BILL NUMBER: S1168
SPONSOR: MATTERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property actions and proceedings law, in
relation to providing for a limited alternative remedy to remove unau-
thorized persons from residential real property
 
PURPOSE:
This legislation would enact an expedient method whereby a property
owner, by the mere submission of a sworn complaint to a police officer
attesting to certain facts, can immediately cause a squatter or other
unauthorized person to be evicted from residential real property by a
police officer without court intervention.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill enacts a new Section 758 of the real property actions and
proceedings law. The new section to the statute would establish a speedy
procedure whereby a property owner, or her authorized representative,
could have a squatter or other unauthorized person immediately removed
from residential real property.
Under this new Section 758, A property owner or his or her authorized
agent may request from a police officer the immediate removal of a
person or persons unlawfully occupying a residential dwelling pursuant
to this section if all of the following conditions are met: (a) The
requesting person is the property owner or authorized agent of the prop-
erty owner; (b) The real property that is being occupied includes a
residential dwelling; (c) An unauthorized person or persons have unlaw-
fully entered and remain or continue to reside on the property owner's
property; (d) The real property was not open to members of the public at
the time the unauthorized person or persons entered; (e) The property
owner has directed the unauthorized person to leave the property; (f)
The unauthorized person or persons are not current or former tenants
pursuant to a written or oral rental agreement authorized by the proper-
ty owner; (g) The unauthorized person or persons are not immediate fami-
ly members of the property owner; and (h) There is no pending litigation
related to the real property between the property owner and any known
unauthorized person.
To request the immediate removal of an unlawful occupant of a residen-
tial dwelling, the property owner or his or her authorized agent must
submit a complaint by presenting a completed and verified Complaint to
Remove Persons Unlawfully Occupying Residential Real Property to a
police officer in the county in which the real property is located.
The statute provides the form of the complaint which must be substan-
tially complied with.
Upon receipt of the complaint, the police officer shall verify that the
person submitting the complaint is the record owner of the real property
or the authorized agent of the owner and appears otherwise entitled to
relief under this section. If verified, the police officer shall, with-
out delay, serve a notice to immediately vacate on all the unlawful
occupants and shall put the owner in possession of the real property. If
appropriate, the police officer may arrest any person found in the
dwelling for trespass, outstanding warrants, or any other legal cause.
After the police officer serves the notice to immediately vacate, the
property owner or authorized agent may request that the police officer
stand by to keep the peace while the property owner or agent of the
owner changes the locks and removes the personal property of the unlaw-
ful occupants from the premises to or near or over the property line.
The police officer is not liable to the unlawful occupant or any other
party for loss, destruction, or damage of property. The property owner
or his or her authorized agent is not liable to an unlawful occupant or
any other party for the loss, destruction, or damage to the personal
property unless the removal was wrongful.
The dispossessed person may bring a civil cause of action for wrongful
removal under this section. A person harmed by a wrongful removal under
this section may be restored to possession of the real property and may
recover actual costs and damages incurred, statutory damages equal to
triple the fair market rent of the dwelling, court costs, and reasonable
attorney fees.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Under New York State law, squatters are classified as tenants and
receive temporary rights as such after living in a property for a period
of 30 days. To reclaim property from a squatter after thirty days, an
owner must seek court intervention and be able to prove a right to the
property and proceed with legal eviction proceedings. The special
proceeding may give the owner an order that a sheriff can then enforce
to remove the squatter. The owner may not remove the tenant himself.
As a by-product of the strained housing market and the extensive and
expensive process of eviction by court intervention, squatters are
infiltrating neighborhoods, entering empty properties and abusing the
loophole in New York State law.
The right to exclude others from entering, and the right to direct
others to immediately vacate, residential real property are the most
important real property rights. Notoriously, existing remedies regarding
unauthorized persons who unlawfully remain on residential real property
are expensive, drawn out and fail to adequately protect the rights of
the property owner and fail to adequately discourage theft and vandal-
ism. The intent of this legislation is to establish a procedure to
quickly restore possession of residential real property to the lawful
owner of the property when the property is being unlawfully occupied and
to thereby preserve property rights while limiting the opportunity for
criminal activity.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S8867 of 23-24
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become law