NYC Tenant Lawyer Blog

Filing a "rent-impairing violations" claim against your negligent landlord...

When it can be shown that a landlord has received notice of certain defective conditions in an apartment or the building’s common areas for a six-month period, and did nothing to correct them, there is a tenant defense against demands for rent. Several elements are necessary to make this defense work. First, there is a list of “rent-impairing violations” published by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. One or more of these must be at issue in your case. Mostly these are serious defects involving matters such as fire safety, proper ingress and egress, heat and hot water, sewage disposal, etc. Secondly, you must still pay the rent to the Court, or make suitable escrow arrangements that are acceptable to the judge. If the Court finds that the landlord had notice of the violations, but didn’t fix them for over six months, you get your money back and won’t owe any rent until repairs are made. This is a good defense to use in conjunction with a rent strike, if building common areas are involved, or enough tenants are affected by the violations.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting. Please see more details here.

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McAdams Law
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New York, NY 10007
212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

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Take Pictures if You Want the Best Chance of Getting Your Security Deposit Back

Take photos of all the rooms and appliances in your apartment. If you eventually leave, the landlord may claim to be entitled to all or part of your security deposit, due to the condition the unit was left in. With pictures, you’ll have the evidence necessary to substantiate a defense that any damage is no more than regular “wear and tear.”

Ideally, you should take a set of photos before you move into any new residence. That way an original group of pictures can be compared to those showing the unit’s condition when you leave, to create the best possible defense. Certainly though, if you don’t have various photographic views from the time you moved in, take a series of shots before you leave. Include the current day’s newspaper in the photos to validate the date that were actually taken.

Before you vacate, it’s a good idea to review whether you were charged the appropriate security deposit in the first place. The maximum security deposit you can be charged on a rent-regulated apartment is one month’s rent, but on an unregulated unit, there isn’t a legal restriction on the amount a landlord can require for it. If your apartment is rent-stabilized and you were charged more than the legally allowable amount, it’s an overcharge. In this circumstance, the landlord could be liable to you for triple damages, and is not entitled to apply the additional security deposit to any costs for damage or other debt.

Be careful about attempting to apply the security deposit to the remaining rent due at termination, as it is not legally considered to be rent. That means the landlord can sue you for the final amount of rent due. If the landlord wins the suit, you can also be subject to attorneys fees and interest. Once the security deposit has been released and applied to any remaining rent owed, or to other charges, any balance of arrears can go into a judgment. A court-ordered judgment imposes 9% interest annually and can ruin your credit rating.

Unfortunately, if the landlord doesn’t accept your surrender of the apartment and claims that you still occupy the unit, you could end up in a Housing Court suit. If this happens, you’ll be blacklisted once the case proceeds to trial. However, since landlords refuse to pay the security back in many instances, using it for your last month’s rent can be a way to retrieve it. You’ll have to weigh the risk based on your relationship with the landlord, and the position he or she takes on your intent to use the security deposit for rent.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting. Please see more details here.

Click here to see valuable Back Issues , conveniently organized by topic.

McAdams Law
305 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

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Copyright 2010 McAdams Law

Special Protection Against Luxury Decontrol

If you earn more than $175,000 a year for two years in a row while residing in a rent-stabilized unit, and the rent is over $2000 a month, your apartment can be destabilized. However, if your landlord is receiving tax abatements from New York City under the J51, 421-a or 421-g programs, the luxury decontrol provisions do not apply. If you are facing potential decontrol of your home, it’s a good idea to check into your building’s tax abatement status. Some information is available online, but since the stakes are high when you can lose your rent-regulated rights, it’s a good idea to have an experienced Landlord Tenant attorney research the matter and assist you. You may also have other tenant protections as a result of the landlord’s receipt of these government benefits.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting. Please see more details here.

Click here to see valuable Back Issues , conveniently organized by topic.

McAdams Law
305 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

Attorney Advertising

Copyright 2010 McAdams Law

Heat and Hot Water Violations Can Result in Rent Adjustments of 50%

If you don’t have heat or hot water, the first thing you should do is to call the NYC Emergency Housing Complaints line to file a complaint and request an inspection. You should keep a log of specific dates and times when heat and hot water were not available or adequate. Go to your local hardware store and get a new thermometer that’s certified for accuracy. Use it to record the temperature. Save the packaging as proof in Court of valid readings. Case law has established that you may be entitled to a rent abatement, which is a reduction to compensate for lack of services, of as much as 50% of your monthly rental rate. The key to success with this type of claim is detailed documentation. You have to give your Tenants’ lawyer ammunition to work with. There is no guarantee of results with these claims – it is largely at the discretion of the Housing Court judge. However, if neighbors participate in supplying evidence of violations, the claim benefits from collective strength and credibility. If enough tenants are adversely affected, you might want to consider a building rent strike.

You can learn more about starting a rent strike here.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting. Please see more details here.

Click here to see valuable Back Issues , conveniently organized by topic.

McAdams Law
305 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

Attorney Advertising

Copyright 2010 McAdams Law

If There's a Stink, Stench or Smell, the Court Can Compel

If you are subject to foul odors in your apartment, you may be entitled to a substantial rent decrease to compensate for the defect, until it’s corrected. Legally, this adjustment is referred to as a rent abatement. For example, in one case on record, a 50% abatement was awarded due the presence of noxious fumes from a dry cleaning establishment in the building. Similar claims could be made for issues involving leaking gas pipes, or a stench from sewage plumbing defects.

A more common scenario involves secondhand cigarette smoke. If you smell it drifting in from another unit, it’s a breach of warranty of habitability. Secondhand smoke is a health hazard, especially if you suffer from conditions like asthma, bronchitis or allergies. You can sue your landlord to correct it, if necessary.

To obtain an order to correct and a rent abatement, you have to prove the existence of the problem in Court. Keep a log of all times during which you detected odors. Also, have medical records available as evidence of any illness that is being aggravated by the smells. If more than one occupant in your apartment is affected, document that too.

By taking these steps, you may be able to win a reduction in rent commensurate with the loss of value in “services” the rental provides. If you prevail, the Court should also issue an order forcing the landlord to resolve the substandard conditions.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting. Please see more details here. Click here to see valuable Back Issues , conveniently organized by topic.

McAdams Law
305 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

Attorney Advertising

Copyright 2010 McAdams Law

Anticipate your needs, or you may have to pay to your lease's last day...

A lease sometimes includes additional services beyond the basic rental of the premises, such as a parking space in the building garage, or access to a health club. However, you may have to pay for them throughout the entire term, even if you discontinue use. An important element is whether the service is listed in your lease with a specific charge, separate from the apartment rental rate. In an unregulated lease, you can then escape extra charges at renewal. However, if it’s a two-year lease, and at the end of the first year you decide you don’t want the additional service, you may be stuck for another year. With a rent-stabilized lease, your landlord may try to claim that forgoing the extra charges disrupts your regulated status. So while it may be a good idea to include some ancillary services in a lease, be careful what you agree to.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting. Please see more details here.

Click here to see valuable Back Issues , conveniently organized by topic.

McAdams Law
305 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

Attorney Advertising

Copyright 2010 McAdams Law

An Oral Lease May Be Valid

In New York State, an oral lease is valid for terms of under a year. So if you had a verbal agreement with your landlord for a short-term lease, or its renewal, as long as the term doesn’t exceed one year it may be binding. If the landlord tries to evict you before then, you have a right of occupancy up to the end of the agreed-upon term. The question is how to prove it to a judge. This is why it’s best to have agreements in writing. However, depending on the facts, it’s possible to argue that your tenancy should survive a premature eviction. If you win in Court, the suit against you would then have to be dismissed. It works both ways, though – if you agreed to stay, and want to leave prior to the term you verbally agreed to, you may be liable for the additional rent.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting. Please see more details here.

Click here to see valuable Back Issues , conveniently organized by topic.

McAdams Law
305 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

Attorney Advertising

Copyright 2010 McAdams Law