of section twelve hereof

providing for the continuance or reestablishment of controls with

respect to such housing accommodations therein; or

(k) housing accommodations (not otherwise exempt or excluded from

control) elsewhere than in the city of New York, except housing

accommodations used as boarding houses or rooming houses in the county

of Westchester, which are or become vacant on or after July first,

nineteen hundred fifty-seven, provided, however, that this exemption

shall not apply or become effective in any case where the vacancy in the

housing accommodations occurred or occurs because of the removal of the

tenant to another housing accommodation in the same building, or because

of the eviction of the tenant after the issuance of a final order in a

summary proceeding to recover possession of the housing accommodation,

whether after a trial of the issues or upon the consent or default of

the tenant or otherwise without a trial, and provided, further, however

that this exemption shall become effective in any city or town subject

to the provisions of subdivision five of section twelve hereof providing

for the continuance of control with respect to such housing

accommodations, and provided further, that this exemption shall remain

effective only so long as the housing accommodations are not occupied

for other than single family occupancy.

(l) housing accommodations which are not occupied by the tenant in

possession as his or her primary residence provided, however, that any

such housing accommodation shall continue to be subject to rent control

as provided herein unless the commission issues an order decontrolling

such accommodation which the commission shall do upon application by the

landlord, whenever it is established by any facts and circumstances

which, in the judgment of the commission, may have a bearing upon the

question of residence, that the tenant maintains his or her primary

residence at some place other than at such housing accommodation. For

the purposes of determining primary residency, a tenant who is a victim

of domestic violence, as defined in section four hundred fifty-nine-a of

the social services law, who has left the unit because of such violence,

and who asserts an intent to return to the housing accommodation shall

be deemed to be occupying the unit as his or her primary residence.

(m) upon the issuance of an order of deregulation by the division,

housing accommodations which: (1) are occupied by persons who have a

total annual income, as defined in and subject to the limitations and

process set forth in section two-a of this law, in excess of the

deregulation income threshold as defined in section two-a of this law in

each of the two preceding calendar years; and (2) have a maximum rent

that equals or exceeds the deregulation rent threshold as defined in

section two-a of this law.

2-a. The landlord of a housing accommodation specified in paragraph

(h) or (i) or (j) or (k) of subdivision two of this section shall file a

report with the commission within thirty days following the date of

first rental of such accommodation after decontrol. No copy of such

report shall be required to be served upon the new tenant of such

housing accommodation.

3. "Rent." Consideration, including any bonus, benefit or gratuity

demanded or received for or in connection with the use or occupancy of

housing accommodations or the transfer of a lease of such housing

accommodations.

4. "Maximum rent." The maximum lawful rent for the use of housing

accommodations. Maximum rents may be formulated in terms of rents and

other charges and allowances.

5. "Person." An individual, corporation, partnership, association, or

any other organized group of individuals or the legal successor or

representative of any of the foregoing.

6. "Landlord." An owner, lessor, sublessor, assignee, or other person

receiving or entitled to receive rent for the use or occupancy of any

housing accommodation or an agent of any of the foregoing.

7. "Tenant." A tenant, subtenant, lessee, sublessee, or other person

entitled to the possession or to the use or occupancy of any housing

accommodation.

8. "Documents." Records, books, accounts, correspondence, memoranda

and other documents, and drafts and copies of any of the foregoing.

9. "Municipality." A city, town or village.

10. "Local governing body."

a. In the case of a city, the council, common council or board of

aldermen and the board of estimate, board of estimate and

apportionment or board of estimate and contract, if there be one.

b. In the case of a town, the town board.

c. In the case of a village, the board of trustees.

11. "Local laws." The local laws specified in chapter one of the laws

of nineteen hundred fifty, namely local laws numbers twenty-one,

twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five and seventy-three of the local

laws of the city of New York for the year nineteen hundred forty-nine;

and local law number three of the city of Buffalo for the year nineteen

hundred forty-seven.

12. "Federal act." The emergency price control act of nineteen hundred

forty-two, and as thereafter amended and as superseded by the housing

and rent act of nineteen hundred forty-seven, and as the latter was

thereafter amended prior to May first, nineteen hundred fifty, and

regulations adopted pursuant thereto.