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Attorney General James Fights to Protect New York’s Tenants by Defending Rent Stabilization Laws

NEW YORK: New been using to rapidly raise York Attorney Gen- rents, force tenants out of regeral Letitia James re- ulated units, and remove regleased the following ulated units from the rent statement after submitting a stabilization laws’ coverage response brief in a case de- — significantly diminishing fending New York’s rent sta- New York City’s stock of afbilization laws against fordable housing. Following baseless challenges to its con- the HSTPA’s enactment, a stitutionality: lawsuit was filed against the “New York’s rent stabiliza- commissioner of the state’s tion laws exist to protect ten- Division of Housing and ants and their families, and to Community Renewal ensure that affordable hous- (DHCR) and others. Attorney ing remains available for General James successfully lower-income New Yorkers. defended the commissioner As our state's residents continue to recover from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 public health crisis, my office will continue to do everything it can to defend New York’s rent laws and protect struggling tenants so that they can stay in their state’s rent stabilization laws when it enacted the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA). Among other things, the HSTPA was designed to strengthen tenant protections and curb practices that property owners had in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which held the latest iteration of the rent stabilization laws to be constitutional. The plaintiffs then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. This brief was filed in that court.p

homes. Above all else, my office is committed to sheltering New Yorkers from harm and ensuring that everyone continues to have access to safe, affordable housing.” In 2019, the New York state legislature amended the