S 2366: Excludes squatters from tenant protections; extends the time period for tenancy rights from 30 days to 60 days of possession; adds squatting to the definition of criminal trespass in the third degree; clarifies lease provisions.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2366 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 16, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development 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; and to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to bona fide lease agreements and evictions 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 1 of part II of chap- 3 ter 56 of the laws of 2024, 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] sixty consec- 7 utive days or longer. A tenant shall not include a squatter. For the 8 purposes of this section, a squatter is a person who enters onto or 9 intrudes upon real property without the permission of the person enti- 10 tled to possession, and continues to occupy the property without title, 11 right or permission of the owner or owner's agent or a person entitled 12 to possession. In the event of a conflict between the provisions regard- 13 ing squatters of this section and the provisions of subdivision three of 14 section seven hundred thirteen of this article, the provisions of 15 section seven hundred thirteen of this article shall be controlling. No 16 tenant or lawful occupant of a dwelling or housing accommodation shall 17 be removed from possession except in a special proceeding. A special 18 proceeding may be maintained under this article upon the following 19 grounds: 20 § 2. Section 711 of the real property actions and proceedings law is 21 amended by adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06425-01-5 
 S. 2366 2 1 7. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, for the purposes of 2 this article, a tenant shall not include a person who enters onto real 3 property or enters a building with the intent of squatting therein, or 4 without title, right, and permission of the rightful owner, or payment 5 of rent to the rightful owner pursuant to a bona fide lease agreement. 6 § 3. Subdivision (g) of section 140.10 of the penal law, as amended by 7 chapter 176 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows: 8 (g) where the property consists of a right-of-way or yard of a rail- 9 road or rapid transit railroad which has been designated and conspicu- 10 ously posted as a no-trespass railroad zone; or 11 (h) with the intent of squatting in such building or upon such real 12 property or otherwise occupies such building or real property without 13 title, right, and permission of the rightful owner, or payment of rent 14 to the rightful owner pursuant to a bona fide lease agreement; provided, 15 however, that in any prosecution under this subdivision it shall be an 16 affirmative defense that the defendant is a tenant as defined in section 17 seven hundred eleven of the real property actions and proceedings law. 18 § 4. The opening paragraph of subdivision a of section 26-521 of the 19 administrative code of the city of New York is amended to read as 20 follows: 21 It shall be unlawful for any person to evict or attempt to evict an 22 occupant of a dwelling unit who has lawfully occupied the dwelling unit 23 for thirty consecutive days or longer or who has entered into a bona 24 fide lease agreement with the rightful owner with respect to such dwell- 25 ing unit or has made a request for a lease for such dwelling unit pursu- 26 ant to the hotel stabilization provisions of the rent stabilization law 27 except to the extent permitted by law pursuant to a warrant of eviction 28 or other order of a court of competent jurisdiction or a governmental 29 vacate order by: 30 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.