Tenants Claim Landlord Schemed to Remove Latino Tenants and Inflate Rents

Tenants sued landlord for housing discrimination based on race and national origin, claiming violations of the Fair Housing Act, NYC Human Rights Law, NYC Housing Code, and the Rent Stabilization Law. They claimed that landlord targeted Latinos living in rent-stabilized apartments in an effort to displace them with whites, and then imposed unlawful rent increases while misrepresenting the apartments' regulatory status to incoming tenants. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled against landlord, finding that evidence supported claims that from 2001 through 2017, landlord perpetrated a scheme to illegally remove Latino tenants from a gentrifying neighborhood through harassment and discriminatory tactics.

Tejada v. Little City Realty LLC: Index No. 18-cv-483, NYLJ No. 1523552690 (EDNY; 4/10/18; Weinstein, DJ)