Legal Services for Small Business Tenants Law – New York, NY
Tool: Tenant Harassment Protections & Lease Protections
The Legal Services for Small Business Tenants law, enacted in 2020, requires the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) to provide free legal assistance to small business tenants for lease-related issues. This equips small business tenants with the legal knowledge they often lack, especially compared to larger businesses or landlords. The SBS can also provide small businesses with free legal representation in court if they face eviction, lease termination, or consequences of violating their lease—or if their landlord violates the lease. The law strengthens New York City’s 2016 Commercial Tenant Harassment law, which defines and prohibits commercial tenant harassment. Together, these bills prohibit commercial tenant harassment and give tenants legal avenues to protect their rights.