On November 6, 2019, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed Assembly Bill 1646 into law. Assembly Bill 1646 amends the Multiple Residence Law and adds a new Section 302-a. The Multiple Residence Law applies to buildings with three or more units outside New York City.

Effective immediately, the new law prohibits the recovery of rent AND the commencement of an action for possession of a dwelling based on nonpayment of rent if the dwelling or structure occupied for human habitation does not have a certificate of occupancy or is not in compliance with the existing certificate of occupancy pursuant to Multiple Residence Law § 302.

The dwelling may be caused to be vacated for any nuisance or if it is occupied by more families or persons than permitted or is erected or occupied contrary to law. Such dwelling cannot be occupied until it or its occupancy has been made to conform to law.

Apart from a landlord being prohibited from recovering rent and possession of the premises through a nonpayment eviction proceeding, landlords should also be aware that violations may also be fined up to $500 or imprisonment up to a period of one year, or both.

NY Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons that were previously exempt from Continuing Education will no longer be exempt and will need to have completed the full CE requirements, including the new subjects prior to submitting a renewal on or after 7/1/2021.

Employment law experts Andrew Lieb and Mordy Yankovich discuss removing accrued benefits to employees in this short clip.

News media is reporting that "Condo Buyers Can Keep Purchases Secret, N.Y. Tax Officials Say in Reversal," but is that true?

For reference, see Law Alert: LLC Owners ID Must be Disclosed in Real Estate Deals where we discuss S1730 requiring disclosure of the beneficial ownership of a one-to four-family dwelling unit owned by a LLC on real estate transfer tax forms.

It is noted that the guidance referred to by the Journal cannot be located besides through the use of deduction from a careful reading of the Department of Taxation and Finance website where the term condominium was removed from its "Important Notice regarding conveyances to or from a limited liability company." That being said, real estate professionals are reminded that S1730 wasn't the only law concerning disclosure of owners of LLCs.

Instead, FinCEN had previously issued Real Estate Geographic Targeting Orders that requried such disclosure.

Under existing New York State law, employers must provide sexual harassment training and policies on an annual basis to all employees.

Read the full FAQ from NY.GOV here.