Last fall, New York City, through regulations enacted by the City Council, strengthened existing protections for small business tenants from perceived landlord “harassment.” Much has happened since—as we in the COVID era know too well—but these protections, largely without parallel in this country, have recently been judicially applied and interpreted for the first time. These developments bear exploring, as some tenants may well deploy such harassment claims when needing otherwise unavailable relief in lease disputes following the re-opening of the courts and easing of governmental closures. The laws and times change—litigants adapt.
The Law
Some background: almost four years ago, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the Non-Residential Tenant Harassment Law that, for the first time, prohibited New York City landlords from “harassing” commercial tenants. See Local Law No. 77 (2016) of City of N.Y. §22-902. Though the need for such protections has been questioned, the 2016 Harassment Law defined “harassment” as any conduct by a landlord “intended” to cause a commercial tenant to vacate a commercial space, or to surrender or waive any rights (whether under a lease or otherwise) to such covered property. See id. at §22-902(a).
