Amnesty Program
The New York City Council has passed into law an amnesty program for ECB penalties which result in judgments or liens on real estate. This program is aimed towards collecting a portion of their outstanding billions of dollars in debt. Because of this program, fines on about 700,000 ECB violations that are docketed will be reduced. Those violations in default will be reduced to their base amount, those that have had a hearing will be reduced to 75% of the penalty issued at the hearing. And in addition, all interest would be waived.
All ECB violations issued by the DOB and FDNY that are to be settled, must be certified with their respective agencies. If a violation is yet to be certified, an agreement will be issued and a 25% down payment will need to be made.
Additionally, the law states all violations against a respondent name must be settled at the same time.
The amnesty program will take place during the fiscal year starting July 1st, 2016 and will run for 90 days. It is not stated exactly when it will take place during the year. Sources say that the program will start in September. While September is a while away, it is encouraged that all clients begin working the correction process now. This will ensure that when the program is in effect, violations will be able to be settled and resolved as quickly as possible.
For three years after the 90 day amnesty program ends, violations will not be settled for less than 50% of the default penalty amount plus interest.
For more information and assistance in real estate matters, please contact our offices.
