When the tenant of a rent-regulated apartment dies and there is no relative living in the apartment who claims to have “pass-on” rights, an owner is still left with a number of legal complications before the apartment can be recovered.
Suppose you find out that an elderly tenant has moved to a nursing home or senior citizens' facility. But the tenant has not given up his rent-regulated apartment in your building. Perhaps the tenant—or his family—doesn't want to face up to the fact that he'll never be...
On Oct. 22, 2009, New York State's highest court dealt a devastating blow to the owners of the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village complexes in Manhattan when it ruled that they improperly began charging market rents on thousands of apartments. In a 4-to-2 decision, the court said that...
As winter approaches, heat and hot water complaints probably will be the most common type of service complaint you will face. A tenant may complain to the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) of a problem in his apartment. Or a group of tenants may organize and file a building-wide...
Asbestos exposure has long been linked to an increase risk of cancer, particularly for workers in construction jobs involving the use of asbestos materials. Asbestos was used as a fire-retardant insulation in the construction of buildings long before it was known to pose severe environmental and...
After last year's two unfortunate crane accidents, the New York City's Department of Buildings (DOB) is making increased efforts to better manage its resources and increase the supervision of its inspectors. Now, the DOB has begun a program in which all of the DOB's crane and...
Hot temperatures during summer and early fall months make it tempting for tenants to go up on the roof and sunbathe, barbecue, or just cool off from their hot apartments. Unfortunately, allowing tenants on the roof of your building can cause you many problems, such as code violation citations...
Earlier this year, the Department of Buildings (DOB) issued final rules on façade inspections that owners are required to conduct on their buildings that are greater than six stories high. The rules implement Local Law 38 of 2007 that staggered façade inspection and reporting deadlines to make...
Preferably, an owner wants to rent to a tenant who will stay in an apartment for at least the entire term of the lease. However, you will encounter tenants who, for various reasons, will want to leave temporarily before their lease ends and sublet their apartment. A sublet is a rental...
Owners must be careful about where they keep the money residents give them as security deposits. A security deposit is not in the same category as a rent check or other type of payment an owner may receive from a resident. Technically, the security deposit belongs to the resident. Although you...
Because of the limited supply of rent-stabilized and rent-controlled apartments, state law requires rent-regulated tenants to use them as a primary residence. Oftentimes, tenants will try to hold onto rent-stabilized or rent-controlled apartments they no longer live in. These tenants may be...
The most common tenant complaints deal with loud and disruptive neighbors. Your tenants may constantly be complaining of a neighbor's loud music, shouting and arguments, or barking dogs. And sooner or later, if asking the noisy tenant to stop does not work, you may have to start eviction...
