NY A09736

Property owners or authorized agents may request police removal of unlawful occupants from residential dwellings by submitting a completed complaint form to a police officer.

Removal is permitted only if all conditions are met: property owner/agent status is verified, property is residential, occupant unlawfully entered and remains, property was not open to public, owner directed occupant to leave, occupant is not a tenant with valid lease or immediate family member, and no litigation is pending involving the property.

Upon receiving a verified complaint, the police officer must serve a notice to immediately vacate and put the owner in possession; the officer may arrest occupants for trespass, outstanding warrants, or other crimes.

Property owners may request police stand by while changing locks and removing occupants' personal property to the property line; neither police nor owners are liable for property damage unless removal was wrongful.

A person wrongfully removed may bring a civil action for actual damages, triple the fair market rent of the dwelling, court costs, and reasonable attorney fees; the act takes effect 90 days after becoming law.