§ 2 — Definitions

§ 2. Definitions. When used in this act, unless a different meaning\nclearly appears from the context, the following terms shall mean and\ninclude:\n 1. "Commission". Prior to July first, nineteen hundred sixty-four, the\ntemporary state housing rent commission created by this act. On and\nafter July first, nineteen hundred sixty-four, the division of housing\nand community renewal in the executive department.\n 2. "Housing accommodation." Any building or structure, permanent or\ntemporary, or any part thereof, occupied or intended to be occupied by\none or more individuals as a residence, home, sleeping place, boarding\nhouse, lodging house or hotel, together with the land and buildings\nappurtenant thereto, and all services, privileges, furnishings,\nfurniture and facilities supplied in connection with the occupation\nthereof, including (a) entire structures or premises as distinguished\nfrom the individual housing accommodations contained therein, wherein\ntwenty-five or less rooms are rented or offered for rent by any lessee,\nsublessee or other tenant of such entire structure or premises, and (b)\nhousing accommodations which were previously exempt, or not subject to\ncontrol as a result of conversion or a change from a non-housing to a\nhousing use and which have subsequently been certified by a municipal\ndepartment having jurisdiction to be a fire hazard or in a continued\ndangerous condition or detrimental to life or health but only so long as\nsuch illegal or hazardous condition continues and further certification\nwith respect thereto shall not be required notwithstanding any\ninconsistent provision of this act, and any plot or parcel of land which\nhad been rented prior to May first, nineteen hundred fifty, for the\npurpose of permitting the tenant thereof to construct or place his own\ndwelling thereon, unless exempt or excluded from control pursuant to any\nother provision of this act, except that it shall not include structures\nin which all of the housing accommodations are exempt or not subject to\ncontrol under this act or any regulation issued thereunder; or\n (a) a hospital, convent, monastery, asylum, public institution, or\ncollege or school dormitory or any institution operated exclusively for\ncharitable or educational purposes on a non-profit basis; or\n (b) notwithstanding any previous order, finding, opinion or\ndetermination of the commission, housing accommodations in any\nestablishment which on March first, nineteen hundred fifty, was and\nstill is commonly regarded as a hotel in the community in which it is\nlocated and which customarily provides hotel services such as maid\nservice, furnishing and laundering of linen, telephone and secretarial\nor desk service, use and upkeep of furniture and fixtures and bellboy\nservice, provided, however, that the term hotel shall not include any\nestablishment which is commonly regarded in the community as a rooming\nhouse, nor shall it include any establishment not identified or\nclassified as a "hotel", "transient hotel" or "residential hotel"\npursuant to the federal act, irrespective whether such establishment\nprovides either some services customarily provided by hotels, or is\nrepresented to be a hotel, or both; and provided further that housing\naccommodations in hotels only within the cities of Buffalo and New York\nwhich have been and still are occupied by a tenant who has resided in\nsuch hotel continuously since December second, nineteen hundred\nforty-nine, so long as such tenant occupies the same, shall continue to\nremain subject to control under this act; or\n (c) any motor court, or any part thereof; any trailer, or trailer\nspace used exclusively for transient occupancy or any part thereof; or\nany tourist home serving transient guests exclusively, or any part\nthereof; or\n (d) nonhousekeeping, furnished housing accommodations, located within\na single dwelling unit not used as a rooming or boarding house, but only\nif (1) no more than two tenants for whom rent is paid (husband and wife\nbeing considered one tenant for this purpose), not members of the\nlandlord's immediate family live in such dwelling unit, and (2) the\nremaining portion of such dwelling unit is occupied by the landlord or\nhis immediate family; or\n (e) housing accommodations operated by the United States, the state of\nNew York, or any political subdivision thereof, or by any municipal or\npublic authority, only so long as they are so operated; or housing\naccommodations in buildings in which rentals are fixed by or subject to\nthe supervision of the commissioner of housing and community renewal\npursuant to powers granted under laws other than the emergency housing\nrent control law;\n (f) housing accommodations in buildings operated exclusively for\ncharitable purposes on a non-profit basis; or\n (g) housing accommodations which were completed on or after February\nfirst, nineteen hundred forty-seven, provided, however, that maximum\nrents established under the veterans emergency housing act for priority\nconstructed housing accommodations completed on or after February first,\nnineteen hundred forty-seven, shall continue in full force and effect,\nif such accommodations are being rented to veterans of world war II or\ntheir immediate families, who, on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred\nforty-seven, either occupied such housing accommodations or had a right\nto occupy such housing accommodations at any time on or after July\nfirst, nineteen hundred forty-seven, under any agreement whether written\nor oral; or which are (1) housing accommodations created by a change\nfrom a non-housing to a housing use on or after February first, nineteen\nhundred forty-seven, or which are (2) additional housing accommodations,\nother than rooming house accommodations, created by conversion on or\nafter February first, nineteen hundred forty-seven; provided, however,\nthat any housing accommodations created as a result of any conversion of\nhousing accommodations on or after May first, nineteen hundred fifty,\nshall continue to be subject to rent control as provided for herein\nunless the commission issues an order decontrolling them which it shall\ndo if there has been a structural change involving substantial\nalterations or remodeling and such change has resulted in additional\nhousing accommodations consisting of self-contained family units as\ndefined by regulations issued by the commission; provided further,\nhowever, that such order of decontrol shall not apply to that portion of\nthe original housing accommodation occupied by a tenant in possession at\nthe time of the conversion but only so long as that tenant continues in\noccupancy; and provided further, that no such order of decontrol shall\nbe issued unless such conversion occurred after the entire structure, or\nany lesser portion thereof as may have been thus converted, was vacated\nby voluntary surrender of possession or in the manner provided in\nsection five of this act; or\n (h) housing accommodations which are rented after April first,\nnineteen hundred fifty-three, and have been continuously occupied by the\nowner thereof for a period one year prior to the date of renting;\nprovided, however, that this paragraph shall not apply where the owner\nacquired possession of the housing accommodation after the issuance of a\ncertificate of eviction under subdivision two of section five of this\nact within the two year period immediately preceding the date of such\nrenting, and provided further, that this exemption shall remain\neffective only so long as the housing accommodations are not occupied\nfor other than single family occupancy; or\n (i) housing accommodations which become vacant provided, however, that\nthis exemption shall not apply or become effective where the commission\ndetermines or finds that the housing accommodations became vacant\nbecause the landlord or any person acting on his behalf, with intent to\ncause the tenant to vacate, engaged in any course of conduct (including,\nbut not limited to, interruption or discontinuance of essential\nservices) which interfered with or disturbed or was intended to\ninterfere with or disturb the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of the\ntenant in his use or occupancy of the housing accommodations; and\nfurther provided that housing accommodations as to which a housing\nemergency has been declared pursuant to the emergency tenant protection\nact of nineteen seventy-four shall be subject to the provisions of such\nact for the duration of such emergency; or\n (j) housing accommodations (not otherwise exempt or excluded from\ncontrol) in two family houses occupied in whole or in part by the owner\nthereof, and in one family houses whether or not so occupied, on and\nafter July first, nineteen hundred fifty-five, in the counties of\nMonroe, Nassau, Oneida, Onondaga and Schenectady, and, on and after July\nfirst, nineteen hundred fifty-seven, any housing accommodations in the\ncounty of Onondaga containing four rental units or less, provided,\nhowever, that this exemption with respect to one and two family houses\nshall remain effective only so long as the housing accommodations are\nnot occupied for other than single family occupancy, and provided\nfurther, however, that this exemption shall become or remain effective\nin any city or town within the counties of Monroe, Oneida or Schenectady\nsubject to the provisions of subdivision four of section twelve hereof\nproviding for the continuance or reestablishment of controls with\nrespect to such housing accommodations therein; or\n (k) housing accommodations (not otherwise exempt or excluded from\ncontrol) elsewhere than in the city of New York, except housing\naccommodations used as boarding houses or rooming houses in the county\nof Westchester, which are or become vacant on or after July first,\nnineteen hundred fifty-seven, provided, however, that this exemption\nshall not apply or become effective in any case where the vacancy in the\nhousing accommodations occurred or occurs because of the removal of the\ntenant to another housing accommodation in the same building, or because\nof the eviction of the tenant after the issuance of a final order in a\nsummary proceeding to recover possession of the housing accommodation,\nwhether after a trial of the issues or upon the consent or default of\nthe tenant or otherwise without a trial, and provided, further, however\nthat this exemption shall become effective in any city or town subject\nto the provisions of subdivision five of section twelve hereof providing\nfor the continuance of control with respect to such housing\naccommodations, and provided further, that this exemption shall remain\neffective only so long as the housing accommodations are not occupied\nfor other than single family occupancy.\n (l) housing accommodations which are not occupied by the tenant in\npossession as his or her primary residence provided, however, that any\nsuch housing accommodation shall continue to be subject to rent control\nas provided herein unless the commission issues an order decontrolling\nsuch accommodation which the commission shall do upon application by the\nlandlord, whenever it is established by any facts and circumstances\nwhich, in the judgment of the commission, may have a bearing upon the\nquestion of residence, that the tenant maintains his or her primary\nresidence at some place other than at such housing accommodation. For\nthe purposes of determining primary residency, a tenant who is a victim\nof domestic violence, as defined in section four hundred fifty-nine-a of\nthe social services law, who has left the unit because of such violence,\nand who asserts an intent to return to the housing accommodation shall\nbe deemed to be occupying the unit as his or her primary residence.\n (m) upon the issuance of an order of deregulation by the division,\nhousing accommodations which: (1) are occupied by persons who have a\ntotal annual income, as defined in and subject to the limitations and\nprocess set forth in section two-a of this law, in excess of the\nderegulation income threshold as defined in section two-a of this law in\neach of the two preceding calendar years; and (2) have a maximum rent\nthat equals or exceeds the deregulation rent threshold as defined in\nsection two-a of this law.\n 2-a. The landlord of a housing accommodation specified in paragraph\n(h) or (i) or (j) or (k) of subdivision two of this section shall file a\nreport with the commission within thirty days following the date of\nfirst rental of such accommodation after decontrol. No copy of such\nreport shall be required to be served upon the new tenant of such\nhousing accommodation.\n 3. "Rent." Consideration, including any bonus, benefit or gratuity\ndemanded or received for or in connection with the use or occupancy of\nhousing accommodations or the transfer of a lease of such housing\naccommodations.\n 4. "Maximum rent." The maximum lawful rent for the use of housing\naccommodations. Maximum rents may be formulated in terms of rents and\nother charges and allowances.\n 5. "Person." An individual, corporation, partnership, association, or\nany other organized group of individuals or the legal successor or\nrepresentative of any of the foregoing.\n 6. "Landlord." An owner, lessor, sublessor, assignee, or other person\nreceiving or entitled to receive rent for the use or occupancy of any\nhousing accommodation or an agent of any of the foregoing.\n 7. "Tenant." A tenant, subtenant, lessee, sublessee, or other person\nentitled to the possession or to the use or occupancy of any housing\naccommodation.\n 8. "Documents." Records, books, accounts, correspondence, memoranda\nand other documents, and drafts and copies of any of the foregoing.\n 9. "Municipality." A city, town or village.\n 10. "Local governing body."\n a. In the case of a city, the council, common council or board of\n aldermen and the board of estimate, board of estimate and\napportionment or board of estimate and contract, if there be one.\n b. In the case of a town, the town board.\n c. In the case of a village, the board of trustees.\n 11. "Local laws." The local laws specified in chapter one of the laws\nof nineteen hundred fifty, namely local laws numbers twenty-one,\ntwenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five and seventy-three of the local\nlaws of the city of New York for the year nineteen hundred forty-nine;\nand local law number three of the city of Buffalo for the year nineteen\nhundred forty-seven.\n 12. "Federal act." The emergency price control act of nineteen hundred\nforty-two, and as thereafter amended and as superseded by the housing\nand rent act of nineteen hundred forty-seven, and as the latter was\nthereafter amended prior to May first, nineteen hundred fifty, and\nregulations adopted pursuant thereto.\n