NYC Tenant Lawyer Blog

Request a Housing Inspection

If you have a dispute with your landlord about conditions in your apartment or elsewhere in the building that need repair, you should collect evidence. Request a Housing Part Inspection the first time you’re in court, whether you’re suing or defending. When you sue for repairs under an “HP proceeding,” the Court Clerk schedules the inspection, and a court date is assigned after the report is issued. The inspectors are from the Department of Housing, Preservation and Development. You can call 311 to complain and get an inspection for certain conditions that pose immediate danger to safety. Get a complaint number from the operator so you can follow up. Make sure you list every problem that needs to be addressed. Otherwise, it will probably not be included in the inspector’s report. Inspectors can visit during daytime and evening hours, and on weekends. Be sure you or someone with authority meets the inspector. Once the inspection is complete, your landlord and the court will get a notice of violations. This is powerful proof of your claims.

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 2011 McAdams Law

Three reasons a judge may halt your eviction if you missed a court date...

When you’re embroiled in Landlord Tenant litigation, it’s extremely dangerous to miss a court appearance: doing so could easily cost you your apartment. That being said, there are instances in which tenants miss a court date for valid reasons a judge will accept as grounds to change a default ruling. One is that you never received the papers, because you were not properly served. Another acceptable cause for missing the date or “defaulting” may be illness. If you’re facing eviction because you missed a court date, in addition to an explanation, you will need to have a solid defense in order to halt the eviction process. Examples of defenses are needing repairs, having paid at least part of the rent, that the rent in the landlord’s papers is improper under your lease or rent regulations, etc. Your explanation and defenses need to be filed with the court in an affidavit, which sets forth the reasons you are asking the Court to stop the landlord from evicting you, and requests a hearing. The judge may then issue and an Order to Show Cause granting it.

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 2011 McAdams Law

Automatic Papers to Help Protect Your Rights

If you’re being evicted and missed a court date or didn’t answer legal papers you received, the landlord will get a default judgment. This document allows the landlord to evict you under court order, and a City Marshal’s Notice will follow. Fortunately, there is something you can still do that may help to preserve your tenancy. Go here at the Law Help Interactive site.

This is a free online program that will create an affidavit to support an Order to Show Cause. The affidavit is a legal document that gives your reasons for not appearing or answering. It asks the judge to halt eviction proceedings until you have an opportunity to appear and tell your side of the story. The judge, if convinced your explanation might justify it, can then sign an Order to Show Cause, which will give you a chance to return to court and raise your defenses.

However, it does not give legal advice and you should be aware that no program of this sort can ever substitute for the assistance an experienced Tenants’ lawyer can supply. As a non-attorney, when you try to be your own lawyer, you’re at risk. If your funds are limited, it’s to your advantage to at least try to have an initial consultation with qualified legal counsel, to get some overall advice about your case, and to help you avoid mistakes that can be fatal to your tenancy.

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 2011 McAdams Law

Your Strongest Evidence in a Nonprimary Residence Case...

Landlords sometimes sue for possession of your apartment by claiming it’s not your primary residence, and therefore you don’t deserve rent-regulation protections. In that instance, you’ll want to use the most powerful evidence you can to defend your rights to stay there. This includes as many tax returns with that address on it as you have, along with your driver’s license or New York State I.D. card. Other strong articles of evidence are your motor vehicle registration and voter’s registrations, if you have them, mail, phone bills showing usage, utility, cable and other invoices, and correspondence from government sources. The more, the better.

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 2011 McAdams Law

Ask For a Jury Trial

One strategy you can employ to protect your rights is to ask for a jury trial. Some judges tend to rule in favor of landlords. If you end up in front of this kind of judge, you’ll have a harder time convincing him or her of your position. But if your case is explained to six members of a jury, you may have a better chance of prevailing. On the other hand, in boroughs where jurors are more likely to be landlords, or to own co-ops or condos, some juries may not be sympathetic to tenants. Most leases say you waive your right to a jury trial, but if there is a defect in the jury-waiver language, you may be able to get one anyway. You need to request it and pay the fee the first time you go to the courthouse on the proceeding, even if you only talk to a clerk about your case and it isn’t before a judge yet. However, demanding a jury can mean that you waive certain arguments only a judge can rule on. So before you ask for a jury, speak to a knowledgeable Tenants’ lawyer to see if that’s an effective strategy.

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 2011 McAdams Law

Sublet, Succession, Roommate: Multiple Defenses When You're Not There

Subletting is common in New York City. People have a variety of valid reasons for temporarily leaving their apartments and subleasing to others while they’re gone. However, many landlords never want to miss a chance to turn over a tenant in order to get a rent increase. They frequently see these circumstances as an opportunity to evict by claiming the sublet is without consent.

The law specifies the process of getting the landlord’s permission to sublet when leases require it. Permission can be limited to a two-year period for a rent-stabilized unit, and consent cannot be unreasonably withheld. Nevertheless, disputes arise even when tenants attempt to comply with all requirements. Fortunately, depending on your situation, there may be several defenses available to you.

If a family member, or someone with whom you maintain a family-type relationship, is in the apartment while you’re gone, arguments may be made that the person is not a subtenant, since a familial association exists. In addition, if you are permanently vacating, and the apartment has been the primary residence both for you and the family member, he or she may have succession rights.

Similarly, the other occupant who is there with you, or in the unit for a short time while you are gone, may be a roommate. In that instance, you and the individual could have protection under the roommate laws, which allow you to have a roommate, and that person’s dependent children.

The law in each of these areas is complex. If you have a rent-regulated apartment which is valuable to you, it would be to your advantage to secure the help of a knowledgeable Tenants’ lawyer to interpret which provisions apply to your case. Then you’ll have the best chance of succeeding in Court.

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 2011 McAdams Law

Be Polite and Respectful in Whatever You Write, Say or Send

In all written communications with your landlord, keep the tone of your language courteous and respectful – avoid being sarcastic. Set forth your complaints, position and requests in a simple, straightforward and polite manner. This is good legal strategy, because the judge may eventually see any letters or other correspondence you send. If you come across as rude, condescending, or even worse, a little unbalanced or crazy, you undermine your position. Write everything with the judge in mind, and always remember that judges and other Court personnel are people, who respond both on legal and human levels.

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 2011 McAdams Law