N.Y. Multiple Dwelling Law § 290: Tenant protections in inhabited basement dwelling units and inhabited cellar dwelling units

§ 290. Tenant protections in inhabited basement dwelling units and

inhabited cellar dwelling units. 1. The program authorized by this

article shall require an application to make alterations to legalize an

inhabited basement dwelling unit or inhabited cellar dwelling unit be

accompanied by a certification indicating whether such unit was rented

to a tenant on the effective date of this article, notwithstanding

whether the occupancy of such unit was authorized by law. A city may not

use such certification as the basis for an enforcement action for

illegal occupancy of such unit, provided that nothing contained in this

article shall be construed to limit such city from issuing a vacate

order for hazardous or unsafe conditions.

2. The local law authorized by this article shall provide that a

tenant in occupancy at the time of the effective date of this article,

who is evicted or otherwise removed from such unit as a result of an

alteration necessary to bring an inhabited basement dwelling unit or

inhabited cellar dwelling unit into compliance with the standards

established by the local law authorized by this article, shall have a

right of first refusal to return to such unit as a tenant upon its first

lawful occupancy as a legal dwelling unit, notwithstanding whether the

occupancy at the time of the effective date of this article was

authorized by law. Such local law shall specify how to determine

priority when multiple tenants may claim such right.

3. A tenant unlawfully denied a right of first refusal to return to a

legal dwelling unit, as provided pursuant to the local law authorized by

this article, shall have a cause of action in any court of competent

jurisdiction for compensatory damages or declaratory and injunctive

relief as the court deems necessary in the interests of justice,

provided that such compensatory relief shall not exceed the annual

rental charges for such legal dwelling unit.