New York Attorney General Letitia James and RuthAnne Visnauskas, Commissioner of New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), have filed a lawsuit against Zara Realty Holding Corp., its principals, and affiliated entities. The legal action alleges that Zara Realty repeatedly violated rent stabilization laws by overcharging tenants in Jamaica and Elmhurst, Queens, particularly those using housing subsidies from the New York City Department of Social Services (DSS). According to the lawsuit, Zara Realty ignored rent reduction orders issued by HCR’s Office of Rent Administration and pursued eviction proceedings against tenants who could not pay the inflated rents.
“While hardworking families are battling an affordable housing crisis and fighting to make ends meet, Zara Realty shamelessly took advantage of vulnerable tenants,” said Attorney General James. “New Yorkers should not have to worry that their landlords are willfully deceiving them just to line their own pockets. Let this be a warning: any landlord who tries to cheat their tenants and evade our rent stabilization laws will be hearing from my office.”
“Our Tenant Protection Unit is fighting for New Yorkers every day by protecting them from predatory landlords who try to illegally overcharge their tenants and defy our State’s rent laws,” said HCR Commissioner Visnauskas. “The message from our office and Attorney General James is clear – if landlords fail to abide by the rent laws, if landlords seek fraudulent rent increases, or initiate unlawful evictions – we will not hesitate to take action on behalf of millions of rent-regulated tenants in New York.”
The city’s rent stabilization regulations limit how much landlords can increase rents during lease renewals or after vacancies. The complaint states that since at least 2022, Zara Realty charged DSS-subsidized tenants amounts based on subsidy maximums rather than legal limits set by the Rent Guidelines Board. This resulted in some tenants facing increases far above what was allowed under law.
In addition to these alleged violations, Zara Realty is accused of disregarding orders from the Office of Rent Administration requiring reduced rents due to failures in property maintenance or essential services. Despite such directives following tenant complaints, Zara Realty allegedly continued collecting higher-than-allowed rents.
Specific cases cited include one DSS voucher-holder whose one-year lease saw an eight percent increase—above the permitted 3.25 percent—and then a subsequent 44 percent hike. When she did not pay these increased amounts, she faced court action initiated by Zara Realty. Another tenant reportedly had his rent frozen via court order but was still overcharged for two years; when he stopped paying the excess amount as ordered by authorities, eviction proceedings began.
Attorney General James’ office and HCR’s Tenant Protection Unit seek a court order compelling Zara Realty to cease charging inflated rents, identify all affected current and former tenants, refund unlawfully collected payments with damages, correct official records with HCR, and issue new leases reflecting proper terms.
Attorney General James and HCR previously brought suit against Zara Realty in March 2019 for targeting immigrant middle- and low-income residents across dozens of buildings through excessive fees and improper lease practices; that litigation remains ongoing.
“We applaud Attorney General James and HCR Commissioner Visnauskas for holding these bad actors accountable and for sending a clear message that this type of predatory behavior will not be tolerated,” said DSS Commissioner Molly Wasow Park. “The allegations are particularly appalling since the defendants sought to enrich themselves by taking advantage of subsidies intended to support low-income New Yorkers with a history of housing instability. DSS has taken concrete steps to change rental subsidy processes to prevent bad actors from being able to overcharge tenants in receipt of city-administered rental subsidies in the future. We look forward to further collaboration with the Office of the Attorney General and HCR to ensure vital government resources are protected.”Â
“For years, Zara Realty has lined their pockets by exploiting and harassing low-income and immigrant tenants, blatantly disregarding rent laws,” said Maansi Shah, Tenant Organizer at Chhaya Community Development Corporation. “This lawsuit is a major victory for tenants to recover stolen rent and a critical first step in holding this predatory landlord accountable. But the fight for justice is far from over—we need stronger oversight, increased penalties, and closed loopholes to prevent landlords from weaponizing the system against vulnerable tenants.”
This case continues broader efforts led by Attorney General James’ office aimed at enforcing tenant protections across New York City. In recent years her office has overseen actions resulting in re-regulation of hundreds of apartments previously deregulated illegally as well as significant financial settlements with landlords found violating similar statutes.
Within HCR’s Tenant Protection Unit (TPU), staff conduct forensic analysis using updated audit algorithms designed specifically for identifying patterns related to non-compliance or harassment among regulated properties; last year alone included settlements totaling hundreds of thousands related both late registrations as well as illegal overcharges.
For OAG’s Housing Protection Unit—which falls under its Division for Social Justice—the matter is managed by dedicated legal staff including Brent Meltzer (Unit Chief), Rachel Hannaford (Senior Enforcement Counsel), Cecily Mills (Legal Assistant 2), under leadership provided by Meghan Faux (Chief Deputy Attorney General) and Jennifer Levy (First Deputy Attorney General).
