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You Cannot Be Evicted for Being a Victim of Domestic Violence

In Episode 32 we discuss the City, State, and Federal laws that protect victims of domestic violence in housing matters. We look at a very important case where a landlord tried to evict a tenant, when her adult mentally ill son perpetrated serious acts of domestic violence against her.

 

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  • If you believe you have been the victim of discrimination, contact Law Enforcement Bureau of the New York City Commission on Human Rights to file a complaint.

 

 

 

 

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Proving How Long Your Apartment Has Needed Repairs, So You Can Get a Rent Abatement and/or Proper Repairs

In Episode 30 we discuss a case where the tenant lost a lot of relevant text messages about conditions in their apartment, because they changed phones and lost text messages. Not only did they not have that evidence to help them, but a court punished them for not producing those items during discovery in the lawsuit. We talk about how to avoid these problems. And we suggest how to use evidence spoilation rules to your benefit, to show how long you have been forced to wait for much needed repairs, so that you can get proper repairs and/or a rent abatement.

 

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Important Questions About the New Good Cause Eviction Law – a Discussion with Two Super Experienced Landlord-Tenant Lawyers

In Episode 29, we conclude our initial four-part series on the historic new Good Cause Eviction Law, by having an awesome panel of highly experienced New York City landlord-tenant litigators discuss the law.

 

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Randi Gilbert, Esq. is a partner at Horing Welikson Rosen & Digrugilliers, PC and she represents landlords.

 

Seth A. Miller, Esq. is a partner at Collins, Dobin & Miller and he represents tenants.

 

How do I know these two people? I know them as adversaries. Sometimes I am Randi’s adversary because I am representing a tenant, and sometimes I am Seth’s adversary, because I am representing a landlord. I can tell you that these are two of the smartest people in landlord-tenant work in New York City today. And I have always been impressed with Randi’s and Seth’s devotion to holding up the highest ethical standards in our profession.

 

But forget my opinion, the fact is, if you take all the major appellate cases that have shaped our landlord-tenant jurisprudence over the last 30 years, either one or both, Randi Gilbert and/or Seth Miller, are involved in many of those cases. These are the people who literally shape the law.

 

The Good Cause Eviction Law is a complete game changer. In Episode 25, I explained how Good Cause Eviction works and how it protects tenants. In Episode 26, I explained who Good Cause protects, and how you can figure out whether it protects you. In Episode 27, I covered Good Cause Eviction’s new sweeping notice requirements. Now, in this Episode 29, I’m giving you a unique chance to be a fly on the wall to listen to an in-depth shoptalk among the lawyers who will be litigating over the Good Cause Eviction statute for the rest of their careers.

 

One more thing. This show has not been at all political; you do not need me for that. But there was really no way to offer you this authentic content in this Episode 29 without having a little bit of politics sneak on in, because these lawyers are warriors for their clients. Let’s just say they have strong opinions. Also, it gets a little wonky, and you might not understand every reference to every section of the statute, but that does not matter, you will get the gist. And the bottom line remains that you will not hear conversations like this anywhere else. As I always say, the law belongs to you New York, but your ownership of the law is only as great as your understanding of the law. So, let’s learn, to live better. Now let’s talk to Randi Gilbert and Seth Miller.

 

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  • Randi Gilbert, Esq. is a partner at Horing Welikson Rosen & Digrugilliers, PC and she represents landlords.

 

 

 

 

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What can you do about the hazards caused by warehoused (vacant) apartments in your building? NYC Local Law 1 of 2024!

In Episode 28 we discuss what you can do if you suffer bad consequences from your landlord warehousing empty apartments in your building by examining NYC Local law 1 of 2024. This raises two immediate questions. First, why would a landlord not rent out an empty apartment? Second, why would perpetually empty apartments bother other tenants in the building?

 

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There is a phenomenon in New York City, when a rent regulated tenant leaves an apartment after being there for a long time, where sometimes a landlord does not re-rent the apartment. The landlord might perceive that the cost of getting the apartment in rentable shape, which is pretty worn down after somebody living there for decades, is more than they will make over a long period of time with a new rent regulated rent, which is going to be below market. I am not saying that the landlords are right; I am not saying that landlords are wrong. This is a political issue, and this is not a political show, there are no shortage of those. This show is about the practical things you can do right now to live better in your NYC apartment. And my point simply is that there is no dispute that many apartments are being warehoused.

 

The reason it is tough on existing tenants to have units that are warehoused and sitting empty is because, you know the saying – “idle hands do the devil’s work”. Well, empty apartments are the source of a lot of problems in a building. Usually, the apartments that are warehoused are apartments that were in bad shape to begin with. If there is a persistent leak, and if nobody is there to complain about it, then the leak can go on and on and cause a mold condition on walls, ceilings, and floors that can get worse and worse and that can end up affecting other apartments, either via the air circulation in the building or from the condition spreading on surfaces. Empty apartments can be havens for mice and rats. Sometimes, if the heat is not on in an empty apartment, it can cause pipes to freeze and burst. What if there is no one changing the batteries in the smoke detector in an unoccupied apartment? G-d forbid there is a gas leak in the unit.

 

And then there are other problems. Sometimes building personnel who are aware that an apartment is empty will use the apartment behind the owner’s back for nefarious purposes. The owner is not on site in the super is, so the super has a lot of power. So sometimes supers or building managers get up to untoward things in vacant apartments. Even worse, sometimes people from the outside break in and will squat in an empty apartment and that is extremely bad for the legitimate tenants of the building.

 

In this episode, we look closely at the new NYC Local Law 1 of 2024, which allows you to make complaints that the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development is obligated to follow up on regarding unoccupied apartments in your building.

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Are You Covered by Good Cause Eviction? (Part 2 of the Good Cause Eviction Series)

In Episode 26 we continue discussing the historic new Good Cause Eviction Law. The New York State Legislature passed Good Cause Eviction on April 20, 2024. This is the most significant change in landlord-tenant law that I have seen in the 30 years that I have been a landlord-tenant litigator in New York City.

There are two major aspects to every regulatory law. First, you need to know what the law does – what does it prevent your landlord from doing to you, what does it require the landlord to do for you, what protections is the law giving you, what restrictions does the law put upon you? We did that in the last episode, Episode 25. You also need to know if the Good Cause Eviction Law applies to you; and if so, why? If not, why not? Are you sure Good Cause Eviction does not cover you? That is what we are doing in today’s Episode 26. Is your apartment protected?! Every New Yorker needs to know this stuff.

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Good Cause Eviction is Here!

In Episode 25 we discuss the historic new Good Cause Eviction law. There are two major aspects to every regulatory law. First, you need to know what the law does – what does it prevent, what does it require, what protections is it giving you, what restrictions does it put upon you? Second, you need to know if the law applies to you; does the Good Cause Eviction Law cover you, and if so, why? If not, why not? Are you sure it does not cover you?

Today we are starting with the first aspect – what does this law do and how does it do it? We will cover the other aspects of Good Cause Eviction in the next few episodes. Every New Yorker needs to know this stuff!

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What are your rights in Housing Court if you do not have a lawyer? Season wrap up – why is housing law so complicated in New York?

Listen on Spotify, Apple, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

In Episode 24, we discuss a case where a landlord sued a tenant for eviction in Queens Housing Court. The tenant had no lawyer. The tenant signed a stipulation (an agreement) that included waiving some important rights. The stipulation was never presented to the judge for the judge to explain the agreement to the tenant. Later, the tenant got the assistance of a Legal Aid lawyer. Legal Aid came in and moved to vacate the stipulation, to cancel it. The judge vacated the stipulation, specifically because the stipulation was never presented to the judge for the judge to explain the agreement to the tenant.

We also tackle the question – Why is housing law so complicated in New York? Why do people know so little about their rights? And what can we all do about it?

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Ask us your questions at [email protected].

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Roaches (or other infestations) can constitute an immediately hazardous housing violation and result in a suspension of part of your rent obligation.

In Episode 23 we discuss cases where roach, spider, and mouse infestations led to violations of the implied warranty of habitability, the landlords were ordered by Housing Court judges to fix the problems, and it resulted in one tenant not having to pay some rent.

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