Not a shocker: A bill currently before the City Council that’ll give tenants increased protection against landlord harassment isn’t sitting well with landlord advocates, according to an article in today’s Sun. Critics of the bill—which would give tenants the ability to seek restraining orders against verbally and physically abusive landlords, and owners who’ve deliberately withheld services—say it will lead to unnecessary litigation. “The proposed legislation is extraordinarily broad and, at the same time, extremely vague,” said the vice president of the Real Estate Board of New York, Marolyn Davenport. “This vague language will result in an avalanche of frivolous suits.” Some Councilmembers have introduced separate legislation that would also allow landlords to sue for tenant harassment, but the landlord harassment bill has broad Council support and the Bloomberg administration’s blessing, and it’s expected to pass. Who says New York’s not still a renter’s town?
Bills Favoring Tenants, Landlords Spark Debate Over Rights of Each [NY Sun]
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