As a tenant with an existing lease in New York, you have certain rights. If you are up to date on your rent and not otherwise in violation of your rental agreement, your landlord may not infringe upon these rights if he or she decides to evict you from your place of residence. As long as you are within the terms of your lease, and as long as you have lived in your rented home for 30 or more days, your landlord may not use certain tactics in his or her efforts to get you to leave.
These illegal eviction procedures include:
Threatening force
Provided you meet the criteria outlined above, your landlord may not use force, or the threat of force, to get you to vacate your place of residence. For example, he or she may not threaten to come in and remove your belongings from your home or apartment if you do not leave on your own accord.
Intentionally interfering with resident comfort
Your landlord also may not evict you if you are current on rent and otherwise not in violation of your agreement by intentionally making your residence unpleasant or unlivable. For example, he or she may not cut off heat or electricity to your property in an effort to get you to vacate.
Preventing you from occupying the rental unit
Your landlord also cannot try and force you to leave by making changes to your rented home. These changes might include removing the front door or removing your belongings from the property. Changing the locks without giving you a new key is another example of this type of prohibited behavior.
If you must vacate your residence for any of these reasons, your landlord must restore your occupancy, and he or she also must make sure the unit is fit for occupancy. If you had to leave your apartment or home because of one of these reasons, you may want to discuss your options with an attorney.