Landlords in New York state may soon have to face criminal charges if they try to force rent-regulated tenants from their apartments by intentionally creating conditions deemed to be uninhabitable, unsafe or disruptive, whether or not those conditions caused an injury, under a new measure signed into law Tuesday.

The legislation to widen prosecutors' discretion to file criminal charges in tenant harassment cases was written by the New York Attorney General's Office and sponsored by Democratic lawmakers.

Before the new law, tenants were required to show that the actions of their landlord caused them physical injury and were intended to do so. The previous law also didn't allow criminal charges when a landlord created disruptive or uninhabitable conditions.

Those conditions are defined broadly in the new law, and the New York Attorney General's Office said they would have to be intentional. Landlords could face criminal charges if, to force out a rent-regulated tenant, they turn off an apartment's heat or hot water, for example.

New York Attorney General Letitia James confirmed that the law will provide new protections for rent-regulated tenants that previously didn't exist in statute.

"For far too long, unscrupulous landlords have gotten away with subjecting rent-regulated tenants to dangerous and inhumane conditions in an attempt to force them out of their homes," James said. "Today that changes."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who approved the bill Tuesday, gave credit to James and her staff for writing the bill and advocating for its passage this year. Some Republicans had crossed party lines to support the measure, but it passed with majority support from Democrats.

"I thank Attorney General James for her advocacy on this measure, which holds bad actors accountable and further strengthens existing tenant protections," Cuomo said.

Prosecutors in New York state will now be allowed to charge landlords with a Class E felony if they try to force two or more rent-regulated tenants from their apartments through the described conditions. Attempting to force out one tenant will result in a Class A misdemeanor.

If a landlord is accused of the lower-level charge more than once over the course of five years, they'll be eligible for the higher-level Class E felony charge, according to the bill.

Either charge could carry time behind bars; the maximum sentence for a Class E felony in New York is four years in prison, while a Class A misdemeanor carries about a year in jail.

The lower-level charge, the Class A misdemeanor, is new. Landlords previously could only be charged with a Class E felony, and that was if tenants were physically injured by their actions. The new law will expand the scope of those charges.

The bill was sent to the Legislature by the Attorney General's Office as a program bill, which is when a statewide official proposes legislation for lawmakers to consider. It was sponsored by Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, D-Brooklyn, and state Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan.

Lentol said that landlords have been known to harass rent-regulated tenants as a tactic to force them from their apartments. That way, they can raise the rent for those apartments more than they could have with the previous tenants.

"This bill takes a stance against landlords who put profit over people," Lentol said. "Many tenants are forced out under the guise of necessary repairs, but this bill will go a long way to protect tenants from such harassment and help keep individuals and families in their home."

That conduct isn't unique to the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. Krueger, who's represented part of Manhattan for nearly two decades, said she's also heard accounts over the years of landlords attempting to force tenants from their homes through harassment.

"Until now, it has been nearly impossible for criminal charges to be filed against even the worst offenders," Krueger said. "As of today, the law will be updated to protect tenants and give them a fighting chance and to safeguard our dwindling stock of affordable housing."

Lawmakers who supported the new measure said no landlord had ever been convicted on the previous version of the law against tenant harassment.

They claimed in a memorandum that the previous iteration, which required prosecutors to show intent and physical injury, was ineffectual.

"The existing statute fixes an inexplicably high bar that, in the nearly two decades since the law was enacted, has never been met," the memorandum said. "In fact, [Division of Criminal Justice Services] records show that not a single landlord has ever been convicted of that crime."

The state agency confirmed Tuesday that, as of last month, that had still been the case.

The intent of the new law is to allow prosecutors to actually meet the burden of convicting landlords for behavior intended to force a rent-regulated tenant from their home.

The new law is scheduled to take effect six months from Tuesday, landing its start date at the end of May 2020.

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