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Can excessive noise from a neighboring apartment legally justify a tenant withholding rent in New York City? And can a tenant run a daycare in their NYC apartment?

In Episode 15 we discuss whether excessive noise from a neighboring apartment violates the warranty of habitability and justifies a tenant withholding rent in New York City. The episode also explores the legality of operating a Group Family Daycare in a New York City apartment.

Listen on Spotify, Apple, or Google.

Ask us your questions at [email protected].

Please: 5 Stars! Spotify follow! Post on your socials!

Links:

(1) Link to Today’s Case

(2) Every residential lease implicitly carries with it a “Warranty of Habitability”. Real Property Law §235-b; Park West Management Corp. v. Mitchell, 47 NY2d 316 [1979].

(3) Noise from a tenant’s neighbor can theoretically breach the warranty of habitability and support a rent abatement. Nostrand Gardens Co-Op v. Howard, 221 AD2d 637 [2nd Dept 1995]; Armstrong v Archives L.L.C., 46 AD3d 465 [1st Dept 2007].

(4) Courts have repeatedly held that “a resident of a large city cannot reasonably expect to be surrounded by the stillness which prevails in a rural district.” Carroll v. Radoniqi, 2012 WL 4086956 [Supreme Court, New York County 2012], aff’d, 105 AD3d 493, 494 [1st Dept 2013].

(5) Link for Information on obtaining a Group Family Daycare License

(6) A tenant cannot be evicted for running a properly licensed Group Family Daycare in New York City. Marick Real Estate, LLC v. Ramirez, 11 Misc 3d 42, 43 [App. Term 2nd Dept. 2005)].

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If you leave your apartment for a long time, can your landlord change the locks?

In Episode 14, we see a tenant who drove a U-Haul up to his apartment, removed most of his possessions, and drove away for eight months. When he came back, the landlord had changed the locks. Would the court restore this tenant to possession? And why?

Listen on Spotify, Apple, or Google.

Link to Today’s Case

Email us with questions to answer on the air at [email protected].

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You might be Rent Stabilized and/or overcharged if your landlord changed the size of your apartment before you moved in!

In Episode 13 we discuss the often abused and hard-to-discover practice of landlords charging first (market rate) rents for “newly created” Rent Stabilized apartments. Free market tenants as well as Rent Stabilized tenants should pay careful attention to this episode. Your free market apartment might be Rent Stabilized and you might be entitled to an overcharge award.

Listen on Spotify, Apple, or Google.

Links:

New York State Senate Bill S2980C

New York City Department of Buildings

New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal

Ask us your questions at [email protected].

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You may have rights to an apartment you live in even if you are not the tenant and the lease is not in your name; And what is the difference between a licensee and a squatter?

In Episode 12 we discuss the many situations where a person living in an apartment is not the tenant and the lease is not in that occupant’s name, but nevertheless, the person has rights and is entitled to a very specific notice before an owner may start eviction proceedings. We look at a case that was dismissed when the owner described the occupant as a “squatter”, when he was a “licensee”.

The facts of your situation give rise to your legal interest in the apartment. Your legal interest in the apartment gives rise to the type of notice you are entitled to. The purpose of the notice is so you can understand your rights and figure out your defenses. Lawsuits are not supposed to be surprises!

Listen on Spotify, Apple, or Google. Please post to your socials, you might not need this exact info today, but someone else might!

Ask us your questions at [email protected].

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Getting Your Security Deposit Back; Many Tenants Have a Right To a Pre-Exit Inspection

In Episode 11 we discuss the law that says many tenants have a right to a pre-exit inspection. For non-Rent-Stabilized tenants, within a reasonable time after notification by either the landlord or the tenant of either’s intention to terminate the tenancy (unless it is the tenant terminating the tenancy with less than two weeks’ notice), the landlord shall notify the tenant in writing of the tenant’s right to request an inspection before vacating the premises and of the tenant’s right to be present at the inspection. If the tenant requests such an inspection, the inspection shall be made no earlier than two weeks and no later than one week before the end of the tenancy. The landlord shall provide at least forty-eight hours written notice of the date and time of the inspection. After the inspection, the landlord shall provide the tenant with an itemized statement specifying repairs or cleaning that are proposed to be the basis of any deductions from the tenant’s deposit. The tenant shall have the opportunity to cure any such condition before the end of the tenancy. See General Obligations Law 7-108(1-a)(d).

In today’s case, we see what happens when the landlord fails to give the tenant the notice of the right to the inspection.

Listen on Spotify, Apple, or Google.

Ask us your questions at [email protected].

We have a great blog post up about security deposits!

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If my landlord asks me to move out of my Rent Stabilized apartment, into another apartment in the same building, does my Rent Stabilized status move with me?

In Episode 9 we discuss what happens when a landlord asks a tenant in a Rent Stabilized apartment to move to another apartment within the same building and tenant agrees. Does the tenant’s Rent Stabilized “status” move with him?

Listen on Apple, Spotify, and Google.

Ask us your questions at [email protected].

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Will the Housing Court recognize polyamorous relationships when making decisions about who can succeed to (inherit) a Rent Stabilized apartment?

In Episode 8 we discuss whether the NYC Housing Court will recognize polyamorous relationships when making decisions about who can succeed to (inherit) a Rent Stabilized apartment.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, or Google.

Here is a link to today’s case.

In Episode 6 we also explored succession as a topic.

Ask us your questions at [email protected].

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How do I succeed to (inherit) a Rent Stabilized apartment?

In Episode 6 we discuss how to succeed to (inherit) a Rent Stabilized apartment. We also talk about what happens if you family member is unwilling to testify on your behalf in court.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, or Google.

There is a DHCR form that the tenant can fill out, that helps establish that you are a potential successor. Notice To Owner Of Family Members Residing With The Named Tenant In The Apartment Who May Be Entitled To Succession Rights/Protection From Eviction (DHCR Form RA- 23.5).

We have a free booklet available on the Tenant Learning Platform called “How Protect Your Rent Stabilized Apartment From a Nonprimary Residence Claim”. It is not exactly on the succession topic, but its close, and the booklet lists all the ways you can prove that a tenant or occupant is a primary resident of a Rent Stabilized apartment.

Ask us your questions at [email protected].