(a) A good faith complaint, by or in behalf of the tenant, to the landlord, the landlord's agent or a governmental authority of the landlord's alleged violation of any health or safety law, regulation, code, or ordinance, the warranty of habitability under § 235-B (Warranty of habitability), the duty to repair under sections seventy-eight, seventy-nine, and eighty of the multiple dwelling law or Multiple Residence Law § 174 (Repairs and cleanliness), or any law or regulation which has as its objective the regulation of premises used for dwelling purposes or which pertains to the offense of rent gouging in the third, second or first degree; or
(b) Actions taken in good faith, by or in behalf of the tenant, to secure or enforce any rights under the lease or rental agreement, the warranty of habitability under § 235-B (Warranty of habitability), the duty to repair under sections seventy-eight, seventy-nine, and eighty of the multiple dwelling law or Multiple Residence Law § 174 (Repairs and cleanliness), or under any other law of the state of New York, or of its governmental subdivisions, or of the United States which has as its objective the regulation of premises used for dwelling purposes .
Significantly, RPL §233-B (5) sets a rebuttable presumption that a landlord who initiates a summary proceeding within one year of a tenant exercising their rights to file a complaint against the landlord for violations of the implied warranty of habitability, for complaints alleging violation of any health or safety law, regulation, code, or ordinance, or a duty to repair, the landlord is acting in a retaliatory manner. (see Tapia v. Roman, 2022 NYLJ LEXIS 469 [NY Civ. Ct. Kings Cnty, April 26, 2022]).