Q&A
Discussion on common types of harassment by property owners and related data
1:21:05
·
178 sec
Council Member Pierina Sanchez inquires about the most common types of harassment by property owners and related data. HPD representatives provide information on harassment cases and the Certificate of No Harassment (CONH) program.
- HPD does not have comprehensive data on the variety of harassment claims in all cases
- The CONH pilot program was based on rigorous research to identify factors contributing to harassment
- In fiscal year 2024, about 2,500 housing court cases included a claim of harassment initiated by tenants
- One of the most common reasons for tenant-initiated harassment claims is poor building conditions
Pierina Sanchez
1:21:05
Got it.
1:21:06
Thank you.
1:21:10
Okay.
1:21:10
Just a couple of questions, regarding harassment, claims.
1:21:15
Can you can you give us, in my testimony, my opener, I I referenced that we understand 5% of CO and H buildings have, have been found to have been have seen determinations of harassment.
1:21:28
Can you give us the the breakdown of what are the most common types of behavior by property owner, that are alleged in harassment cases?
AnnMarie Santiago
1:21:36
I'm sorry.
1:21:37
What are the most common types of?
1:21:39
Behavior by property owners.
Marti Weithman
1:21:43
Are you asking specifically about, cases that are initiated by HPD?
Pierina Sanchez
1:21:48
And I understand that HPD is a part of all of these cases, right, through the HP action.
1:21:54
So do you have data on the universe of those and what, what these landlords are how these landlords are harassing?
Marti Weithman
1:22:01
Yes.
1:22:01
We do not have data on the the variety of of harassment claims in all of the cases.
1:22:11
I can speak to what the anti harassment unit, includes in our cases.
1:22:16
I think, you know, the definition of harassment in the housing maintenance code, obviously, is fair game for for tenants who are seeking, their own claims.
1:22:26
But we would have to look through, for the most part, all the cases in order to make that determination.
Lucy Joffe
1:22:31
I actually I wanna jump in there.
1:22:34
You are familiar, council member with or chair with, our research and evaluation team.
1:22:39
They worked very closely with the folks who were working to design the CONH pilot program, and that was based that was a very rigorous assessment of the factors that we could isolate that were really contributing to harassment and that would allow us to proactively identify buildings where that had happened.
1:22:56
It's why we talk about the significance of the criteria so often.
1:22:59
They were research backed.
1:23:00
So all of that came from really rigorous review of as much information was available to us at the time.
1:23:07
That was now a couple years ago, but that's we believe that the I'm was about to use a word that I don't think rigorous rigorousness, I think, is still a word.
1:23:16
But rigorousness of that criteria, we think, is part of why we saw such success within the pilot, because it really did come from that, that that type of work.
1:23:29
Got
AnnMarie Santiago
1:23:29
it.
1:23:30
Thank you.
1:23:31
And just so I can provide a little bit of of numbers regarding, tenant harassment cases in housing court, that are initiated by tenants.
1:23:41
So in fiscal year 24, about 25 100 cases included.
1:23:48
A claim of harassment on behalf of the tenant.
1:23:51
And generally, you know, the tenants, initiate these.
1:23:56
The one of the most common, obviously, reasons for that is the conditions in the building.
1:24:02
Got it.
