NYC Landlords Rarely Arrested For Illegal Evictions

While evicting tenants without getting a judge’s order in Housing Court first is a crime in New York and, by law, landlords who try to evict tenants by harassment, intentionally cutting utilities or changing the locks can be arrested, issued a summons, and even go to jail for up to a year, the NYPD made just 39 arrests for the crime of unlawful eviction in 2020 and 2021, reports The City. A police department spokesperson said the department had recorded just nine arrests for unlawful evictions in that period and police also issued at least 131 criminal summonses — less serious than an arrest — for unlawful eviction during those two years, according to court and NYPD data. Meanwhile, New York City tenants filed 2,642 residential illegal lockouts cases in 2020 and 2021 in Housing Court.

No defendant arrested in 2020 or 2021 has been convicted of unlawfully evicting a tenant when that charge was the top charge listed, according to the court data. At least three cases are still pending in criminal court. The others were dismissed by judges or dropped by district attorneys. About 47 percent of criminal summons issued in 2021 by the NYPD for unlawful eviction were dismissed, while 44 percent are still pending. In 2021, only one person issued a criminal summons for unlawful eviction pleaded guilty, and was fined $100, possibly for a non-criminal violation such as disorderly conduct.