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What Landlord Retaliation Is
Landlord retaliation occurs when a landlord takes adverse action against a tenant in response to the tenant exercising a legal right. Under New York Real Property Law Section 223-b, retaliation is illegal — and the law creates a presumption in your favor if the timing lines up.
Retaliation can take many forms:
- Refusing to renew your lease after you filed an HPD complaint
- Filing an eviction case shortly after you organized with other tenants
- Raising your rent above the legal limit after you reported a housing violation
- Suddenly increasing inspections or entering your apartment repeatedly
- Cutting off services or delaying repairs after a complaint
- Threatening you, verbally or in writing
The One-Year Presumption
New York law creates a legal presumption of retaliation if your landlord takes adverse action within one year of a protected activity. This means: if you filed a complaint with HPD, DHCR, or any government agency, and within 12 months your landlord tries to evict you, raises your rent, or refuses to renew your lease — the burden shifts to your landlord to prove the action was not retaliatory.
This presumption is powerful. It does not mean you automatically win, but it means your landlord must explain themselves in court — and courts take the timing seriously.
What Counts as a Protected Activity
You are protected from retaliation for:
- Filing a complaint with HPD, DHCR, or any city or state agency
- Requesting repairs in writing from your landlord
- Withholding rent due to a breach of the warranty of habitability
- Organizing a tenant association or attending tenant meetings
- Joining or supporting a rent strike
- Testifying in a housing proceeding
- Contacting elected officials about housing conditions
How to Prove Retaliation
Step 1: Document the protected activity. Save confirmation emails from 311 complaints, HPD inspection reports, written repair requests, and anything else that establishes the date you asserted your rights.
Step 2: Document the retaliation. Save the lease non-renewal notice, the eviction petition, the rent increase notice — whatever adverse action followed. Note the date carefully relative to your complaint.
Step 3: Connect the dots in court. If you are sued for eviction after a protected complaint, raise retaliation as an affirmative defense in your answer. Housing Court judges are familiar with the pattern.
Step 4: Get legal help. Retaliation cases are stronger with a lawyer. Call 311 and ask for tenant legal services. The city's Universal Access to Counsel program provides free attorneys to eligible low-income tenants in Housing Court.
Under the Mamdani Administration
Mayor Mamdani's Executive Order 08, signed on his first day in office, directed all mayoral agencies — including HPD, DOB, DCWP, and the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants — to prioritize enforcement of tenant protection laws. The Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants (MOPT) — reinstated by Executive Order 03 and led by tenant organizer Cea Weaver — is specifically charged with coordinating enforcement against illegal landlord practices including harassment and retaliation.
If you believe you are experiencing retaliation, you can also file a complaint directly with MOPT at nyc.gov or by calling 311.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as landlord retaliation in NYC? Landlord retaliation is when a landlord takes an adverse action against a tenant in response to the tenant exercising a legal right — and under New York Real Property Law Section 223-b it's illegal. The law creates a presumption in your favor: any adverse action taken within one year of a protected activity, such as filing an HPD complaint, requesting repairs, or organizing with neighbors, is presumed retaliatory. Retaliation takes many forms — refusing to renew your lease after you filed an HPD complaint, filing an eviction case shortly after you organized with other tenants, raising your rent above the legal limit after you reported a violation, suddenly increasing inspections or entries, cutting off services or delaying repairs, or threatening you verbally or in writing.
Can my landlord evict me for calling 311? Not legally. Filing a 311 complaint is a protected activity, so a landlord can't lawfully punish you for it. If your landlord files for eviction within one year of your complaint, New York law presumes the action is retaliatory and shifts the burden to the landlord to prove it wasn't. That presumption is powerful — it doesn't mean you automatically win, but it forces the landlord to explain themselves in court, and Housing Court judges take the timing seriously. If you're sued for eviction after a protected complaint, raise retaliation as an affirmative defense in your answer, and get legal help: call 311 and ask for tenant legal services. The city's Universal Access to Counsel program provides free attorneys to eligible low-income tenants in Housing Court.
What should I do if my landlord retaliates against me? Build a timeline. First, document the protected activity — save confirmation emails from 311 complaints, HPD inspection reports, written repair requests, anything that establishes the date you asserted your rights. Second, document the retaliation — keep the lease non-renewal notice, eviction petition, or rent increase notice, and note its date carefully relative to your complaint, since the one-year window is what triggers the legal presumption. If you're taken to Housing Court, raise retaliation as an affirmative defense in your answer; judges are familiar with the pattern. Get legal help, because these cases are stronger with a lawyer — call 311 and ask for tenant legal services. You can also file a complaint directly with the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants (MOPT) at nyc.gov or by calling 311.
Does the retaliation protection apply to market-rate tenants? Yes. New York Real Property Law Section 223-b applies to all residential tenants in New York State, not just rent-stabilized ones — the protection is about the act of exercising a legal right, not your rent-regulation status. So market-rate tenants are equally covered when they file complaints with HPD, DHCR, or any government agency, request repairs in writing, withhold rent over a breach of the warranty of habitability, organize or attend tenant meetings, join a rent strike, testify in a housing proceeding, or contact elected officials about conditions. If a landlord takes an adverse action within a year of any of these protected activities, the same one-year presumption of retaliation applies regardless of whether the apartment is regulated.
Related NYC Housing Guides
- What Is the Warranty of Habitability?
- How to Check HPD Violations for Any NYC Building
- NYC's Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants: What It Can Do for You
- How to Check If Your Apartment Is Rent-Stabilized in 2026
Sources: NY Real Property Law §223-b; NYC Mayor's Office, Executive Orders 03 and 08, January 2026; NYC HPD; Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
