wneville's blog

Life as a landlord in New York City requires owners to suffer insult and injury. An example is when a rent-stabilized tenant illegally sublets the apartment on websites like Airbnb for short-term rentals. Usually, the tenant is profiteering. The tenant charges a daily rent that is much more than the legal registered rent that the owner is limited in collecting. If the landlord charges more than the legal rent, the tenant will be awarded treble damages. So, the owner provides all the services and pays the taxes and the tenant profits. That is so wrong.

Most leases provide that the tenant is required to give the landlord a security deposit. But the recent Appellate Division decision, in 23 East 39^th Street Mgt. Corp. v 23 E. 39^th St. Dev., LLC, shows that some owners are not aware of their legal obligations when holding a security deposit. By not following the law, an owner can be required to return the security deposit to the tenant before the lease expires. In case the tenant does not pay the rent or damages the premises, owners want a security deposit as protection.