New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a settlement with Brooklyn real estate firm Brooklyn High Rise LLC (Brooklyn High Rise) for illegally denying housing to prospective tenants based on housing court records with prior landlords. Brooklyn High Rise also illegally charged applicants deposit fees to hold an apartment during the application process – a practice known as “good faith” deposits – and often failed to return these fees when applicants withdrew or were denied housing. This settlement continues Attorney General James’ efforts to protect New York tenants by cracking down on a practice known as “tenant blacklisting,” where landlords use housing court records as a basis to deny a potential tenant’s rental application. Tenant blacklisting was made illegal in 2019 following changes to the Real Property Law, which outlawed efforts to deny housing to renters because of prior landlord-tenant court cases. As a result of the settlement, Brooklyn High Rise will end its unlawful tenant screening policies and pay $352,250 in penalties and restitution.
“All New Yorkers deserve to be treated fairly when applying for housing opportunities,” said Attorney General James. “At a time when it is difficult to find safe and affordable housing in New York and across the country, it is unacceptable that Brooklyn High Rise used housing court records as a basis to deny housing to hard-working New Yorkers. My office will continue to stand up for all tenants and ensure that everyone has access to safe housing, regardless of their history.”
In 2019, the enactment of the New York Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) made it illegal for a property owner or landlord to deny a rental application based on the applicant’s past housing court records. If there is documented evidence that a property owner or 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 illegally based on the applicant’s court records. The burden is on the landlord or property owner to prove the applicant was denied for other reasons. Since the law was enacted, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has been reviewing records from third-party tenant screening bureaus to assess which landlords and brokers continue to obtain housing court records when reviewing applications…