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City Council hearing reviews making Certificate of No Harassment permanent amid immigrant‑tenant concerns
Summary
A New York City Council committee hearing examined Intro 839 (2026) to make the Certificate of No Harassment (CONH) permanent, with HPD urging refinements after a four‑year pilot found harassment in over 15% of applications but only 30 applications from roughly 1,500 listed buildings.
The New York City Council’s joint hearing on Intro 839 (2026) opened with council members and advocates warning that immigrant tenants face harassment — including threats to call federal immigration authorities — that can deter reporting and accelerate displacement.
Co‑chair Council member Olsen Encarnación said the hearing aims to assess the Certificate of No Harassment (CONH) pilot, which HPD uses to flag buildings at risk of tenant harassment and requires owners to obtain a certificate before certain major permits are approved. "New Yorkers deserve to live free of harassment," Encarnación said, noting that in a city with roughly 3 million immigrants, many households are rent‑burdened and undocumented tenants lack access to federal assistance.
HPD deputy commissioner Annmarie Santiago testified that HPD and partner agencies coordinated multilingual outreach and enforcement after reports that people impersonated city inspectors and that some landlords threatened to…
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