New York Real Property Law section 235 prohibits landlord harassment of Nassau tenants through threats, repeated unwanted contact, utility shutoffs, frivolous lawsuits, and lockouts. Violations carry civil penalties up to two thousand dollars per offense plus actual and punitive damages.
RPL section 235, expanded by HSTPA in 2019, defines unlawful tenant harassment as any course of conduct intended to cause a tenant to vacate or surrender rights, including illegal lockouts, removal of doors, shutoff of essential services like heat or water, repeated frivolous court filings, threats based on immigration status, and unauthorized entry. Nassau County tenants can file civil claims in District Court or Supreme Court and refer matters to the NY Attorney General Tenant Protection Unit. The Nassau County Commission on Human Rights also investigates harassment that overlaps with discrimination based on race, family status, source of income, or disability.
Each harassment finding carries civil penalties up to $2,000, with $10,000 maximum for repeat or aggravated cases, plus injunctive relief, restoration of services, and recovery of tenant attorney fees and emotional-distress damages.
Nassau County, NY
Nassau County is not a formal sanctuary jurisdiction. It cooperates with federal immigration authorities to varying degrees, while New York State's Trust Act...
Nassau County, NY
Nassau workers are covered by New York's statewide Paid Family Leave program (NY WCL §200 et seq.), Earned Sick Leave law (NY Lab §196-b), and the HERO Act f...
Nassau County, NY
Nassau County may not set a local minimum wage above the state floor; New York preempts the field. The downstate minimum wage applicable in Nassau is $16.50 ...
Nassau County, NY
Nassau County has no hotel-specific living wage law. Hotel workers are covered by New York State's downstate minimum wage of $16.50, plus state paid family l...
Nassau County, NY
Nassau County does not impose its own hotel worker retention ordinance like New York City or Los Angeles. Hotel labor relations remain governed by federal NL...
Nassau County, NY
Nassau County imposes a hotel and motel occupancy tax of approximately five percent on top of New York State's four percent sales tax, producing a combined r...
See how Glen Cove's tenant anti-harassment rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.