The real estate firm owned by the family of President Donald Trump’s son in law and adviser Jared Kushner has been fined $210,000 by regulators in New York.
The Department of Buildings said in a statement that Kushner Companies had 42 violations, including falsifying construction permits, at 17 buildings.
To acquire construction permits in New York, developers or landlords are required to disclose whether buildings contain rent-regulated tenants.
Dozens of times, Kushner Companies claimed buildings had no rent-regulated tenants when in fact there were hundreds, according to the Department of Buildings.
Rent-regulated tenants pay below-market rates and are often harassed by landlords to vacate so new tenants can move in and pay higher rents. There’s no evidence of tenant harassment in this case.
“Protecting tenants is a key part of our mission to make construction safe for all New Yorkers, and we are determined to hold landlords accountable for the accuracy of their applications — no matter who they are,” the department said in a statement.
Kushner Companies didn’t immediately respond to a message from ABC News requesting comment.
The company told the Associated Press in a statement that it outsources the preparation of such documents to third parties that are reviewed by independent counsel, and “if mistakes or violations are identified, corrective action is taken immediately.”
“Kushner would never deny any tenant their due-process rights,” the statement to the AP read, adding that the company “has renovated thousands of apartments and developments with minimal complaints over the past 30 years.”
