STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6894 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 8, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BLUMENCRANZ -- read once and referred to the Committee on Housing AN ACT to amend the real property actions and proceedings law and the penal law, in relation to clarifying the definition of "tenant" to exclude squatters The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The opening paragraph of section 711 of the real property 2 actions and proceedings law, as amended by section 12 of part M of chap- 3 ter 36 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 4 A tenant shall include an occupant of one or more rooms in a rooming 5 house or a resident, not including a transient occupant, of one or more 6 rooms in a hotel who has been in possession for [thirty] forty-five 7 consecutive days or longer. No tenant or lawful occupant of a dwelling 8 or housing accommodation shall be removed from possession except in a 9 special proceeding. A special proceeding may be maintained under this 10 article upon the following grounds: 11 § 2. Section 711 of the real property actions and proceedings law is 12 amended by adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows: 13 7. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, for the purposes of 14 this article, a tenant shall not include a person who enters onto prop- 15 erty with the intent of squatting on such property or who otherwise 16 settles on land or occupies property without title, right, permission of 17 the rightful owner, or payment of rent. 18 § 3. Subdivision (g) of section 140.10 of the penal law, as amended by 19 chapter 176 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows: 20 (g) where the property consists of a right-of-way or yard of a rail- 21 road or rapid transit railroad which has been designated and conspicu- 22 ously posted as a no-trespass railroad zone; or 23 (h) with the intent of squatting in such building or upon such real 24 property or otherwise occupies such building or real property without EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09157-01-3
A. 6894 2 1 title, right, permission of the rightful owner, or payment of rent; 2 provided, however, that in any prosecution under this subdivision it 3 shall be an affirmative defense that the defendant is a tenant as 4 defined in section seven hundred eleven of the real property actions and 5 proceedings law. 6 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.