NYCHA Accused Of Charging Illegally High Rents

NEW YORK CITY — Tenants suing the New York City Housing Authority accuse it of systematically charging illegally high rents and evicting those who could not pay, according to a federal lawsuit filed Thursday.

NYCHA violated a federal housing law that caps rents for public housing tenants at 30 percent of their salary by failing to account for residents' changes in income, the Manhattan federal court lawsuit claims.

Yvonne Lane, a 47-year tenant, said NYCHA failed to change her rent after she retired then tried to evict her when she couldn't pay.

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"I brought my Social Security award letter down to NYCHA to adjust my rent and the people at the front desk gave me all sorts of attitude," said Lane. "Then they tried to evict me. It’s not right. I was in and out of court because NYCHA made a mistake."

Legal Services NYC, the public defenders representing the tenants, said failures to readjust rent throw into questions how many of the 34,000 tenants evicted in 2018 were lawfully removed.

“NYCHA’s repeated failure to adjust rents is not only illegal but inexcusable as it puts these tenants and countless others like them at risk of homelessness," said attorney Edward Josephson.

Read more: NYCHA Remains City's Worst Landlord, Public Advocate Says

"It is hard enough being poor in New York City; the last thing tenants in public housing need are illegal rent overcharges and unnecessary hurdles that threaten to destabilize their entire lives."

The nine tenants hope to receive damages as well as force NYCHA to readjust their rents and implement new policies to comply with federal housing law.

NYCHA spokeswoman did not immediately reply to Patch's request for comment but told the Wall Street Journal the agency had not yet been served.