Establishes the crime of aggravated harassment of a rent regulated tenant
Summary
Establishes the crime of aggravated harassment of a rent regulated tenant which occurs when an owner intentionally engages in a systematic ongoing course of conduct to induce three or more rent regulated tenants occupying different housing accommodations in two or more residential buildings to vacate such housing accommodations or if such owner commits the crime of harassment of a rent regulated tenant and was previously convicted of the same crime in the past five years.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Oct 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Oct 29, 2025
Last action Feb 18, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
S8559
→
S8559A
·
4 edits
MODERATE
This bill amends New York's aggravated harassment law for rent-regulated tenants by expanding the number of tenants affected from two to three, clarifying that the law applies to both single and multiple buildings, and adding a formal definition of 'residential building' to ensure consistent application.
Scope change
The bill now applies to cases involving three or more tenants instead of two, and explicitly covers both single and multiple residential buildings.
ELIGIBILITY
Increased the threshold from two to three rent-regulated tenants to trigger aggravated harassment charges.
SCOPE
Clarified that the law applies to tenants in one residential building or two separate residential buildings.
DEFINITION
Added a new definition for 'residential building' specifying it must contain multiple dwelling units with at least one subject to rent control or stabilization laws.
TIMELINE
Changed the effective date from 90 days after enactment to immediate effect.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
4
Key actions
2
Committee
2
Amendments
2
Feb 18, 2026
Upper · Passed
PRINT NUMBER 8559A
upper
Feb 18, 2026
Upper · Passed
AMEND (T) AND RECOMMIT TO CODES
upper
Jan 7, 2026
Committee
REFERRED TO CODES
upper
Oct 29, 2025
Committee
REFERRED TO RULES
upper
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor
Sponsors
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