A New York City landlord is under a judicial order to compile documents as part of a state probe that seeks to determine whether it engaged in the prohibited practice of blacklisting prospective tenants. Acting NY State Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits of Manhattan ordered Zara Realty Holding Corp. of Queens to supply the New York Attorney General’s (“AG”) office with all documents and communications related to its screening of applicants, and determinations of those applicants, dating from the time that tenant blacklisting was made illegal as part of sweeping changes to the NY Real Property Law in 2019. Lebovits ordered Zara, which owns thirty-eight rent-stabilized properties, with 2,500 apartments, to supply the AG’s office with the documents within 45 days of his Sept. 1, 2024, order.
The enactment of the 2019 New York Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) made it illegal for landlords to deny a rental application based on the applicant’s housing court records. If there is documented evidence that a landlord obtained an applicant’s housing court records and subsequently denied the application, the law presumes the landlord or property owner made the decision to deny based on the applicant’s court records. The burden is on the landlord to prove the applicant was denied for other reasons. To remain in compliance with the law, AG recommends landlords refrain from requesting a potential tenant’s court records and rental histories altogether and cease relationships with tenant screening bureaus who continue to provide court records.
Call or text Buffalo Landlord Attorneys Justin R. Friedman and Robert Friedman at (716) 543-3764 for advice on evictions, leases, rent collection and the proper screening of tenants.
