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Q: We’re tenants in a market-rate rental constructing on the Higher West Facet. The laundry machines are within the basement, which is a typical space. The issue is that the basement is filled with junk — which I used to be keen to place up with, however now I’ve seen a rat nosing round. There’s a full-size sofa that’s been left for months, a broken-down air-conditioner on the ground, an extension twine coiled across the pipes, and a knife block stuffed with knives sitting on the electrical meter. It’s unclear the place all these items got here from. In addition to the rats, I’m nervous that the junk is a hearth hazard. I’ve known as 311 to make a grievance, however what else could be finished?
A: Leaving rubbish in widespread areas to draw rats and create hearth hazards violates New York’s habitability legal guidelines, which maintain landlords chargeable for retaining flats and buildings secure and livable. However although the legislation is in your facet, getting landlords and administration firms to reply isn’t all the time simple.
Begin with a letter to your landlord and administration firm describing the situations within the basement and the issues the junk creates. Maintain copies of your letter, in addition to any response that you simply obtain, and take images documenting the issue.
“Clearly, having this stuff within the widespread areas is a hearth hazard,” stated Samuel J. Himmelstein, an actual property lawyer in Manhattan. “Having knives there appears to be actually, actually loopy.”
Your name to 311 will probably end in a go to from an inspector from the Division of Buildings or Housing Preservation and Growth, who can difficulty a violation. The issue is, landlords typically don’t reply to those citations as a result of the implications aren’t nice sufficient. Generally the town will file a case in housing courtroom if the violations will not be addressed, however that occurs when the violations are excessive.
The following step is housing courtroom, the place you’ll be able to file a lawsuit to handle these violations. That is efficient, however could be tough for market-rate tenants, as a result of a landlord can then determine to not renew your lease. (Lease-stabilized tenants have safety from this type of motion.) This retaliation just isn’t authorized, but it surely’s tough to show. Even if you happen to can show that your landlord retaliated towards you, you may win a one-year lease renewal and nothing extra. That’s as a result of after it’s dominated on, your declare of retaliation would go away, and the owner might decline to resume your lease from there, Mr. Himmelstein stated.
If you happen to recruit your neighbors to file a lawsuit en masse, you’ll be able to break up the lawyer’s charge and probably dilute any retaliatory actions by your landlord.
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