“ 3. Any provision of such a contract or agreement whereby a person who so deposits or advances money waives any provision of this section is absolutely void.
“4. The term ‘ real property ’ as used in this section is co-extensive in meaning with lands, tenements and hereditaments.
‘ ‘ § 2. This act shall take effect on the first day of September next sueeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.”
Matter italicized is new (added by-L. 1970, ch. 1009), approved by Governor on May 20, 1970 in the following Memorandum (McKinney’s 1970 Sess. Laws of N. Y., p. 3145):
“ Real-Estate Security Deposits
“ On approving L. 1970, c. 1009, requiring security deposits made by tenants to be placed in an interest-bearing bank account, the Governor stated:
May 20,1970
“ The bill, effective September 1, 1970 will .require the landlord of every apartment house with six or more apartments to place any security deposits made by his tenants in an interest-bearing bank account.
‘1 Tenants will be entitled to receive the interest paid on their deposits, less one per cent, which the landlord will be allowed to retain to cover his administration expenses.
I ‘ This bill, except for the limitation in its application to buildings with six or more apartments, has been a part of the Attorney General’'S legislative program for several years.
“ I am pleased to give my approval to this measure.
II The bill is approved.
Nelson A. Rockefeller ”
Prior to 1935 the receipt by landlord of a security deposit created a debtor-creditor relationship, although the courts were beginning to hold that the landlord was in effect holding the deposit as a trustee (Madison Realty Co. v. Weiss, 133 Misc. 318 [App. Term, 1st Dept.]).