New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced a settlement with Parkchester Preservation Management, which it accused of illegally denying prospective renters based on their past housing court records.
The investigation was part of a crackdown on “tenant blacklisting,” which became illegal in 2019 under changes to property law. The law states that tenants’ past housing court history cannot be considered in rental applications, and landlords are prohibited from asking whether the applicant has ever been evicted.
If the manager finds out that an applicant has a past eviction, for example, and then denies them the apartment, the manager must be able to prove that the applicant was rejected for other legitimate reasons. If they cannot, their actions are considered illegal.
“Every New Yorker deserves a fair chance at finding safe, affordable, and stable housing without being denied based on outdated or irrelevant information,” James said in a statement. “Using housing court records as a basis to deny housing is discriminatory and against the law. My office will continue to fight back against these unfair practices and stop landlords from illegally rejecting prospective tenants.”
According to the court filing, since 2019, at least four Parkchester applicants were illegally “blacklisted.” Some had sent past housing court information with their application or in separate emails, but in each situation, the cases had been resolved before they applied at Parkchester and the tenants had been making timely rent payments.
Parkchester Preservation Management declined to provide a comment when reached via phone.
Under the settlement, illegally denied applicants will be able to reapply. The agreement also holds Parkchester Management responsible for ending “blacklisting” practices and no longer requesting housing court records from third parties.
The office also required management to display a website and voicemail message saying, “Parkchester complies with NYS’s Tenant Blacklisting law. We will not review landlord and tenant court records or housing court histories when considering your housing application.”
This is not the first time Parkchester Preservation Management has been accused of illegally denying homes to New Yorkers.
In Aug. 2024, management reached a $1 million discrimination settlement with the city after rejecting applicants with housing subsidies, such as Section 8. Under the law, owners must consider vouchers as equivalent to regular work income and cannot deny based solely on voucher status. Three of the four applicants denied apartments in the blacklisting case were also Section 8 voucher holders.
Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson issued a statement thanking James’ office for investigating.
“At a time when our city is facing a housing crisis, it is imperative that we hold landlords accountable when they engage in discriminatory practices against prospective tenants,” she said.
Anyone in New York state who believes that they were denied an apartment based on housing court history with a previous landlord can submit a complaint online with James’ office.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
