New Law Extends Landlord Harassment Protection to Small Commercial Tenants

If your residential building has small commercial tenants, you’ll need to heed a new law recently signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio. The law is designed to shield commercial tenants from landlord harassment.

“Our small businesses are not only engines of our economy – they’re an essential part of our city’s character,” de Blasio said at the signing. “A landlord may not interrupt services he is required to provide, like heat or hot water, with the intent to cause a tenant to vacate. If a judge finds that a commercial tenant has been harassed in this way, the landlord will face civil penalties ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, and the tenant may be awarded attorney’s fees.”