Owner Wrongfully Evicted Tenant When It Changed Locks

A tenant failed to pay rent for three months. It then found a proposed assignee for its lease and gave the assignee access to the space to paint. But the assignee started renovating the space without the tenant's knowledge or the owner's consent. When the owner found out about the renovations, it got a court order barring the work, and then sued to evict the tenant. While the lawsuit was pending, the owner discovered that work was still being done in the space, so it changed the locks.

A New York court ruled that the owner had wrongfully evicted the tenant when it changed the locks. The court rejected the owner's argument that it had a right to change the locks because the tenant was violating the court order barring renovation work, noting that the court order didn't give the owner such a right. The owner had circumvented the proper eviction process by changing the locks, refusing to give the tenant new keys, and only allowing it access to the space through the building's superintendent. The court said the owner wasn't entitled to rent for the months during which it denied the tenant unfettered access to its space. And it ordered the owner to pay the tenant triple damages for violating a state law barring owners from engaging in “self-help” evictions [West Broadway Glass Co. v. Namaskaar of Soho, Inc.].