Tenant relocator operated illegally in Brooklyn apartments, harassed tenants

October 27, 2014 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman. AP photo

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The New York state attorney general announced on Tuesday an agreement that requires an unlicensed tenant relocator to cease all operations, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle has learned.

The agreement was secured following an investigation that revealed Misidor LLC and its owner, Michel Pimienta, harassed rent-stabilized tenants living in three New York City buildings. The investigation also revealed that Pimienta operated illegally in more than 60 rent-regulated buildings, mostly in Manhattan and Brooklyn, but also in the Bronx.

Tenant relocators are increasingly common in New York, particularly in gentrifying areas in New York City where some landlords are seeking to reduce rent-regulated housing and increase rents. To operate legally, tenant relocators must have a real estate broker’s license. They are prohibited from harassing or in any way pressuring tenants into giving up their rent-regulated homes.

The Attorney General’s Office began investigating Pimienta and his company last year after receiving complaints from tenants and housing advocacy groups alleging that he was harassing rent-regulated tenants — a number of complaints coming from a building in Boerum Hill.

Despite never obtaining a real estate broker’s license, Pimienta was engaged in the tenant relocation business for more than 10 years, the investigation revealed. The investigation also found that Misidor had engaged in a pattern of tenant harassment, including falsely accusing rent-regulated tenants of lease violations; following tenants to work and interrogating their colleagues without the tenants’ consent; and shouting at tenants and threatening them with eviction.

“Extreme turnover does not naturally occur in rent-regulated buildings,” said Brandon Kielbasa, lead organizer at the Cooper Square Committee, which organized tenants in multiple buildings targeted by Misidor. “Profit-hungry landlords need somebody on the ground turning tenants out to make it happen. Misidor has stood out as one of the industry’s most aggressive operators.”

“This agreement will help ensure that lawful tenants are not harassed or pressured into giving up their homes by an unlicensed and unscrupulous tenant relocator,” Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.

–Information provided by the Office of the New York State Attorney General