Searching for an apartment in New York City is always challenging, even more so if you’ve ever been involved in a housing court case and landed on the dreaded tenant “blacklist”—and was then shunned by prospective landlords.  

With changes to New York’s rent laws in 2019, however, landlords can no longer refuse to rent to someone solely based on housing court data. These changes are significant for many tenants who face eviction or seek a place they can afford.

Read on for more about how the tenant blacklist impacts NYC renters.

[Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article was published in October 2024. We are presenting it again with updated information for September 2025.]

What is the tenant blacklist? 

If you end up in NYC housing court for any reason, your name will typically come up in court data searched by tenant screening bureaus, known as TSBs. The collected data is often called the tenant blacklist, even though it isn’t actually a list. Instead, this public information is gathered by companies that provide the details, along with credit reports, to landlords when they screen tenants during the rental application process.

How can you end up on a tenant blacklist?

One lasting result of the pandemic is that it pushed thousands of tenants into legal disputes with their landlords, so more New Yorkers will likely have a housing court dispute in their rental history. 

Another reason you could end up in housing court is for non-payment of rent or because you purposely withheld it to force your landlord to do repairs. Withholding rent to get your landlord to fix your apartment is an essential tenant right. What’s troubling about the data collected from courts is that it doesn’t point to who was in the right—it just indicates that you got into a legal tussle with a landlord.  

How do you get off a rental blacklist?

Landlords can’t refuse to rent if they find out you have a complicated tenant-landlord history. When this law changed in 2019, the intention was to ensure renters would feel confident bringing legal action against a negligent landlord. Landlords who use housing court information to screen incoming tenants now face a fine of up to $1,000 if the attorney general decides to investigate. 

Despite the legal protection, if you think your name will come up in a NYC housing court search—either erroneously or not—there are valid reasons to try to get your name removed.

Attorney James Fishman, a partner at FishmanLaw Group, says it’s still possible a landlord will come up with another reason to reject you if they see your name in housing court data. He adds that the law preventing discrimination for involvement in housing court only applies in New York state, so if you move elsewhere, your record is available to an out-of-state landlord.

If you’re a tenant who has gone to housing court to formalize an agreement with your landlord about moving out of an apartment, you may be able to prevent your name from appearing in court documents.

According to now-retired tenant attorney Sam Himmelstein, a former partner at Himmelstein Gribben & Joseph, if the relationship between the former landlord and tenant is cordial, the terms of the settlement can include the condition that the landlord provide a letter of recommendation and a positive reference. This letter can be attached to future rental applications. 

How do you avoid the tenant blacklist?

If you have a lawsuit pending and an attorney lined up, you may be able to contact the landlord’s attorney and request that they name you only as John or Jane Doe instead of your real name so the housing court information remains anonymous. According to Himmelstein, most landlords will agree to this. 

In addition to having the above agreement, you might be able to get the other side to sign an out-of-court settlement agreement whereby the landlord would only file a court case if you breach the settlement agreement. “That way, there wouldn’t even be a filing, which is the safest scenario,” he says. It can be harder to get landlords to sign such an agreement, but most will still do it, he adds. 

Instead of taking a case with a landlord to NYC housing court, another route is a tenant-initiated housing part action. This is where you sue your landlord for failing to comply with the law, particularly regarding building repairs. Housing part actions are pretty straightforward: A tenant fills out a form to request an apartment inspection for violations. The city sends out an inspector, and a landlord can face steep fines if there are violations. If the court finds in the tenant’s favor, the landlord will be forced to make the repairs by a specific time.

How long would housing court action stay on my record? 

New York City Housing Court data is not limited to any particular time period, meaning it conceivably remains on your “record” indefinitely. Note that this is different from the five- or seven-year time limit governing the availability of public record information set by the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. 

What are my rights as a renter? 

Banning the use of publicly available data is problematic. For starters, this information is accessible to anyone. Landlords still want to screen their tenants, and some may think the penalty of weeding out troublemakers is worth the risk should they get caught. 

In fact, Fishman says landlords will use pretexts other than a housing court case to deny an apartment to someone and avoid violating the law. “As a result, these tenants cannot show that they’ve been damaged by an inaccurate credit report and therefore cannot sue under the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act,” he explains. 

The law doesn’t allow a tenant to sue a landlord for using court data to deny an application, but the Attorney General has made moves to crack down on tenant blacklisting. A settlement against Clipper Equity, a real estate company that denied applicants with past housing court records, was a recent effort to eliminate the practice. If you think you have been discriminated against in this way, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s office. 

What information can NY landlords ask for? 

New York landlords and property managers have been forced to adjust their screening processes and should no longer request eviction or housing court information. It’s likely they are, instead, raising other standards, like minimum credit scores or income-to-rent ratios, to offset their risks.

Most NYC landlords require a photo ID, your last two pay stubs, three months of bank statements, and two years of tax returns, as well as a letter of employment on company letterhead stating your job title, length of employment, salary, and any expected bonus. If you are self-employed, you’ll need a letter from your accountant, proof of any other funds like stocks or bonds, a reference letter from a previous landlord if applicable, and contact information for prior landlords. You may also need personal or business reference letters. For more guidance, check out “Need to rent in NYC? Here’s what to do before you even start looking at apartments”

What was once a standard household feature has become a six-figure luxury, as new research reveals parking spaces could be adding close to $156,000 to property prices in some Sydney suburbs.

According to Australia-wide research from Luxo Living, NSW dominates the country in terms of top-priced parking hotspots with Newtown, Coogee, and Collaroy leading the way.

Luxo Living analysed the average prices of property listings sold within the last 24 months across Australia’s most populous suburbs.

To determine the value of a dedicated residential parking space including street parking, garage, and driveways for each suburb, they used a paired sales approach, matching properties by suburb, size, and similar qualities, with the only difference being the addition of one dedicated parking spot

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Source: Luxo Living

Luxo Living then calculated the average price difference of properties with parking to the price of properties without

Topping the list was Newtown in Sydney’s Inner West with parking adding a staggering $155, 868 to the average property value.

It was revealed this could be indicative of the area being home to many young families where having the extra space becomes a necessity for daily life.

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Source: Luxo Living

Collaroy on Sydney’s Northern Beaches came in a close second with a parking space driving value by $155,858 – with the beachside location oftentimes meaning locals and tourists contend for a spot.

Known for being densely populated, Coogee in Sydney’s east came in third with the parking value driving price by $154, 941.

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Newtown topped the list with a private parking space adding up to $155,868. Picture: Peter Ristevski

“As suburban areas become denser, dedicated parking is no longer just convenient, it’s a scarce luxury driving up prices in an already competitive market,” Luxo Living founder and CEO Winston Tu said.

“The findings reflect that what was once considered a standard feature of a home is now being treated as an additional upgrade, driving up the price of property in an already competitive market.”

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Luxo Living founder and CEO Winston Tu.

Mr Tu said the data highlights that in some coastal suburbs such as Collaroy and Coogee where parking is limited due to tourists and recreational activities having a dedicated parking space has become a luxury that only those who can afford to pay the extra cost can secure.

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The post Revealed: The shocking value of a parking space in Sydney suburbs appeared first on realestate.com.au.

The NSW government has announced a “world-leading” policy that will assist property developers in building new housing.

The new Pre-sale Finance Guarantee (PFG) program will commit the Minns Labor Government’s to purchasing off-the-plan dwellings in eligible residential developments, helping developers secure financing and bring construction forward.

Under the five-year initiative, the NSW government claims it will commit to buying up to 50 per cent of homes off-the-plan in approved NSW housing projects.

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The Minns Government’s Pre-sale Finance Guarantee will support property developers. Picture: Thomas Lisson.

Homes up to $2m are eligible, with support ranging from $5m to $50m per project.

The State government says up to $1bn in pre-sales will be committed to new developments.

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said the policy was a “game changer”.

“This will bring forward the construction of homes, offer greater certainty for our building industry and reduce the level of risk in the financing sector,” he said.

“We have more than 13,000 homes sitting there approved but construction has not commenced.”

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The process for new residential developments in NSW will be accelerated under the new program. Picture: Tom McGann.

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the policy was about turning approvals into actual homes.

“This guarantee will give lenders greater confidence, reduce risk in the housing finance market and accelerate the delivery of new homes across NSW,” he said.

Previously, developers were required to have pre-sold as much as 80 per cent of a project in order to secure funding from the banks.

This meant many projects remained on hold, delaying construction for months or even years.

According to the NSW government, the average time between approval and commencement of new apartments has increased from 5.6 months to 7.8 months in the last five years.

Under the PFG, the State Government claims the time between approval and construction will be shortened, while lenders and homebuyers can have greater certainty.

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The PFG will make it easier for developers to secure financing from the big banks. Picture: NCA Newswire.

Minister for Building Anoulack Chanthivong said he Minns Labor government “won’t be sacrificing quality for quantity” in pursuit of increasing housing supply.

“As the Pre-sale Finance Guarantee supports delivering the homes our state desperately needs, the Building Commission NSW will be doing all it can to make sure those homes are well-built by trusted professionals,” he said.

As the PFG increases the number of developments under construction, a key issue will be sourcing the labour force required to build the newly-financed housing projects.

According to Housing Industry Association future workforce executive director Mike Hermon, trade shortages remain a “major threat” to housing supply targets.

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Australia’s skilled labour shortage remains a problem for housing construction. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

“Due to several factors, including an ageing workforce and competition for trades from other sectors — such as infrastructure and renewables projects — the next generation of trades has not kept pace,” he said.

“The housing shortage that is driving up housing costs for Australian households can only be reduced through efficient delivery of new housing in greater quantities than has been achieved in the past.

“The workforce of the housing industry must grow if this is to occur.”

Mr Hermon said there are an estimated 277,800 skilled trades workers in Australia’s residential building industry, creating an 83,300 tradie shortfall.

“Ensuring that there are readily available and current best-practice training opportunities for people looking to begin a career in the industry, improving pathways for skilled migration, and attracting workers from other industries or segments of the construction industry all have a role to play,” he said.

The post NSW Govt buying up homes to ease housing crisis appeared first on realestate.com.au.

The four-bedroom house at 1/9-51 Briggs St, Caulfield, is advertised to rent for $1100 a week. The suburb experienced a 9.1 per cent increase in median advertised rent in the three months to August, according to PropTrack.

Steady Melbourne rent prices in winter is not a sign that cost of living pressures is easing on renters, experts warn.

PropTrack’s latest quarterly data shows rent prices remained steady in the three months to August in Melbourne, though suburbs recording an uplift in median advertised rents increased as much as 10 per cent.

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said there’s a recalibration in the nation’s rental markets.

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“Vacancies still remain low by historical standards but rental price growth has eased significantly, although rents are elevated after years of record growth,” Ms Creagh said.

“We’re not seeing a retreat in rental price pressure but certainly an easing in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne (where prices are steady).

“Perth is leading annual growth and it looks like (rents in) Adelaide are continuing to increase but it does look like we may have approached an affordability ceiling.”

More suburbs were steady or saw asking rents fall in winter, the median price data by suburb reveals.

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said rental vacancies remain at historic lows.

While houses in Elwood saw the biggest jump in median rent, from $1000 a week in May to $1100 in August, the average increase in median rent across 113 suburbs was $15.

Median prices did not change in 188 suburbs, while for the 187 suburbs where median rents fell, the average drop was $16 a week.

With advertised rents at record highs nationally, Ms Creagh couldn’t rule in or out whether renters would ever see a reduction in rental medians in the years ahead.

“But at the moment, we’re continuing to see that rents are still moving higher but at a much, much slower pace,” Ms Creagh said.

The three-bedroom house at 5 Chaucer St, Moonee Ponds, is advertised to rent for $1000 a week. The suburb experienced a 3.6 per cent increase in median advertised rent in the three months to August, according to PropTrack.

“Without a bigger supply response, it’s not likely that we’ll see rents moving backwards.”

Property Investment Professionals is Australia (PIPA) chair Lachlan Vidler said supply pressure was worsening in Victoria, where high debt levels and rising holding and compliance costs contributed to more investors saying they’re selling a rental property this year compared to 2024.

“The biggest reason right now that people are selling is coming from wanting to reduce their debt exposure,” Mr Vidler said.

“But the second-biggest reason – and it’s only smaller by about 1.3 per cent – is rising holding and compliance costs and then you get coming in behind that increased land tax and government charges.

Property Investment Professionals of Australia chair Lachlan Vidler.

“A lot of people are just starting to get a little bit fed up with all the taxes, all the charges and that autonomy that’s getting taken away from them.”

Mr Vidler said 42 per cent of investment properties ended up remaining in the rental pool after selling, but not all renters were in a position to buy and the smaller pool was adding pressure to them.

“At the end of the day, the only reason anyone can put up the price of a rental property is because more people want to rent it than don’t,” Mr Vidler said.

“And that unfortunate by-product is because, right now there’s just such a shortage.”

WITH LYDIA KELLNER

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