Council Member Santosuosso introduces Intro 1058 on commercial eviction legal fees

Councilmember Santos Suoso, followed by Joang.

Thank you, Majority Leader.

I want to speak about my new bill, Intro 1058.

Businesses across the city are struggling, including many historic institutions that bring untold value to our city.

Despite that, our current commercial eviction laws often favor commercial landlords and often force beloved community institutions to close without ever seeing a judge.

Currently, a commercial landlord can sue to evict a commercial tenant, and if they win in court, they can be reimbursed for their legal fees by the business in question.

But in many of these contracts, the same is not true for the tenant.

Even if they successfully fight off an eviction, a business...

Business often cannot have a way to make back legal fees that they have accrued in the process.

The result is that landlords can encourage tenants to self-evict without ever having their day in court.

This bill simply aims to level the playing field by creating a provision wherein a commercial tenant can recover their legal fees if they successfully fight off an eviction brought by a commercial landlord.

It is a common sense bill which aims to give these tenants a fighting chance when they are faced with eviction and it is a much needed tool to keep these institutions open for years to come.

I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting Intro 1058.

Thank you so much.