New York's 2019 Rent Laws: Impact on Commercial Landlords

On June 14, 2019, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation modifying existing rent laws and enacting significant landlord-tenant reforms including the Statewide Housing Security and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (collectively, the 2019 Rent Laws). To date, the real estate industry has focused primarily on the sweeping impact the new laws will have on residential tenancies and the deregulation of rent-stabilized apartments. The reforms, however, also dramatically impact commercial tenancies by altering non-residential summary proceedings and significantly hampering the ability of commercial landlords to respond effectively and quickly to tenant defaults.

New York Summary Proceedings: Background

Summary proceedings were intended to provide landlords with a simple and expeditious method of regaining possession of leased space without the need for a lengthy ejectment action. There are two primary types of summary proceedings-non-payments and holdovers. Prior to commencing a non-payment proceeding, a landlord must serve a statutory rent demand setting forth a good-faith estimate of the rent due. To commence a holdover proceeding, a landlord must first terminate the lease by serving a notice of termination based on a breach by a tenant of a lease provision known as a conditional limitation. Both proceedings can ultimately result in a tenant's eviction and entry of a monetary judgment for unpaid arrears.

Effect of 2019 Rent Laws

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