A Queens-based landlord and management company must remove lease language that attempted to prevent tenants from contesting whether their apartments are covered by rent regulation. The New York Attorney General's Office said Samson Management required more than 400 tenants to sign the rider, including 416 current New York City tenants, and has agreed to treat the provision as void.
The rider stated that tenants waived the right to claim or litigate rent-regulated status and tied the lease to acceptance of that language. State law does not allow a residential lease to waive rent-stabilization protections or a tenant's right to pursue a legal claim about coverage. A signed rider therefore does not automatically settle whether an apartment is regulated.
Under the agreement, Samson must remove the provision from current leases, leave it out of future contracts and send notices to tenants who signed it. The company will also submit to an oversight program run by the Attorney General's Office and pay a $2,000 fine. The state said its investigation did not identify an instance in which the company actually enforced the rider against a resident.
Samson owns or manages more than 3,000 apartments in New York City, Westchester County and Long Island, according to the state. The investigation began after a tenant organizer submitted a complaint in June. That origin underscores the role of complete documents: a lease, rider, renewal, rent history and written management communication can be important evidence when a housing provision is challenged.
The settlement does not declare every affected apartment rent stabilized. It removes a clause that sought to stop tenants from raising the question. Coverage depends on the building, apartment history, construction date, government benefits, prior deregulation and other facts. Tenants should not assume either regulated or unregulated status from the settlement alone.
A tenant who receives the required notice should keep it with the lease and related records. Anyone concerned about regulatory status can seek a rent history and qualified housing guidance before signing a new agreement or filing a claim. Deadlines and forum rules can matter, so general information should not be treated as individualized legal advice.
Landlords and managers should review their standard forms for language that waives statutory protections, threatens eviction for asserting rights or restricts lawful court access. A template can create broad exposure when used across hundreds of units. Compliance requires more than deleting a sentence from future leases; current tenants must receive the correction promised in the settlement.
The Attorney General's Office accepts housing and real-estate complaints online and by telephone. The practical result of this case is procedural: affected tenants regain an unobstructed ability to question rent status, and the company must document its correction under monitoring. Any later dispute about a particular apartment will still turn on its own records and the law, not the invalid rider.
The notice process will be an important measure of compliance. Tenants need a clear statement that the rider is void, not a technical amendment buried in another document. Monitoring should confirm that current forms have changed and that staff do not repeat the same warning verbally. A settlement can correct a template quickly, but meaningful relief depends on every affected resident receiving understandable information and retaining the right to raise a claim without retaliation, obstruction or needless delay.
Primary sources: New York Attorney General announcement on Samson Management lease riders; New York Attorney General tenant complaint portal. Reviewed November 15, 2026. Development: Attorney General settlement announced November 12, 2026.