NYC Real Estate Company Blacklisted Tenants, AG Says Amid Crackdown

NEW YORK CITY — A Brooklyn-based real estate company illegally kept prospective tenants with past housing court records from renting at their properties, according to a new settlement.

The settlement with Clipper Equity, LLC, is part of a larger crackdown against "tenant blacklisting," said New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday.

“Let this be a reminder to all New York landlords — blacklisting prospective tenants because of their housing court history is an unfair and illegal practice, and it will not go unchecked," she said in a statement.

Clipper Equity representatives didn't return a request for comment.

The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, where the bulk of its roughly 70 properties and several thousand apartments are located, according to the settlement.

Attorney general's investigators found between July 2019 and October 2019 that Clipper representatives received "tenant screening reports" on prospective renters, the settlement states. Those reports contained data on whether landlord and tenant court records existed — and 25 of them resulted in housing court records being included, according to the settlement.

Clipper told investigators they didn't ask for such records, which could run afoul of a 2019 tenant protection law that forbids using them to deny housing, the settlement states.

But, still, seven applicants with past landlord-tenant court records had their applications denied, according to the settlement.

The company also violated city and state law by asking for potential tenants' marital status, the settlement states.

The settlement requires Clipper to take steps to comply with the law and stop discriminatory screenings.

James's office is requesting that New Yorkers who believe they were denied housing because of their rental history to submit a tenant blacklisting complaint online.