In the News
September 19, 2017
The DHCR recently issued Fact Sheet #45 pertaining to the housing rights of foreign-born tenants. It reminds owners about the laws regarding discrimination, harassment, and retaliation pertaining to immigrant tenants.
Landlord v. Tenant
September 19, 2017
DOB VIOLATIONS
Landlord Promptly Started Eviction Proceedings Against Squatters
DOB issued six violation notices to landlord, in connection with illegal building alterations contrary to the building’s Certificate of Occupancy. DOB’s inspector found that, among other things, landlord had...
Feature
August 18, 2017
If you sue to evict a tenant in housing court for a reason other than nonpayment of rent (such as nonprimary residence), the law says you’re entitled to what’s known as “use and occupancy” (U & O). Getting U & O while your case is pending is critical, since eviction...
Rent Increases
August 18, 2017
If you sign a vacancy lease with a tenant between Oct. 1, 2017, and Sept. 30, 2018, the new order issued on June 27 by the Rent Guidelines Board (RGB)—RGBO #49—lets you collect the vacancy increases permitted under the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997 (RRRA).
In the News
August 18, 2017
The New York City Council recently passed a package of bills intended to provide tenants greater protection from landlord harassment and unsafe conditions. Several of the bills redefine the legal parameters of tenant harassment. Some of the bills also change penalties for harassment. Others were...
Feature
July 27, 2017
Suppose you sign an initial lease with a rent-stabilized tenant and require the tenant to get a guarantor to guarantee payment of the rent. At renewal time, the tenant returns the renewal lease without the guarantor’s signature. According to the DHCR and a housing court case, you are not...
Rent Increases
July 27, 2017
On June 27, 2017, the New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) issued an order—RGBO #49—setting the rent increases you may take for rent-stabilized tenants in New York City on leases beginning anytime on or after Oct. 1, 2017, through Sept. 30, 2018. This order represents the first...
In the News
July 27, 2017
The New York City Council recently enacted legislation establishing a right to counsel for low-income tenants in Housing Court. Currently, the bill is awaiting the mayor’s signature before it can become law. The bill, Int. 214-A, was proposed more than two years ago but wasn’t brought...
In the News
July 27, 2017
Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced a $32 million, multi-agency plan to reduce the city’s rat population that targets the three most infested parts of city: the Grand Concourse area, Chinatown/East Village/Lower East Side, and Bushwick/Bedford-Stuyvesant. This interagency initiative aims...
In the News
July 27, 2017
City Council speaker hopefuls are urging the de Blasio administration to support a lawsuit challenging the city’s property tax system. Council members Donovan Richards, Mark Levine, Corey Johnson, Ritchie Torres, and Jumaane Williams, all of whom, except Torres, have shown interest in running...
