S 10343 NY
Relates to the disclosure of tenant screening criteria
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Summary
This bill requires landlords to provide prospective tenants with a written disclosure of the tenant screening criteria they use to evaluate rental applications before accepting any application fees or deposits. The disclosure must detail specific factors such as credit score thresholds, criminal history policies, income requirements, rental history policies, and reference requirements, as well as whether a screening report from a consumer reporting agency will be obtained. The disclosure must also include a written summary of the tenant's rights under federal fair credit reporting laws and New York consumer protection laws. Applicants must sign an acknowledgment that they received and reviewed the disclosure before submitting their application. If a landlord rejects an applicant without providing the required disclosure, the landlord must refund all application fees within 14 days of the applicant's request.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Official abstract
Provides that a landlord shall provide a prospective tenant a written disclosure of the tenant screening criteria used to evaluate rental applications prior to accepting any fee, deposit, or screening information from such prospective tenant.
Sponsor (1)
- Jamaal Bailey Democratic · primary
Action history (1)
- May 14, 2026 REFERRED TO JUDICIARY · upper
Text versions (2)
Full text
Full text imported from assembly.state.ny.us
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Bill No.: Summary Actions Committee Votes Floor Votes Memo Text LFIN Chamber Video/Transcript S10343 Summary: BILL NO S10343   SAME AS SAME AS A09294-A
  SPONSOR BAILEY   COSPNSR   MLTSPNSR   Add §238-b, RP L   Provides that a landlord shall provide a prospective tenant a written disclosure of the tenant screening criteria used to evaluate rental applications prior to accepting any fee, deposit, or screening information from such prospective tenant.
Go to top S10343 Text:
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________
10343
IN SENATE
May 14, 2026 ___________
Introduced by Sen. BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation to the disclosure of tenant screening criteria
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The real property law is amended by adding a new section 2 238-b to read as follows: 3 § 238-b. Disclosure of tenant screening criteria. 1. For the purposes 4 of this section: 5 (a) "Tenant screening criteria" shall mean the complete list of objec- 6 tive and subjective factors a landlord uses to evaluate rental applica- 7 tions. This includes, but is not limited to, financial history, credit 8 score thresholds, income requirements, criminal background, references, 9 and completeness or accuracy of the application. 10 (b) "Landlord" shall mean any owner, lessor, sublessor, assignor, or 11 managing agent of, or any other person having the right to rent or lease 12 a housing accommodation, or any agent or employee thereof. 13 2. (a) Prior to accepting any payment, fee or charge for the process- 14 ing, review or acceptance of an application pursuant to subdivision one 15 of section two hundred thirty-eight-a of this article or screening 16 information from a prospective tenant, a landlord shall provide to the 17 applicant a clear and conspicuous written disclosure of the tenant 18 screening criteria used to evaluate rental applications. Such disclosure 19 shall include: 20 (i) a detailed list of the screening criteria, which may include but 21 is not limited to: 22 (A) credit history and minimum credit score thresholds, if any; 23 (B) criminal history policies; 24 (C) prior rental history, to the extent permitted under section two 25 hundred twenty-seven-f of this article; 26 (D) minimum income requirements, to the extent permitted under section 27 two hundred ninety-six of the executive law; 28 (E) reference requirements; and/or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13882-03-6
S. 10343 2
1 (F) any policy regarding incomplete or inaccurate application 2 submissions; 3 (ii) whether the landlord will obtain a tenant screening report from a 4 consumer reporting agency, and if so, the name and contact information 5 of such agency; and 6 (iii) a written summary of the applicant's rights under the federal 7 Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Sect. 1681 et seq.) and article 8 twenty-five of the general business law with respect to consumer 9 reports, including the right to access and dispute the contents of such 10 reports. 11 (b) A landlord shall not accept any payment, fee or charge for the 12 processing, review or acceptance of an application pursuant to subdivi- 13 sion one of section two hundred thirty-eight-a of this article or 14 commence any evaluation of an application until the disclosure required 15 by this subdivision has been provided. 16 3. (a) The tenant screening disclosure may be included in or adjacent 17 to the rental application form, provided it is clearly labeled and 18 presented in bold, underlined, or otherwise conspicuous print. 19 (b) The applicant shall sign an acknowledgment indicating that the 20 disclosure was made available to them prior to submitting any applica- 21 tion materials or fees. Such acknowledgment shall include the following 22 or a substantively equivalent statement: 23 "By signing below, you acknowledge that you have been provided with, 24 and had the opportunity to review, the landlord's tenant screening 25 criteria. The tenant screening criteria may include factors such as 26 credit history, criminal background, rental history, income verifica- 27 tion, and the completeness or accuracy of information provided. If you 28 do not meet these criteria, your application may be denied and your 29 application fee will not be refunded." 30 (c) If the acknowledgment is not signed, there shall be a rebuttable 31 presumption that the required disclosure was not provided. 32 4. (a) If a landlord rejects an applicant without having provided the 33 disclosure required under subdivision two of this section, such landlord 34 shall refund the full amount of any payment, fee or charge for the proc- 35 essing, review or acceptance of an application pursuant to subdivision 36 one of section two hundred thirty-eight-a of this article. 37 (b) Upon written request by an applicant, the landlord shall mail or 38 otherwise deliver the refund to the address provided by the applicant 39 within fourteen days of such request. 40 § 2. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi- 41 sion, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of 42 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 43 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in 44 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section 45 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg- 46 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of 47 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such 48 invalid provisions had not been included herein. 49 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 50 it shall have become a law.
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