New York, NY —

Vantage Properties, the owner of more than 9000 apartments in Manhattan and Queens, will pay a million dollars to settle allegations that it illegally pushed out longtime tenants in order to charge higher rents. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports.

REPORTER: The settlement was reached with the attorney general's office which investigated Vantage Properties for filing frivolous lawsuits against tenants. Three-fourths of the money will compensate tenants who can prove they were treated unfairly. The rest will go to organizations that provide legal services for the tenants.

In addition, Vantage will have to make a series of changes including revamping its procedures for serving legal notices. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says the settlement effectively puts in place "new rules of the road" for the landlord-tenant relationship. For its part, Vantage says the agreement clears up decades of uncertainty in the real estate industry and it's glad to be leading the way.