Notorious Queens Landlord Slammed With Harassment Charges: AG

JAMAICA, QUEENS — New York is suing a Queens landlord for slamming tenants with thousands of dollars worth of illegal fees then saddling them with excessive security deposits, the Attorney General's office announced Friday.

Attorney General Letitia James and Gov. Andrew Cuomo filed suit against Zara Realty Holding Corp., which owns 38 Jamaica buildings with at least 2,500 rent-stabilized apartments, alleging that group illegally demanded up to four months rent for a security department and charged some $11,000 in moving-in fees, according to the complaint filed Friday in New York Supreme Court.

“For years, Zara Realty has engaged in an egregious pattern of tenant harassment and exploitation,” Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

“Evading our rent regulation laws and forcing low-income tenants to pay exorbitant fees for fake services is deception of the worst kind.”

Zara Realty mandated security deposits that were three- to four-times tenants' monthly rent, even though Rent Stabilization Code says landlords may only collect only one month’s rent as security, the suit alleges.

The landlord also charged tenants for services that tenants are entitled to for free, such as apartment maintenance, and frequently changed front door locks on their new buildings then required tenants pay $200 per key for the new lock, according to the complaint.

Attorneys for Zara Realty wrote in a statement: "The allegations contained in this suit, many of them factually inaccurate, will be vigorously contested. Many of them also deal with highly complicated legal issues that are subject to various interpretations under the law, including conflicting judicial opinions. The terms of the leases Zara offers its tenants are in compliance with the law, as are any late fees, or costs for extra keys, which provide the high level of security Zara’s tenants expect and deserve."

This is not the first time Zara Realty has been hauled into court. A 2017 tenant lawsuit accused the landlord of threatening to sic federal agents on undocumented residents, according to a Real Deal report.

"Any landlord that harasses or cheats tenants will be punished to the fullest extent of the law - period," ‎Cuomo said. "New York State has zero tolerance for the unscrupulous behavior described in these allegations and our Tenant Protection Unit will continue to root out bad actors who take advantage of tenants and deliberately flout New York’s stringent rent regulation laws."