LANDLORD RETALIATION
It is illegal for landlords in New York to retaliate against tenants for participating in tenant organizations.
It is also illegal for landlords in New York to retaliate against tenants who make a good faith complaint to them or to a government agency about violations of health and safety laws, issues with habitability or non-repair of the premises, violations of rights under a lease, or rent gouging.
It is presumed that a landlord is retaliating if:
Within one year of a tenant’s complaint, the landlord substantially alters the terms of a tenant’s rental agreement. This includes: refusing to continue to rent to you; failing to renew a lease after your lease has expired; or offering a new lease with an unreasonable rent increase; or
Within one year of making a good faith complaint, your landlord brings an eviction case against the tenant. If the tenant informs the court that the landlord initiated the eviction proceeding within one year of the tenant’s good faith complaint, the law requires that the landlord to demonstrate that the eviction isn’t retaliatory.
The eviction proceeding will be terminated if the landlord fails to prove that the eviction was not retaliatory. The effect of the presumption requires the landlord to establish a non- retaliatory motive for their actions by a preponderance of the evidence. Failure to rebut the presumption of retaliation may result in requiring that the tenant be offered a new lease or renewal of up to a year with only a “reasonable” increase.
Tenants may collect damages from landlords who violate this law, which applies to all rentals except owner-occupied dwellings with fewer than four units.
