S 5999: Enacts the New York state fair tenant credit reporting act to ensure that negative credit reporting by landlords can only occur under fair and transparent circumstances.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5999 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE March 4, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. JACKSON -- 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 law, in relation to enacting the New York state fair tenant credit reporting act The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "New York state fair tenant credit reporting act". 3 § 2. Legislative intent. The Legislature finds that tenants are often 4 subject to negative credit reporting by landlords in ways that may be 5 unfair or misleading. This act seeks to ensure that negative credit 6 reporting by landlords can only occur under fair and transparent circum- 7 stances by prohibiting such reporting until a court has ruled in the 8 landlord's favor regarding any outstanding rental obligations. Addi- 9 tionally, this act seeks to prevent unauthorized credit reporting activ- 10 ities by landlords if they were not properly disclosed at the time of 11 application. 12 § 3. The real property law is amended by adding a new article 6-B to 13 read as follows: 14 ARTICLE 6-B 15 NEW YORK STATE FAIR TENANT CREDIT REPORTING ACT 16 Section 219. Fair tenant credit reporting. 17 219-a. Enforcement and penalties. 18 § 219. Fair tenant credit reporting. 1. As used in this section, the 19 term "consumer reporting agency" shall have the same meaning as such 20 term is defined in section three hundred eighty-a of the general busi- 21 ness law, and shall additionally include tenant screening companies that 22 are affiliated with or subsidiaries of a consumer reporting agency. 23 2. A landlord, property manager or agent thereof shall not report any 24 unpaid rent, fees, or other charges owed by a tenant to a consumer EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD09972-02-5 
 S. 5999 2 1 reporting agency or a tenant screening bureau after such tenant has 2 vacated the premises unless a final judgment regarding such unpaid rent, 3 fees, or other charges has been entered in the landlord's favor in a 4 court of competent jurisdiction. Reporting services explicitly requested 5 by the tenant are exempt from the provisions of this subdivision and may 6 be reported until the tenant leaves the premises. 7 3. A landlord, property manager or agent thereof shall not report any 8 information to a consumer reporting agency or tenant screening bureau 9 regarding tenant after move-in unless such reporting was explicitly 10 disclosed in writing during the application process and acknowledged by 11 the tenant. Reporting to a consumer reporting agency by a landlord, 12 property manager or agent thereof shall not use "voluntary surrender" as 13 a status to report early lease terminations. 14 4. An authorization for tenant screening made by a prospective tenant 15 shall not be deemed to authorize credit or other specialty reporting to 16 a consumer reporting agency or tenant screening bureau. 17 § 219-a. Enforcement and penalties. 1. Any landlord, property manager 18 or agent thereof who violates a provision of this article shall be 19 subject to a civil penalty of one thousand five hundred dollars per 20 violation, and shall be liable for damages sustained by the tenant who 21 was the subject of the violation. 22 2. A tenant who is the subject of a violation of the provisions of 23 this article may bring an action to enjoin reporting of information in 24 violation of the provisions of this section, an action to recover 25 damages suffered by reason of such violation, or both. In any action 26 brought under this subdivision, the court may award reasonable attor- 27 neys' fees to a prevailing plaintiff. 28 3. A consumer reporting agency or tenant screening bureau shall remove 29 any negative reporting made in violation of the provisions of this arti- 30 cle within thirty days notice of the finding of a violation by a court 31 in an action commenced pursuant to subdivision two of this section. 32 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.