Dos & Don'ts, Q & A, In the News, Landlord v. Tenant

Trial Required in Unauthorized Sublet Case

September 11, 2012    

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for illegal subletting. The court granted tenant's request to dismiss the case without a trial. Landlord appealed, and the case was reopened. Tenant didn't prove that as a matter of law she intended to move back into the apartment as her...

Tenant Maintained Primary Residence Despite Spending Nights at Girlfriend's

September 11, 2012    

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for nonprimary residence. Landlord claimed that tenant illegally sublet his apartment while living at his girlfriend's apartment more than half of the prior year. The court ruled against landlord after a trial. Tenant submitted many documents...

Tenant at Apartment Only Eight Days in Eight Months

September 11, 2012    

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for nonprimary residence. Landlord claimed that tenant lived at another Manhattan address with her boyfriend and young child, while subletting the apartment to a series of people. Tenant claimed that the other apartment occupants were her roommates,...

Tenant Didn't Cure Illegal Sublet

September 11, 2012    

Landlord sued to evict tenant for unauthorized subletting. The court ruled for tenant without a trial and dismissed the complaint. Landlord appealed and won, in part. Tenant claimed that he had cured the illegal sublet. But the subtenant remained in the apartment nearly two years after landlord...

Landlord v. Tenant

August 30, 2012    

Discrimination: Landlord Discriminated Against Wheelchair-Bound Tenant

Disabled tenants, a couple, complained to the local Human Rights Commission (HRC) about landlord's disability discrimination. Tenants said that landlord refused to accommodate their disabilities, repeatedly...

Don't Block Access to Water Meters

August 30, 2012    

The Environmental Control Board (ECB) recently ruled that an owner could be fined for failing to maintain a water meter in a readily accessible area. Furthermore, the rules don't require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to give an owner prior notice that a water meter will be...

Defeating Overcharge Claims After Grimm Decision

August 30, 2012    

Don't wait till you're hit with a rent overcharge complaint to get your old lease files in order. That's the advice of New York City attorney Erez Glambosky, who warns, “Since the 2010 Court of Appeals decision in Grimm v. DHCR, if a tenant submits a ‘colorable...

Follow Proper Procedures for "No-Access" Inspection

August 30, 2012    

Be sure to follow the correct procedures to trigger a “no-access inspection.” By law, you're required to send two letters by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least eight days in advance of a proposed access date, before seeking a no-access inspection.

Owner Revitalizes Nine of NYC's Worst Buildings

July 29, 2012    

An owner who bought nine of the most run-down apartment buildings in the Bronx in April 2011, promising to revitalize them, has made approximately $10 million in repairs since buying them for approximately $28 million. Tenant advocates worry that the new debt total of $45.5 million—$10...

Landlord v. Tenant

July 29, 2012    

Eviction: Landlord Didn't Prove Ongoing Illegal Activity in Apartment

Landlord sued to evict tenant after serving a 10-day termination notice based on illegal use of the apartment. Landlord claimed that the District Attorney directed it to start the eviction action against tenant....

NYC Housing Department Corruption Probe Widens

June 30, 2012    

FBI agents recently arrested five more people in a widening probe of corruption allegations involving New York City government housing preservation officials. One city official and a former city employee were among those arrested on a variety of corruption charges.

The five will be...

Financing Initiative Will Assist Buildings with Clean Heating Conversions

June 30, 2012    

In last month's Insider, we discussed the Department of Environmental Protection's accelerating phaseout of the dirtiest heating oils. The city's new regulations, issued in 2011, ban the heaviest heating oils—No. 4 and No. 6—that are still used in approximately 10,...