The city will be hosting a series of “rental ripoff” hearings with tenants across the five boroughs and taking action against “unconscionable” business practices in the coming months, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
New Yorkers will be able to lament about their rental woes – from hidden fees, retaliation, discrimination, illegal eviction and deplorable building conditions – during Mamdani’s first 100 days in office, according to an executive order signed by the mayor on Sunday.
“In a city filled with older buildings that could use some tender loving care, some landlords are taking advantage of the housing market to gouge tenants with outrageous fees, all while leaving them trying to survive in homes with collapsing ceilings and sinking floors,” Mamdani said in an Instagram video.
“We need a citywide crackdown on rental rip-offs,” he added. “For the first time, our city is bringing this discussion directly to you.”
The “rental ripoff” hearings will also include tenant organizations, social services agencies, advocacy organizations and legal service providers, as well as landlords and property managers.
The joint effort will be conducted by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, Buildings, Consumer and Worker Protection and the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants in coordination with Mamdani’s brand-new Office of Mass Engagement.
At least one hearing will be held in each of the five boroughs, City Hall said, and the administration will use findings from the public meetings to publish a report, including “common themes and areas of opportunity.”
“The testimony shared at these hearings will directly inform policy interventions to take on these ripoff tactics,” according to a news release.
Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su noted in a statement that the hearings may also result in the city taking action on bad actors “to ensure that the law is followed without exception and that New Yorkers know their rights when it comes to the often hidden or deceptive fees associated with the hunt for housing.”
“For too long, tenants have been ripped off without recourse or protection,” Cea Weaver, Director of the Mayor’s Office of to Protect Tenants, said in a statement.
“Our Rental Ripoff hearings will give working people across the five boroughs a microphone to highlight the challenges they face and make New York City government a truly participatory endeavor.”
