About
Commercial tenant harassment protections are laws that protect small business owners and other non-residential tenants from landlord harassment. Harassment can include pressuring tenants to vacate the premises, forcing tenants to give up their lease before the term ends, or denying tenants essential services such as electricity, hot water, or access to storage space. Landlords may also harass a tenant based on their race, ethnicity, gender, or citizenship status. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in tenant harassment, including landlords forcing tenants to vacate or waive lease rights due to their inability to pay rent. In response, commercial tenant protections were enacted in several U.S. cities, including legal assistance to combat unlawful evictions. Some municipalities have since extended these protections, while others have codified commercial tenant protections, including New York City and Los Angeles County, California.
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Strategies in Action
Commercial Tenant Protections (CTP) Ordinance – Los Angeles, CA
Tool : Tenant Harassment Protections In 2022, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors made its COVID-era commercial tenant protections permanent. The Commercial Tenant Protections (CTP) Ordinanceapplies to commercial tenants with nine or fewer employees in [...]
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 [...]
Non-Residential Tenant Harassment Law – New York, NY
Tool : Tenant Harassment Protections In June 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law Intro 851, a bill that gives commercial tenants legal recourse against landlords who engage in harassment. The bill defines commercial tenant [...]