§ 796-J SECTION 796-J Appointment of administrator
RPAPL § 796-J
§ 796-j. Appointment of administrator. 1.(a) The court is authorized and empowered, in implementation of a judgment rendered pursuant to section seven hundred ninety-six-h or seven hundred ninety-six-i of this article, to appoint a person other than the owner, a mortgagee or a lienor, to receive and administer the rent moneys or security deposited with such owner, mortgagee or lienor, subject to the court's direction.
(b)The court may appoint the commissioner of the department charged with enforcement of the housing maintenance code in the municipality where the dwelling is located or the commissioner's designee as such administrator, provided that the commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall consent, in writing, to such appointment.
(c)Any administrator is authorized and empowered in accordance with the direction of the court, to:
(i)order the necessary materials, labor and services to remove or remedy the conditions specified in the judgment, and to make disbursements in payment thereof;
(ii)demand, collect and receive the rents from the tenants of the dwelling;
(iii)institute all necessary legal proceedings including, but not limited to, summary proceedings for the removal of any tenant or tenants;
(iv)to rent or lease for terms not exceeding three years any part of said premises, however, the court may direct the administrator to rent or lease commercial portions of a premises zoned for mixed commercial and residential use for terms that the court may approve; and
(v)in accordance with the direction of the court, to accept and repay such moneys as may be received from the department or departments charged with enforcement of the housing maintenance code in the municipality or municipalities where the dwelling is located for the purpose of managing the premises, replacing or substantially rehabilitating systems or making other repairs or capital improvements authorized by the court. All moneys expended by such department or departments pursuant to the foregoing shall constitute a debt recoverable from the owner and a lien upon the building and lot, and upon the rents and other income thereof.
(d)Upon completion of the work prescribed in such judgment, the administrator, shall file with the court a full accounting of all receipts and expenditures for such work. The administrator shall dispose of the rents and other monies deposited with such administrator according to the following order of priority:
2.The court may allow from the rent moneys or security on deposit a reasonable amount for services of such administrator.
3.The administrator shall furnish a bond, the amount and form of which shall be approved by the court. In its discretion and for good cause shown, the court may dispense with the necessity for a bond. The cost of a required bond shall be paid from the moneys so deposited.
4.The administrator shall file a transcript of the judgment appointing him or her with the clerk of the county in which the subject premises is located within fifteen days of his or her appointment.
5.The duties of the administrator shall not be affected by the appointment of a receiver in an action to foreclose a mortgage on the premises, except that the rights of the owner, including the right to any surplus, pursuant to subparagraph (v) of paragraph (d) of subdivision one of this section, shall pass to the receiver. The court in which the action to foreclose a mortgage on the premises is pending may appoint such administrator to serve as receiver in that action in addition to his or her duties as administrator pursuant to this article.
6.(a) Such administrator shall be liable only in his or her official capacity for injury to persons and property by reason of conditions of the premises in a case where an owner would have been liable; he or she shall not have any liability in his or her personal capacity.
7.No municipality shall be liable to any party, including the administrator or the owner of the dwelling, for injury to persons or property by reason of conditions of the premises or the acts or omissions of the administrator.
8.The commissioner of the department charged with enforcement of the housing maintenance code in the municipality where the dwelling is located shall promulgate rules and regulations regarding criteria for the selection of administrators to be appointed pursuant to this section and shall establish and maintain a list of persons approved by such department. Any person appointed as an administrator within such municipality shall be selected from among the persons approved as administrators pursuant to such list. A city, town or village may establish and maintain such list itself or elect to have such list established and maintained by the commissioner of the department charged with enforcement of the housing maintenance code in the county in which a dwelling is located.
9.The administrator shall, within thirty days of appointment, file with the court a plan for the provision of essential services and for the correction of such other hazardous conditions as may exist at the premises, specifying dates by which such services shall be provided and such conditions corrected. If such administrator cannot provide such services and correct such conditions by the dates specified in the plan, he or she shall be required to file with the court an amendment to the plan setting forth the reasons why such services and corrections could not be provided by such date and specifying new dates for such services and corrections. Such plan and any amendments to such plan shall be provided to the tenants by mail or by posting in a common area of the building and to the owner of record by mail.
10.The court may only discharge an administrator if the owner has paid in full or entered into a payment agreement to pay in full all outstanding real property tax liens claimed by any municipality in which the dwelling is located, all outstanding emergency repair liens filed and recorded by any municipality in which the dwelling is located and all outstanding liens filed and recorded by such municipality or municipalities pursuant to this section.
