A group of City Councilmembers plan to unveil a package of bills Thursday meant to stop landlords from using illegal construction and city vacate orders to move tenants far from their homes and ultimately pressure them to leave for good.
The proposals come on the heels of a Bronx building partially collapsing in December, prompting several residents to be displaced and sent to temporary accommodations in hotels far from their homes. According to the bill’s sponsors, the city has failed to protect tenants when landlords use vacate orders to force the residents out.
Landlords are often restricted in how much they can raise the rent on existing tenants or how much they can charge for apartments that are rent stabilized. By forcing tenants out, owners can make alterations to get around those restrictions.
“One of the biggest problems we see across the city are landlords deliberately destroying or demolishing buildings to force tenants out of their homes or after there’s been a big fire,” Councilmember Shekar Krishnan, who represents Jackson Heights, said in a phone interview. “When landlords trigger these vacate orders, the city becomes complicit in these schemes to force tenants from their homes.”
Krishnan’s legislation would require the city’s Housing Preservation and Development agency to create special teams to assist residents of recently vacated buildings in finding new places to live. If the landlord delays repairs, one of Krishnan’s bills would require the city to bring legal action against the property owner.
“HPD often is very hesitant to join and support these lawsuits,” Krishnan said. “[The city] says it’s going to be too much money because they see it as a drastic remedy.”
He plans to unveil his legislation alongside Councilmembers Lincoln Restler, Jennifer Guitérrez, Gale Brewer and Alexa Avilés.
A spokesperson for the city housing agency said the administration will review the bills.
Landlord groups said current laws already forbid…
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