A 1621 New York Assembly · 2025 Regular Session

Requires a landlord to have clean hands to bring action for rent or eviction in certain cases

This bill requires landlords to maintain habitable housing conditions before pursuing rent collection or eviction. Specifically, landlords cannot file such cases if there are unresolved violations of housing codes (like lack of heat, water, or rodent infestations) that have existed for five days or more in the apartment or building common areas. If violations exist, landlords must file an affidavit claiming the violations were recorded incorrectly or not addressed by authorities, and courts can dismiss the case if these claims are false or violations are proven. The law directly affects landlords seeking legal action and tenants facing eviction or rent demands.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 10, 2025 Last action Mar 26, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

A1621 A1621A · 4 edits
MODERATE
This bill significantly expands the requirements for landlords to evict tenants for non-payment of rent. It adds a new condition requiring landlords to prove they have corrected any known housing code violations or safety hazards before filing an eviction, and it introduces a strict penalty where such evictions will be dismissed if the landlord failed to disclose these issues. The bill also clarifies that accepting rent after an eviction case starts does not stop the process.
Scope change
The bill expands the scope from solely addressing rent non-payment to also requiring landlords to address housing code violations and safety hazards as a prerequisite for eviction.
REQUIREMENT

Landlords must now prove they have corrected any existing housing code violations or safety hazards in the building before they can evict a tenant for non-payment of rent.

ENFORCEMENT

Eviction proceedings will be automatically dismissed if the landlord failed to disclose known code violations or safety hazards to the court.

DEFINITION

New definitions are added to clarify what constitutes 'hazardous conditions' and 'hazardous violations' regarding life, health, or safety.

ELIGIBILITY

The criteria for bringing an eviction action were modified to include a new subdivision requiring proof of corrected housing conditions alongside the original rent default requirement.

Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
4
Key actions
2
Committee
2
Amendments
2
Mar 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
PRINT NUMBER 1621A
lower
Mar 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO HOUSING
lower
Jan 7, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO HOUSING
lower
Jan 10, 2025
Committee
REFERRED TO HOUSING
lower
1 primary · 24 co-sponsors

Sponsors