Illegal Eviction NYC - Know Your Rights

This is a very good question and one that does happen more times than it should. This would be classified as an illegal eviction in NYC. It seems that sometimes the landlord thinks that the tenant does not have any rights and so he thinks he is above the law and tries to do things like this. You as a tenant do have tenant rights NYC and so you should be aware that this is going against your rights.

This process is often called Self-Help Eviction because the landlord has decided to take the eviction process into his own hands without going through the proper court procedures. Only a sheriff, marshall or constable can evict a tenant after there has been a court ordered warrant to do so.

When things like this are happening to you and violating your rights, you need to get help and as quickly as possible. An organization that helps you file a complaint against your landlord is the Rental Protection Agency.

Some of things that the landlord can’t do that would make this an illegal eviction NYC are:

1. Landlord cannot interrupt or shut off your power or utilities such as, your water, gas, electrical, or telephone to your apartment or rental.

2. Landlord cannot change the locks or add additional locks to your apartment to stop you from entering your apartment.


3. Landlord cannot remove or retain your personal property, which includes any of your belongings or furniture from or in your rental property.

4. Landlord cannot take retaliation against you because you have made a formal complaint against your landlord because he has violated some code that makes your apartment unsafe and violates any health code, such as failure to remove bed bugs or mold. He cannot threaten you with any kind of violence.

If in the last scenario you notice things like, he increases your rent but does not increase other tenants rents or just treats you more negatively than the other tenants then remember you have rights and he can’t just evict you without giving you the proper notice and without him going through the proper court process to receive a judgment of possession against you.

So if you are being illegally evicted, get help to stop the eviction and get your utilities turned back on. You don’t deserve to be treated that way. The sad thing is that often the landlord does this because he wants to save the expense of going through the eviction process and thinks you don’t know he can’t do this. But it is so wrong and he shouldn’t get away with it. Remember you have tenant rights and you deserve to be treated within those rights.