The Laws About Getting Paint Jobs and Repairs in Your NYC Apartment

Why TLP made this class:

We made this class because many of NYC’s 2,100,000 apartments need a fresh coat of paint! When your apartment is properly painted, as legally required, your home environment is cleaner and more attractive. Our instructors noticed, however, that New Yorkers are not getting the paint jobs they deserve and that many tenants do not understand their rights when it comes to painting.
Thus, we made this class, which comes with a 40-page book, seven video lessons containing 59 minutes of material, and a 19-question quiz.
Don’t put off improving your life and your home any longer, purchase this class!

What NYC tenants are legally entitled to regarding paint jobs in their apartments; we will examine the Housing Maintenance Code requirement to paint NYC apartments and we will talk about:
- Painting requirements in a one- or two- family dwelling
- Painting requirements in a multiple dwelling
- Extra protections with respect to painting Rent Stabilized apartment
- Painting requirements for co-op shareholders
- Painting requirements when tenant is renting an apartment from a co-op shareholder or renting from a condo owner
- The standard of the paint job
What the Warranty of Habitability is and how it relates to paint jobs
What to do if you don’t get your paint job to which you are entitled, including:
- First steps for tenant if landlord is refusing to paint as required by law, including how to make a “Paint Matrix” and how to make complaints to HPD.
- How to do an “HP proceeding”
- What extra remedies Rent Stabilized tenants have, including how to file a Decreased Services Proceeding with DHCR and how a Rent Stabilized tenant should make the decision about which proceeding to bring
How to keep landlord from using the issue of granting access for the paint job against you
What to do if you do not want the landlord to paint, including how to attempt to achieve informal resolution and how best to write your agreement with landlord up
How possible it is or is not to paint your own apartment your own color and deduct the cost from the rent

If painting is a big issue for you, you will be able to make better decisions about which type of apartment to rent, because you will understand how frequently a landlord is supposed to paint different types of NYC apartments and what quality the paint job is supposed to be.
You will be able to request a required paint job in a straightforward way that is likely to get you results.
You will be able to make an HPD complaint against your landlord.
You will be able to bring an HP action against your landlord.
If you are a Rent Stabilized tenant, you will be able to file a Proceeding for a Rent Reduction Based Upon Decreased Services.
If you want a required paint job delayed, you may be able to negotiate that with your landlord.
If you want a different paint color or to paint yourself, you may be able to negotiate that with your landlord.