What is the tenant blacklist? Can it prevent me from renting in NYC?

Searching for an apartment in New York City is always challenging—even more so if you've ever been involved in a housing court case in the past. This can land you on the dreaded tenant "blacklist," with the possibility of being shunned by prospective landlords.  

But thanks to changes to New York's rent laws in 2019, landlords can no longer refuse to rent to someone solely based on housing court data. These changes matter for many tenants facing eviction or seeking an affordable place to live.

Read on to learn how the tenant blacklist affects NYC renters.

[Editor's note: An earlier version of this article was published in September 2025. We are presenting it again with updated information for September 2026.]

What is the tenant blacklist? 

If you end up in NYC housing court for any reason, your name will typically come up in court data searched by tenant screening bureaus, known as TSBs. The collected data is often called the tenant blacklist, even though it isn’t actually a list. Instead, companies gather this public information and provide it, along with credit reports, to landlords when they screen tenants during the rental application process.

How can you end up on a tenant blacklist?

One lingering consequence of the pandemic is that it drove thousands of tenants into legal disputes with their landlords, leaving more New Yorkers with a housing court record in their rental history.

Another reason you could end up in housing court is nonpayment of rent, including withholding rent to force your landlord to make repairs—an essential tenant right.

The problem is the housing court record doesn't tell the whole story. It shows that a tenant had a dispute with a landlord, but not necessarily why the case was brought, who was in the wrong, or how it was ultimately resolved. In other words, the tenant could end up flagged simply for being in housing court—even when they had a legitimate reason for being there. 

And unlike information reported by consumer reporting agencies, which is subject to time limits under the the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, housing court data is not limited to any particular time period. That means it could potentially remain part of the publicly available record indefinitely. 

How do you get off a rental blacklist?

Landlords can’t refuse to rent if they find out you have a complicated tenant-landlord history. When this law changed in 2019, the intention was to ensure renters would feel confident bringing legal actions against a negligent landlords. Landlords who use housing court information to screen incoming tenants now face a fine of up to $1,000 if the attorney general investigates a complaint. 

Despite the legal protection, if you think your name will come up in a NYC housing court search—either erroneously or not—there are valid reasons to try to get your name removed.

Attorney James B. Fishman, a partner at FishmanLaw Group, said it’s still possible a landlord will come up with another reason to reject you if they see your name in housing court data. He added that the law preventing discrimination for involvement in housing court only applies in New York State, so if you move elsewhere, your record is available to an out-of-state landlord.

"If you are interested in formalizing an agreement with your landlord about moving out of your apartment, be sure that it does not permit the landlord to commence a housing court proceeding unless you fail to honor the agreement," Fishman said.

According to tenant attorney Sam Himmelstein, a partner at Himmelstein Gribben & Joseph (now retired), if the relationship between the former landlord and tenant is cordial, the settlement terms can include a condition that the landlord provide a letter of recommendation and a positive reference. You can attach this letter to future rental applications. 

How do you avoid the tenant blacklist?

If you have a lawsuit pending and an attorney lined up, you may be able to contact the landlord's attorney and ask them to list you only as John or Jane Doe instead of your real name so the housing court information remains anonymous. According to Himmelstein, most landlords will agree to do so. 

In addition to being anonymous, you might be able to get the other side to sign an out-of-court settlement agreement whereby the landlord would only file a court case if you breach the settlement agreement. "That way, there wouldn't even be a filing, which is the safest scenario," he said. It can be harder to get landlords to sign such an agreement, but most will still do it, Himmelstein said. 

Instead of taking a case to housing court, another route is a tenant-initiated housing part action. This is where you sue your landlord for failing to comply with housing law, typically this is done for cases involving building repairs. A housing part action is pretty straightforward: A tenant fills out a form to request an apartment inspection for violations. The city sends an inspector, and the landlord can face steep fines if violations are found. If the court finds in the tenant’s favor, the landlord must make the repairs by a specific time.

What are my rights as a renter? 

Banning the use of publicly available data is problematic. For starters, anyone can access this information. Landlords still want to screen tenants, and some may think the benefit of weeding out troublemakers is worth the risk if they get caught. 

In fact, Fishman said landlords will use pretexts other than a housing court case to deny someone an apartment and avoid violating the law. “As a result, these tenants cannot show that they’ve been damaged by an inaccurate credit report and therefore cannot sue under the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act,” he explained. 

The law doesn’t allow a tenant to sue a landlord for using court data to deny an application, but the Attorney General has made moves to crack down on tenant blacklisting. A settlement against Clipper Equity, a real estate company that denied applicants with past housing court records, was a recent effort to eliminate the practice. If you think you have been discriminated against in this way, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s office. 

If you have served time, a 2025 law that makes it illegal for most landlords and brokers to turn down renter applications based solely on conviction history. The Fair Chance for Housing Act (FCHA) aims to prevent housing discrimination against renters who have a criminal conviction and done their sentence, a bias that contributes to housing instability and homelessness. For more, read: "New law aims to give NYC renters who served time a fair chance at housing."

What information can NY landlords ask for? 

New York landlords and property managers have been forced to adjust their screening processes and should no longer request eviction or housing court information. Instead, they will likely raise other standards, like minimum credit scores or income-to-rent ratios, to offset their risks.

Most NYC landlords require a photo ID, your last two pay stubs, three months of bank statements, and two years of tax returns, plus a letter of employment on company letterhead stating your job title, length of employment, salary, and any expected bonus. If you are self-employed, you’ll need a letter from your accountant, proof of any other funds like stocks or bonds, a reference letter from a previous landlord if applicable, and contact information for prior landlords. You may also be asked for personal or professional, reference letters. Check out "Need to rent in NYC? Here's what to do before you even start looking at apartments" for more guidance. 

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