N.Y. Real Property Law § 235-d

Loft Tenant Harassment: N.Y. Real Property Law § 235-d

In cities of one million or more, tenants in former manufacturing or warehouse buildings may apply to supreme court for an injunction against harassment.

Official text N.Y. Real Property Law § 235-d — New York

§ 235-d. Harassment. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, within a city having a population of one million or more, it shall be unlawful and shall constitute harassment for any landlord of a building which at any time was occupied for manufacturing or warehouse purposes, or other person acting on his behalf, to engage in any course of conduct, including, but not limited to intentional interruption or discontinuance or willful failure to restore services customarily provided or required by written lease or other rental agreement, which interferes with or disturbs the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of a tenant in the tenant's use or occupancy of rental space if such conduct is intended to cause the tenant (i) to vacate a building or part thereof; or (ii) to surrender or waive any rights of such tenant under the tenant's written lease or other rental agreement.

  • 2. The lawful termination of a tenancy or lawful refusal to renew or extend a written lease or other rental agreement shall not constitute harassment for purposes of this section.
  • 3. As used in this section the term "tenant" means only a person or business occupying or residing at the premises pursuant to a written lease or other rental agreement, if such premises are located in a building which at any time was occupied for manufacturing or warehouse purposes and a certificate of occupancy for residential use of such building is not in effect at the time of the last alleged acts or incidents upon which the harassment claim is based.
  • 4. A tenant may apply to the supreme court for an order enjoining acts or practices which constitute harassment under subdivision one of this section; and upon sufficient showing, the supreme court may issue a temporary or permanent injunction, restraining order or other order, all of which may, as the court determines in the exercise of its sound discretion, be granted without bond. In the event the court issues a preliminary injunction it shall make provision for an expeditious trial of the underlying action.
  • 5. The powers and remedies set forth in this section shall be in addition to all other powers and remedies in relation to harassment including the award of damages. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to amend, repeal, modify or affect any existing local law or ordinance, or provision of the charter or administrative code of the city of New York, or to limit or restrict the power of the city to amend or modify any existing local law, ordinance or provision of the charter or administrative code, or to restrict or limit any power otherwise conferred by law with respect to harassment.
  • 6. Any agreement by a tenant in a written lease or other rental agreement waiving or modifying his rights as set forth in this section shall be void as contrary to public policy.

Text as published in the 2026 snapshot of the code.

Source: Vaquill Open US Law, compiled from official state publishers (huggingface.co), reproduced under license CC BY 4.0.

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What it actually says

Section 235-d has a deliberately narrow reach and a deliberately wide definition. The reach: it applies only within a city of one million or more - in practice New York City - and only to buildings that were at some time occupied for manufacturing or warehouse purposes. Subdivision 3 narrows it further, to occupants under a written lease or other rental agreement in such a building where no residential certificate of occupancy is in effect. This is the loft-conversion provision.

The definition is where the section does its work. Harassment is "any course of conduct" - the text says "including, but not limited to" - that interferes with or disturbs the comfort, repose, peace or quiet of a tenant in the use of the space, if the conduct is intended either to make the tenant vacate or to make the tenant surrender or waive rights under the agreement. Interrupting or discontinuing services, or willfully failing to restore them, is named as an example. Two elements have to be present: a course of conduct, and the purpose of driving the tenant out or extracting a waiver.

Subdivision 2 draws the line on the other side: lawfully terminating a tenancy, or lawfully refusing to renew or extend, is not harassment. Subdivision 4 gives the remedy - the tenant may apply to the Supreme Court for an injunction, and the court may grant temporary or permanent relief, in its discretion without bond, with an expedited trial to follow a preliminary injunction. Subdivision 5 preserves every other remedy including damages and expressly leaves New York City's own harassment provisions untouched, and subdivision 6 voids any lease clause waiving the section.

When it applies

  • Services in a converted loft building are repeatedly cut and restored while the owner is trying to empty the floor.
  • An owner runs prolonged construction around an occupied loft to make it unusable.
  • A tenant in a former warehouse is pressed to sign away rights under the rental agreement in exchange for services being restored.
  • Repeated entries, threats or removal of building facilities aimed at a specific occupant in a manufacturing building without a residential certificate of occupancy.

What this section does not say

  • It does not apply statewide. The section is limited to cities of one million or more, and within them to buildings once used for manufacturing or warehouse purposes.
  • It does not cover ordinary apartment buildings. A tenant in a conventional residential building harassed by a landlord is outside this section, whatever the conduct.
  • It does not make non-renewal harassment. Subdivision 2 says lawful termination and lawful refusal to renew are not harassment under this section.
  • It is not New York City's harassment law. Subdivision 5 says expressly that nothing here amends or limits the City's own charter and administrative code provisions, which are separate and have their own definitions and forums.

Worked examples

Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.

Illustrative example

Someone renting a floor in a converted warehouse finds the heat and the freight elevator cut and restored again and again while the owner works to empty the building.

How the wording applies

The section is narrow in reach and wide in definition. It applies only in a city of one million or more, only to buildings at some time occupied for manufacturing or warehouse purposes, and only where no residential certificate of occupancy is in effect. Within that, harassment is any course of conduct interfering with the tenant's comfort, repose, peace or quiet, if intended to make them vacate or surrender rights - so both elements must be present, the course of conduct and that purpose.

How the parties settled it

The owner restores and maintains heat and the elevator on a written schedule and routes all building work through one named contact, and the tenant gives access on notice for the conversion work.

Illustrative example

A loft occupant whose rental agreement is not renewed says the refusal is part of the campaign to clear the floor.

How the wording applies

Subdivision 2 draws the line: lawfully terminating a tenancy, or lawfully refusing to renew or extend, is not harassment under this section. So it turns on whether the refusal was lawful in itself, and the course of conduct alleged around it remains a separate question with its own elements.

How the parties settled it

They agree an extended stay of nine months at the existing rent to allow a proper move, and the owner drops any claim for the period already in dispute.

Illustrative example

A tenant in a conventional apartment building enduring months of deliberate disruption finds this section and assumes it covers her.

How the wording applies

It does not: the section reaches buildings once used for manufacturing or warehouse purposes, without a residential certificate of occupancy, in a city of a million or more. Subdivision 5 also says expressly that nothing in it amends or limits New York City's own harassment provisions, which are separate and have their own definitions and forums. So the building's history and its certificate decide whether the section is in play at all.

How the parties settled it

They agree a written schedule for the outstanding work with fixed quiet hours, and the tenant raises any breach with the managing agent in writing before taking it further.

Related sections

N.Y. Real Property Law § 235 Cutting Heat Is a Violation: N.Y. Real Property Law § 235 N.Y. Real Property Law § 235-b Warranty of Habitability: N.Y. Real Property Law § 235-b N.Y. Real Property Law § 223-b No Retaliatory Eviction: N.Y. Real Property Law § 223-b N.Y. Real Property Law § 235-c Refuse unfair lease clause: N.Y. Real Property Law § 235-c

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We copy this text from the official publisher and re-check it against that source on every page load, but we cannot guarantee it is complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for any reliance on it. An amendment can take effect before a consolidation catches up. The publisher's own copy is linked below; where the two differ, it is the official one that counts.

This page reproduces the text of N.Y. Real Property Law § 235-d in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in New York.

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