New Video about the Fight for NYC Unregulated Tenants! Meet the Sampsons
Video about the Fight for NYC Unregulated Tenants! Meet the Sampsons #MYNYCLandlord #NoEvictionZone #TenantsFightBack #EastFlatbush
In NYC a high percentage of tenants live in unregulated apartments. Unregulated tenants live in private houses or small buildings with less than 6 units and have very little rights under New York State law. For example, unregulated tenants are not guaranteed lease renewals so if your landlord feels like you complained too much about the lack of repairs they can simply not offer you a new lease. Other ways that landlords get rid of unregulated tenants are to:
- to raise the rent really high so you can no longer afford it
- fail the Section-8 inspection
- tell you that they are selling the house/building and the new owners won’t purchase it unless it is empty
- or that they they have a family member who needs your apartment
Now in the wake of rampant gentirifcation , all these “legal” tactics are being widely used by many landlords who want to get rid of long-time low-to-middle income tenants so they can attract new tenants with more money.
Here is the story of the Sampson Family, a Caribbean family who rent an apartment in a private house in East Flatbush . They are currently facing eviction after they struggled with their landlord over repairs. This household includes an elderly father his two adult daughters, and their college-age-to- infant children. The Sampson’s have lived on E. 54th Street for 11 years.
In 2015, the owner of the property died so the landlord's stepfather continued to take payments from the Samspon’s and other tenants in the house. But in the spring of 2017, after the family complained about multiple repairs and paying for landlord's water and ConEd bills, they were issued an eviction notice. Unbeknownst to the Sampson family and other tenants, their landlord had sold the house and only when they recieved the eviction notice did they learn that there were new owners. Once in the court, the new landlord begun to criminalize the Sampsons falsely accusing them of selling drugs.
In November 2017 will be another court date for the Sampson family .