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New York Daily News Reports on NYC Landlord-Tenant Discrimination Dispute

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July 6, 2012
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After marrying her longtime partner in New York state, Regina Hawkins-Balducci tried to add her wife’s name to the lease on her rent-stabilized apartment in Harlem. Her landlord refused, even though Hawkins-Balducci presented him with the couple’s marriage certificate. Lambda Legal sent a letter to the building management company and the landlord last week demanding that Hawkins-Balducci’s request be granted. The deadline for their response is July 9.

The Daily News quotes Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Natalie Chin as well as Hawkins-Balducci.

Natalie Chin, the Lambda Legal attorney who has been working with the couple, said this is a case of homophobia and a blatant denial of their rights. "The New York rent-stabilization laws are clear: Tenants have a right to ensure housing security for a spouse by having their spouse’s name added to a rent-stabilized or rent-controlled lease," Chin said, adding, "This conduct is both outrageous and in violation of New York State and city laws."

..."I want to live in my apartment with my wife," Hawkins-Balducci told the Daily News. "I want her name put on the lease. . . . If something happens to me, she could be evicted."

Read more of the article in the Daily News here.