Bill Would OK Harassment Suits Against Landlords
The City Council introduced a bill yesterday that would allow renters to sue landlords for harassment. At present, tenants are only able to sue landlords over specific violations, not over patterns of harassment. The would-be law has grown out of the citywide hemorrhage of affordable housing, because more and more tenants are claiming that landlords…
The City Council introduced a bill yesterday that would allow renters to sue landlords for harassment. At present, tenants are only able to sue landlords over specific violations, not over patterns of harassment. The would-be law has grown out of the citywide hemorrhage of affordable housing, because more and more tenants are claiming that landlords are trying to drive them out of rent-regulated apartments by systematically denying basic services like heat or hot water, according to renter advocacy groups. Unsurprisingly, landlords think the bill could lead to a lot of baseless lawsuits. Think this would be a good thing?
Bill Would Give Tenants Right to Sue Landlords [AM New York]
Hot Water for Landlords [NY Post]
Photo by West Side Neighborhood Alliance
no one has a right to live in nyc
“The would-be law has grown out of the citywide hemorrhage of affordable housing, because more and more tenants are claiming that landlords are trying to drive them out of rent-regulated apartments by systematically denying basic services like heat or hot water, according to renter advocacy groups.”
This paragraph says it all people and it is true, my mom has been in a rent controlled apt. in FG for over 30 years, now that all the yuppies are moving in the landlord is starting to act funny with the heat and hot water,
remember people everyone cannot afford high rents and should not be deprived of basic needs, many new comers to BK/NY do not know much about this but for those of you who were born and raised in New York know that historically landlords have always moved out groups of people in order to maximize rent roll,
I think this is a great idea. It may help keep landlords on the straight-and-narrow. I read story after story about landlords who do everything “legally” in dealing with stabilized/controlled tenants yet use “tricks” that can be defined as harassment to drive those tenants out. I will be very happy to see these codes strengthened by the addition of an anti-harrassment law. I have no problem with the bar being high in terms of burden of proof or of a requirement that rent be current in order to proceed. Some of these landlords resort to egregious tactics. It is about time that more be done to keep lower and middle income people in the city. This would definitely be a step in the right direction. I am heartened to hear that this law is on the table.
That is a great idea 9:19. A great way to ensure that the tenant is not suing just because they can’t pay the rent.
brilliant…another fine example of nyc housing law nonsense
landlord: hello your rent was due yesterday
tenant: i’m calling my lawyer
landlord: wtf
tenant: see you in court, you greedy scumbag
Great idea – except the law should make it required that in order to have standing on the lawsuit you have to pay all back rent into escrow and maintain full rent payment status for the life of the suit – if you fail to pay or are late by more than 2 weeks the escrow must go to the landlord and you have to start again.
Seems like a fair comprimise – of course it wont happen and if it did the number of suits would be negligible.
RC/RS needs to end ASAP
they are killing this city
I agree with armchair. This will definitely lead to a lot of frivolous lawsuits. Every time a tenant has a bad hair day, they will decide to hire a hack lawyer to go after their landlord. Nine times out of ten the person bringing suit will be behind on his/her rent. Hopefully the law will set the bar high for standard of proof.
terrible idea like rent control and stabilization laws.
nyc is fuck up because of those laws. unlike other cities.