Feature

Avoid HPD Violations by Having Employees Routinely Check for Six Key Defects

June 22, 2017    
When a Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) inspector visits your building in response to a tenant’s complaint, the inspector won’t simply check the problem the tenant has complained about. The inspector will also check the tenant’s apartment for six defects...
Management Basics

File 2017 Rent Registrations Online by July 31

June 22, 2017    
You must file an Annual Apartment Registration application with the DHCR for every rent-stabilized apartment you own by July 31, 2017, using the DHCR’s online Owner Rent Regulation Application system. As in past years, the penalty for not filing is stiff: You can’t collect a rent...
In the News

Prolific NYC Owner Pleads Guilty, Must Pay $5M Settlement

June 22, 2017    
Steve Croman, an owner of 140 buildings who’s known for harassing his tenants, pleaded guilty recently to charges of fraudulently refinancing loans and committing tax fraud. Under the terms of his plea, Croman will serve one year on Rikers Island and is forced to pay a $5 million tax...
In the News

Annual Report Describes State of NYC Renters and Their Homes

June 22, 2017    
The NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy recently published its annual State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods report. The report provides a compendium of 2016 data and analysis about New York City’s housing, land use, demographics, and quality of life for each...
In the News

Water Board Won't Raise Rates for FY 2018

June 22, 2017    
On May 18, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) presented the NYC Water Board with its recommended approach to billing rates for the coming year. The DEP recommended that the board take no action on water rates. And at a public hearing on June 16th, the Water Board confirmed that...
Landlord v. Tenant

Landlord v. Tenant: July 2017

June 22, 2017    
LOFTS Buyouts of Prior Loft Tenants Permanently Excluded Units from Rent Regulation The Loft Board found that residential units in a building qualified as interim multiple dwellings (IMDs) under the Loft Law but weren’t subject to rent stabilization upon prior landlord’s purchase of...
Feature

Five Possible Arguments to Avoid Triple Damages for Rent Overcharge

May 24, 2017    
No owner likes to get hit with a rent overcharge order. And it’s worse if the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) orders you to pay triple damages on top of that. But the DHCR shouldn’t hit you with triple damages in every case where it finds an overcharge. If you can prove...
Q & A

Determining Fair Market Rent, Negotiating Initial Rent of a Decontrolled Apartment

May 24, 2017    
Q A rent-controlled tenant is vacating. There are eight apartments in my building. The other seven apartments were previously rent controlled or rent stabilized. As they became vacant, I renovated each apartment and then rented them, between the years of 2009 and 2012. They are currently all...
In the News

City Council Votes to Combat Illegal Home Conversions

May 24, 2017    
The City Council unanimously passed Intro 1218, which was proposed by City Councilman Vincent Gentile. The bill imposes stiff penalties on owners for illegal conversions. It targets owners of homes classified as “aggravated illegal conversions,” by imposing a $15,000 violation per three...
In the News

Penalty Schedule Updates for DOS, DOB

May 24, 2017    
OATH is New York City’s central independent administrative law court; it’s not part of the state court system. The OATH Hearings Division is the division of OATH that’s responsible for holding hearings on summonses issued by a variety of agencies for alleged quality of life...
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