There has been renewed interest to cap or limit broker fees paid by prospective tenants after some high-profile instances of brokers asking for thousands of dollars in fees in exchange for highly coveted apartments have made the news. In one case, a renter paid a broker fee of $19,500 for a rent...
Shortly before the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ida, which resulted in 11 people drowned in basement apartments during the storm, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander released a report called “Bringing Basement Apartments into the Light.” The report proposes a path to legalize...
Q I own a small mixed-use building in Brooklyn with two commercial tenants, three rent-stabilized tenants, and three market-rate tenants. As a result of Local Law 152 gas piping inspection requirements, I will have to replace five of the...
On July 21, the State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) announced that it is “actively reviewing and processing eligible Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) applications submitted through June 30, 2022.” This announcement came about because the 2022–23...
HUD recently announced that an Administrative Law Judge found that a Long Island landlord violated the Fair Housing Act when he refused to rent to a mother and her daughter because of the daughter’s cerebral palsy. The judge ordered the owner to pay $50,530 in damages to the family and a $...
ERAP Stay Vacated by Court Where Occupant Was Former Super Who Never Paid Rent
Landlord sued to evict its former building superintendent after his employment was terminated in October 2021. The super had lived in one of landlord’s apartments since...
The NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is responsible for proposing water rates, while the Water Board is responsible for establishing the rate following the proposal and subsequent public hearings. DEP delivers over a billion gallons of drinking water, treats 1.3 billion gallons...
In a preliminary vote on May 5, the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) recommended increasing rents for rent-stabilized apartment buildings. The RGB is made up of nine mayoral appointees, two of whom represent tenants, two who represent landlords, and another five members who are supposed to act on...
The NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) recently released selected initial findings from the 2021 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (NYCHVS) after state lawmakers voted twice to delay the report by more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to accommodate U...
Court Lifts ERAP Stay of Holdover Proceeding Against Occupant
Landlord sued to evict apartment occupants as "licensees" after the unit's rent-stabilized tenant died. Shortly after landlord filed the holdover petition in August 2021, one of...
Late Filing of PAR Not Excused by Tenant's COVID Infection
Tenant complained to the DHCR of rent overcharge. The DRA ruled against tenant, who then filed a PAR to appeal. The DHCR rejected tenant's PAR as untimely...
Q Foreign diplomats are smoking in their apartments. Are they allowed to claim some sort of diplomatic immunity from my building’s no-smoking policies? Are they exempt?
