Most owners know that NYC’s façade inspection safety program (FISP), formerly known as Local Law 11, requires periodic inspections of a building’s exterior façades. These inspection requirements were initiated in response to fatal injuries from falling masonry. Most recently, in...
The de Blasio administration recently released a draft report that outlined plans to promote fair housing in New York City for the next five years. The impetus for the “Where We Live” report began during the Obama administration when the federal government wanted to strengthen...
Last April, the New York City Council passed the Climate Mobilization Act, a package of legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from NYC buildings and improving their energy efficiency. The goal of the new law is to reduce overall carbon emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent...
In November 2019, the latest FDNY rules implementing Local Laws 114 and 115 of 2018 went into effect. These particular rules pertain to providing an emergency planning checklist to apartment residents and posting “Close the Door” signs in conspicuous locations. And in recent years,...
Before you can sue to evict a tenant for not paying the rent, you must send the tenant a legal notice known as a “rent demand.” In it, you ask the tenant to pay the rent owed and give him a chance to pay before starting a nonpayment proceeding. Although this seems simple enough, a...
When you get a violation notice from the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), it will specify a deadline for correcting the violation. HPD issues violations to owners of buildings that don’t meet the standards of the city’s Housing Maintenance Code...
Seven plaintiffs have joined the Rent Stabilization Association (RSA) and Community Home Improvement Program (CHIP) to sue over new rent regulations they claim are ‟unconstitutional.” The plaintiffs are management companies run by three different landlords and an individual landlord. The...
The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) made significant changes to various statutes governing rent-stabilized housing, including the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, the Rent Stabilization Law of 1969, various provisions of the State Real Property Law, The Real Property...
Last year, both New York State and New York City enacted several significant measures regarding sexual harassment in the workplace. At the state level, the labor law was amended to require the Department of Labor and Division of Human Rights to collaborate in developing both a model sexual...
On June 14, 2019, the New York State Legislature enacted the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (the Act), which significantly altered existing rent control and rent stabilization...
Owners sometimes hire tenants to be superintendents. This practice can lead to serious problems unless the owner takes precautions. When a tenant is hired to act as a superintendent, he becomes the owner’s employee. This is not a problem. But suppose the owner later wants to fire the...
