Court Decision Upholds Tenant Protection Act

On June 5th, the State Supreme Court upheld New York City's Tenant Protection Act, which prohibits landlords from using force or making threats, including repeated or prolonged interruptions of essential services, intended to disturb a lawful occupants residence. Advocates hailed the decision as a victory for all New York City tenants.

“The Supreme Court vindicated the right of New York City tenants to
live free from harassment by their landlords,” said Ed Josephson, Director of Litigation of South Brooklyn Legal Services (a program of
Legal Services NYC) and Housing Coordinator at the Legal Support Unit
of Legal Services NYC.  “Thanks to Judge Rakower’s decision, tenants can
continue to use the city anti-harassment law to protect themselves
against landlords who refuse to make repairs or start baseless eviction
cases against them.”

The New York Times' Manny Fernandez reports:

Justice Eileen A. Rakower dismissed a lawsuit brought against the
city by property owners and the city’s largest landlord group. The suit
claimed that the law violated the state and federal Constitutions and
unlawfully expanded the jurisdiction of the city’s Housing Maintenance
Code and of Housing Court judges.

The law, known as the Tenant
Protection Act, made harassment a housing code violation and allowed a
judge to impose civil penalties of $1,000 to $5,000. It defined
harassment as the use of force or threats, repeated interruptions of
essential services, the frequent filing of baseless court actions and
other tactics that “substantially interfere with or disturb the
comfort, repose, peace or quiet” of an apartment’s lawful occupant.

Tenant advocates said that as neighborhoods gentrified, landlords were
being more aggressive in pushing out low-rent tenants. The landlord
group, the Rent Stabilization Association, disputed any claims that
tenant harassment was a widespread problem in the city.

Previously,
tenants who took their landlords to Housing Court could do so only for
problems with essential services or the physical conditions of the
units, and harassment was not considered a violation of the city’s
Housing Maintenance Code.

In her ruling, Justice Rakower described the law as a “rational legislative response to what the City Council has determined is the potential for a growing problem of tenant harassment in New York City.”

Read the rest of the August 5th article here. 

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Council Members Daniel R. Garodnick and Melissa Mark-Viverito released a statement in support of the decision:

Speaker Quinn Applauds Court Decision Upholding Tenant Protection Act

Groundbreaking anti-tenant harassment legislation was targeted for repeal by the landlord lobby

City Hall – Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn,
together with Council Members Daniel R. Garodnick and Melissa
Mark-Viverito, tenants and activists, today applauded the State Supreme
Court’s decision to uphold the Tenant Protection Act.  The bill, which
was signed into law by Mayor Bloomberg in March of last year, was
targeted for repeal in a lawsuit by the landlord lobby. 

“Today is a great victory for all New York City tenants.  The Tenant
Protection Act was signed into law because we wanted to give families
the power to confront a landlord that was engaging in a pattern of
behavior designed to get them out of their homes,” said Speaker
Christine C. Quinn.  “Contrary to the assertions of the landlord lobby,
this law is neither vague nor unnecessary.  What you have with the
Tenant Protection Act is a sensible legislative measure designed to
help people take action against the reckless acts of the unscrupulous
few.  And thanks to the State Supreme Court, this law will continue to
help those who need it for years to come.” 

In her decision, the Honorable Eileen A. Rakower called the Tenant
Protection act “a rational legislative response to what the City
Council has determined is the potential for a growing problem of tenant
harassment in New York City.  The legislature is not required to wait
for a deluge of harassment allegations to act.  Rather, they may
respond to even a single instance of financially motivated harassment,
and seek to discourage the same by swift enactment of relevant
legislation.”

“Our commitment to helping the most vulnerable New York City
residents was the reason we worked so hard to enact the Tenant
Protection Act,” said Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito.  “And now
that the Court has ruled against the landlord lobby, tenants across the
City know they have the power to put an end to disruptive and dangerous
patterns of behavior.”

“The court has upheld what we knew to be true all along: Landlords
have a legal and moral responsibility to treat their tenants with
dignity,” said Council Member Daniel R. Garodnick.  “This Council took
historic action to give tenants the ability to fight back against a
pattern of harassment, and now the bad actors out there must follow the
law and stop trying to remove renters from their homes.”

First mentioned in Quinn’s 2007 State of the City Address, Local Law
No. 7 of 2008 created a new umbrella of protection for tenants who are
being harassed by their landlords.  To date, 538 cases have been filed
under the law.  Thus far, 158 orders to correct and 21 civil penalties
have been issued. 

Prior to the passage of the Tenant Protection Act, tenants were
limited to taking their landlord to Housing Court only for violations
relating to the physical condition of the apartment or failure to
provide essential services.  For instance, if a unit lacked hot water
for a prolonged duration, a tenant could take their landlord to court
and get their hot water turned back on.  However, if turning off the
hot water was just the latest episode in a long period of repeated
violations, the only recourse was to challenge the landlord on each and
every violation.   

Local Law No. 7 created a violation for harassment in and of itself,
providing a new layer of protection for renters in New York City.  Some
of the actions that qualify as harassment under this legislation
include: using force or making threats against a lawful occupant,
repeated or prolonged interruptions of essential services, using
frivolous court proceedings to disrupt a tenant’s life or force an
eviction, removing the possessions of a lawful tenant, removing doors
or damaging locks to a unit, or any other acts designed to disturb a
lawful occupant’s residence.  The law also prevents similar actions by
third parties working on the landlord’s behalf. 

Civil penalties for judicial findings of harassment range from $1,000 to $5,000.
 
The bill also responsibly balances protections for tenants with
safeguards for landlords.  If a landlord has three harassment
allegations dismissed by judicial proceedings over a period of ten
years, the tenant who filed them will then have to receive approval
from a judge to file another harassment claim.  Landlords may also
qualify for a reimbursement of attorney’s fees if a claim is deemed to
be frivolous.  

“Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, in signing the Tenant Protection Act
into law last year, noted that it was a significant measure in meeting
a priority of his Administration in protecting affordable housing for
City tenants,” said Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo of the New
York City Law Department, whose office litigated the case on behalf of
the City.  “This court decision keeps that protection in place, and
upholds an important tenant protection law.”

“The Supreme Court vindicated the right of New York City tenants to
live free from harassment by their landlords,” said Ed Josephson, Legal
Services NYC.  “Thanks to Judge Rakower’s decision, tenants can
continue to use the city anti-harassment law to protect themselves
against landlords who refuse to make repairs or start baseless eviction
cases against them.”

“Predatory Equity developers who use harassment as a business model
should be on notice – New York City will not allow our affordable
rental housing to be undermined and low and moderate-rent-paying
tenants illegally forced out, said Benjamin Dulchin, Executive
Director, Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development.  “The
Tenant Protection Act gives tenants the tool they need to fight back,
and now the courts have upheld the legality of that tool. “

Read the rest of the press release by clicking here.