Eileen O'Toole's blog

Among the many amendments made to New York’s rent stabilization laws by the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) were new provisions making attorney’s fees mandatory for tenants represented by counsel who make successful rent overcharge claims. At the same time, there is no provision in the amended laws for an owner to recover attorney’s fees in the event that it successfully defends against an overcharge claim. As amended, Rent Stabilization Law §26-516(a)(4) and ETPA §12(a)(1)(d) each now provide that:

In a second decision concerning rent overcharge issued on April 2, 2020, New York’s highest court ruled that rent-stabilized tenants were entitled to bring overcharge claims against building owners either before the NY State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) or before a court. In Collazo v.