Increases penalties for owners of rent-regulated property who overcharge tenants

This bill increases penalties for landlords who overcharge tenants in rent-regulated housing. If a landlord is found to have willfully overcharged, they must pay five times the overcharge amount (up from three times). Landlords can avoid the higher penalty by proving the overcharge was unintentional and not due to negligence, in which case they pay only the overcharge plus interest. The bill also clarifies that voluntary rent refunds after a complaint is filed cannot be used as evidence the overcharge was not willful.