Council bill would ban landlords from repeated buyout attempts

Tenants shouldn’t have to fend off repeated buyout offers from overzealous landlords, according to City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who introduced legislation that would ban the practice. The bill, introduced Tuesday, would make repeated buyout offers a form of illegal tenant harassment.

“Tenants should not be hounded by repeated, unwanted buyout offers from landlords – period,” Mark-Viverito said.

“For too long, aggressive landlords have used these offers to harass tenants into leaving their apartments — this legislation will begin to change that by giving tenants more options to protect themselves,” she added, as cited by the New York Daily News.

Often, these buyout offers come from landlords who are looking to boot rent-stabilized tenants.

Under the bill, once a tenant has made it clear they are not interested in a buyout, a landlord would have to cease making offers or face a $1,000 to $10,000 fine.

Last fall, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a bill upping the penalties for tenant harassment and requiring the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to post a list online of landlords that have been found to harass their tenants. [NYDN] — Tess Hofmann