October 6, 2022

with Gale Brewer, District 6

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HARASSMENT BY LANDLORDS

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May 2, 2025

with Housing Court Answers

Cora Metrick-Chen

June 7, 2023

with Gale Brewer, District 6

What's landlord harassment, to us? 

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"Many landlords illegally harass and intimidate low-income and rent-stabilized tenants to drive them out in favor of higher-paying tenants."

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A landlord who harasses you is likely to be harassing other people in the building too.  You are stronger together!

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Our housing team assists organized tenants – tenant associations and tenant unions – get repairs and defend their rights in their buildings.

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WHAT TYPE OF HARASSMENT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT TODAY?

LANDLORD HARASSMENT

• By a landlord (or its agents)
• Against a tenant (or a lawful occupant)
• When the harassing behavior is intended to:
• Cause the lawful occupant to vacate the apartment, OR
• Cause the lawful occupant to surrender or waive occupancy-related rights 

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June 7, 2023

with Gale Brewer, District 6

I. 

THE MEANING OF

"LANDLORD HARASSMENT" 

IN LAW 

WHAT COUNTS AS LANDLORD HARASSMENT IN NYC?

Some more obvious behaviors that count as harassment against a lawful occupant (someone with permission to live in the apartment) : 

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The following definition of landlord harassment in NYC comes from the

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 Housing Maintenance Code. 

• Using force or threatening to use force 

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• Removing possessions ​

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• Removing or interfering with the door or the lock without giving a new key

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• Repeated contact or visits at odd hours​
• Outside of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.​
• On Sat, Sun, or holidays

BASICS

WHAT COUNTS AS LANDLORD HARASSMENT IN NYC?

• Repeated or extended disruptions of essential services
• Repeated failures to repair class B or C violations 
• Repeated false certifications of a violation as repaired
• Repeated work without a required construction permit
• Failure to correct conditions that underly a vacate order
• Making serious false or misleading statements about the rent stabilization status of a unit in applications for work on that unit

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• Threatening a person based on certain categories:
• Age, race, immigration status, sexual orientation, source of income, status as a victim of sex offense, etc. 
• Requesting additional ID from someone who has already shown a government-issued ID
• Giving the occupant false or misleading information regarding the occupancy of the unit 
• Repeated "baseless or frivolous" lawsuits

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 A LITTLE LESS BASIC

REPAIRS/CONSTRUCTION-RELATED 

• Contacting someone to buy them out of the apartment without the required information (e.g., they have a right to a lawyer)
• Contacting someone to buy them out of the apartment after that person has informed the owner in writing that they don't want buyout offers
• Offering money to buy someone out while also:
• Using intimidating or obscene language, or
• Contacting that person too frequently, or
• Contacting that person at their workplace, or
• Giving false information to that person 

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• repeated, significant acts that substantially interfere with the peace and quiet of an occupant 

WHAT COUNTS AS LANDLORD HARASSMENT IN NYC?

RELATED TO BUYOUTS

+ THE CATCH-ALL

June 7, 2023

with Gale Brewer, District 6

1. II. 
2. HARASSMENT LAWSUITS IN HOUSING COURT 

HP actions are good for:

orders from a judge to stop the harassment. 

HP ACTIONS FOR HARASSMENT

HP actions aren't as good for: ​

compensation, especially for damaged or destroyed personal belongings. ​

WHAT CAN YOU GET OUT OF AN HP ACTION FOR HARASSMENT?  

• An injunction

 - An order from a judge telling the landlord to cease the 

      harassing behavior 

 - Also called "injunctive relief" 

• Civil penalties 

 - The landlord might have to pay penalties to the city of 

      $2,000 to $10,000 per apartment 

 - If harassment has been found in the building in the 

      previous 5 years, then $4k-$10k per apt.

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• Compensatory damages or $1,000.00, plus attorneys' fees

• Possibly: punitive damages

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IF THE LANDLORD VIOLATES THE INJUNCTION: 

 - Actual damages (but you waive your right to sue for them), OR

 - The costs and expenses caused by the violation of the order, plus $250

 - Possibly: punitive damages

WHAT FACTORS MIGHT HELP YOU WIN YOUR HARASSMENT CASE?

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• If the harassment that occurred clearly falls into one of the types outlined in the slides before
• Living in a building with three or more units
• If you are willing to testify and show up to court – even though court dates are often inconvenient and unfairly scheduled
• Teaming up and filing together with other tenants in your building
• PROOF! – especially from government agencies 
• HPD violations are required for HP harassment claims that are related to a physical problem in the building 

June 7, 2023

with Gale Brewer, District 6

III. 

HP ACTIONS 

STEP-BY-STEP

• Government records:
• From HPD, DOB, etcetera 
• A police report* 
• Written records 
• Texts
• Letters
• Emails
• Video
• Testimony

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Step 1.

SOME FORMS OF EVIDENCE​

GATHER YOUR EVIDENCE

GETTING STARTED

Step 2.

• Tell the clerk you want to start an HP action for harassment
• Fill out an ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
• Other forms:
• Fee waiver form – or $45.00 (no personal checks or cards)
• Inspection request (if there are physical conditions)
• Possibly: fill out a statement explaining the harassment briefly but with detail
• You will get:
• An inspection date if you requested an inspection – usually about 1 week from filing  - you must be at home! 
• A court date – usually 10 days after inspection
• Serve the forms on the landlord ASAP!
• Find the landlords' names and addresses by looking them up on hpdonline or whoownswhat.nyc 
• Must be by certified mail
• Keep your certified mailing receipt and all related receipts

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GOING TO COURT

First court date

• The court will make sure you served the landlord correctly
• If not, they will dismiss the case and you'll have to start over
• If the landlord isn't there, you can ask for a "default judgment," but the court might just set a new court date instead 
• The judge might not be there – you'll get a new court date 
• If both sides are there, the judge or court might encourage you to come to an agreement/settlement, or to try to do so before the next court date
• The next court might be in 3 weeks – roughly 

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Future court dates: 

• If you haven't come to an agreement/settlement with the landlord, be ready to show the court your evidence 

Step 3.

TWO ROADS TO WINNING YOUR CASE

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You can come to a settlement agreement where the landlord agrees not to do the harassing behavior for a certain time period. 

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Or, instead, you can continue to ask the judge for an order telling the landlord to stop – you will probably have to win at trial to get this.

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Both a settlement agreement and an order have the same seriousness – they are both considered orders of the court. 

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Step 4.

IF THE LANDLORD DISOBEYS THE ORDER

Contempt

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• If the landlord violates the order or the settlement agreement, you can file an Order to Show Cause to hold the landlord in contempt of court 
• Once you file the OSC, a court date will be scheduled 
• Think carefully about what type of proof you can present of the landlord's violation 
• You can ask for compensation for the costs or damages (if you have receipts or bills) you suffered because the landlord violated the order

Step 5?

June 7, 2023

with Gale Brewer, District 6

1. IV. 

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• WHAT ABOUT…?

SMALL (1-2 UNIT) BUILDINGS

Harassment is still illegal

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• No landlord may harass a person lawfully entitled to occupancy of a building, no matter the size of the building.

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• However, in buildings with 1-2 units, the landlord’s intent to harass will not be assumed, so tenants will have to try to prove it on their own.

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DISCRIMINATION

A landlord/neighbor takes some sort of negative action against you based on your protected status, for instance race, gender, national origin, citizenship status, age, sexual orientation.

CRIME

Causing physical injury to you, purposely destroying your belongings, stalking, unwanted touching

New York City Commission on Human Rights

Police/Criminal Court

PERSONAL INJURY

Unsafe conditions leading to harmful health impacts, destruction of personal belongings

Small Claims Court / personal injury lawsuit

SOMETIMES, HARASSMENT BY A LANDLORD MIGHT ALSO BE…

PROBLEMS WITH NEIGHBORS

STEP 1: CONTACT…

• The landlord
• The neighbors
• 311 if it’s a noise problem

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STEP 2: MEDIATION

• NYC has a citywide mediation initiative

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STEP 3: CONSIDER LEGAL ACTION

• Against the landlord in Housing Court: the landlord must take reasonable action, but these cases are very hard to prove
• Against the neighbor in small claims or other courts

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RENT STABILIZED TENANTS AND DHCR

HARASSMENT is anything that "interferes with, or disturbs, … the privacy, comfort, peace, repose or quiet enjoyment of the tenant … or is intended to cause the tenant to vacate …  or not exercise any right afforded to the tenant under this Code" 

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• To file a harassment claim with DHCR, tenants can fill out RA-60H, available online, and either mail it or hand it in person to DHCR. 
• A hearing will follow. 
• If DHCR finds that the landlord's behavior is harassment, it will impose a civil penalty on the landlord. 

TENANTS’ RIGHT TO ORGANIZE

Under New York State law, tenants have a right to organize! This includes:

• Meeting in the common areas of the building
• Talking to neighbors
• Forming a Tenants’ Association

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If a landlord interferes with a tenants’ right to organize, contacting the Attorney General or starting a New York Supreme Court case for an injunction might be the way to go!

If you stand up for your tenants rights, by, for example:

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• Asking your landlord for repairs 
• Calling 311 to report a repair problem or
• Filing a lawsuit against your landlord

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-- For one year thereafter, if your landlord tries to evict you, you can say the eviction is illegal retaliation. This is a defense to a lawsuit, not the basis for a lawsuit.

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Note that if the landlord can come up with a plausible, non-retaliatory reason for ending your tenancy or refusing to renew your lease, it might be hard to prove retaliation. 

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RETALIATION

RESOURCES

• HPD Online: https://hpdonline.nyc.gov/hpdonline/ 
• Look up your address to find the names of the landlord and the managers and their addresses 
• Follow up on violations placed by 311 for physical conditions in the building 
• Whoownswhat.nyc -- find out even more about your building! 
• Met Council on Housing: www.metcouncilonhousing.org/help-answers/hp-actions-for-repairs-and-services/ 
• Not harassment-specific, but helpful for filing an HP in general 
• DHCR
• Factsheet on harassment for rent-stabilized tenants: https://hcr.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2023/11/fact-sheet-17-11-2023.pdf 
• NYCCHR – for discrimination based on protected status
• https://www.nyc.gov/site/cchr/help/residents.page
• Mediation information across NYC: https://portal.311.nyc.gov/article/?kanumber=KA-01016

June 7, 2023

with Gale Brewer, District 6

1. V. 

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• QUESTIONS?