The Attorney General’s Office says 416 current New York City tenants signed riders waiving their right to challenge rent-regulation status.
Samson Management will remove lease provisions that prevented tenants from challenging whether their apartments should be rent regulated, under a settlement announced November 12 by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The Attorney General’s Office says its investigation found that the Queens-based landlord and management company required 416 current New York City tenants to sign the riders. A rider is an additional agreement attached to a lease.
Under the settlement described by the office, Samson must remove the provisions from current leases, leave them out of future leases, notify affected current tenants that the rider is void and take part in an oversight program. The company must also pay a $2,000 fine.
The right to challenge an apartment’s status
The disputed language required tenants to waive their right to claim or contest that their apartment was covered by rent-regulation laws, according to the Attorney General’s announcement.
The office says the rider made the lease dependent on signing that agreement and threatened eviction if a tenant challenged the apartment’s regulatory status. It describes those requirements as unlawful under New York law.
The announcement also includes an important limit: investigators found no examples of Samson enforcing the rider against a resident. The office’s action addresses the language itself. This report does not claim that Samson carried out an eviction under the provision.
Removing the rider restores tenants’ ability to raise a challenge. It does not, by itself, establish that every affected apartment is rent stabilized or rent controlled. An individual apartment’s status is a separate question that may require review of its history and applicable law.
How the investigation began
The Attorney General’s Office says it opened the investigation in June 2026 after receiving a complaint from a tenant organizer. The announcement does not identify that organizer or provide a building-by-building list of affected apartments.
Samson owns and manages more than 3,000 residential apartments across New York City, Westchester and Long Island, according to the release. That overall portfolio is larger than the 416 current city tenants identified as having signed the disputed rider.
The figures should not be treated as interchangeable. The announcement does not say that all 3,000 apartments used the rider, that every resident has the same claim or that the company operates properties in the Mohawk Valley.
What the settlement requires
The removal requirement applies to existing leases and future leases. Current tenants who signed a lease containing the rider must receive a letter explaining that the rider is void, according to the office.
The oversight requirement is intended to check compliance. The public announcement does not detail the monitoring schedule, reporting deadlines or duration. This report has not independently reviewed the signed settlement document.
The $2,000 payment is described as a fine. The release does not announce a tenant restitution fund, a rent refund schedule or a payment application. Readers should not assume the fine will be divided among affected tenants.
No current company response was available in the material reviewed. The account here attributes the investigation findings and settlement terms to the Attorney General’s Office and does not describe them as a court verdict.
Where renters can seek help
The Attorney General encourages tenants who suspect that their lease contains language threatening eviction for claiming rent-regulatory coverage to contact the office at 800-771-7755 or use its official complaint channels.
For Mohawk Valley readers, the useful lesson is to seek qualified help when lease language appears to limit the right to raise a legal challenge. This New York City settlement does not establish the regulatory status of an apartment in Utica, Rome or another local community.
Keep a copy of the lease and any rider when asking for advice. A general news report cannot determine an individual apartment’s legal status or replace guidance tailored to a tenant’s circumstances.
Source: Attorney General’s November 12 announcement.
