On Wednesday, the Senate of the state of new York adopted a new law on the protection of tenants. The document has already been sent for signature to Governor Andrew Cuomo.
It is expected that the new law would facilitate the prosecution of unscrupulous landlords who pursue tenants. By their actions these homeowners lower the legal standard for proof of persecution, assured the senators.
«It is virtually impossible to prosecute even the worst offenders. The time has come to improve the law to protect tenants and give them a fighting chance, and protect our dwindling stock of affordable housing,» said state Senator Liz Krueger, representing the Upper East Side.
Now homeowners will face prosecution tactics of pressure: if they turn off the heating and hot water, exposing residents to hazardous substances and to deliberately create conditions that are unsuitable for their habitat. The new bill eliminates the need for lawyers to prove that the tenant has received a physical injury. For violation of comfort, peace, quiet of the tenant in his house landlords will be able to be put in jail for up to one year.
Under current law, criminal charges cannot be brought if prosecutors can’t prove the landlord-the offender intended to drive tenants from their homes and that they suffered physical harm due to the deliberate actions of the property owner. The legislative standard is so difficult to follow that the state neither the landlord has not been convicted of a crime against a tenant.
