In the News
February 20, 2015
A sweeping corruption investigation led to the recent indictment of 16 employees in the Department of Buildings and Department of Housing Preservation and Development, along with various property managers, contractors, and expeditors. The defendants are charged in 26 indictments including bribery,...
In the News
February 20, 2015
Newly elected New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie recently stated that renewing and strengthening New York City rent-regulation laws will be his “No. 1 priority” during his first public appearance with Mayor Bill de Blasio. “When it comes to the issue of affordable housing, he...
Feature
January 28, 2015
Tenants can install and maintain their own locks on their apartment entrance doors in addition to the lock supplied by the owner. The lock may be no more than three inches in circumference, and tenants must provide owners with a duplicate key upon request. Any lease provision requiring a tenant to...
Management Basics
January 28, 2015
Every Jan. 15, the NYC Department of Finance (DOF) sends to each owner a tentative assessment for the next fiscal year (2016, in the current case) conveying the market value of the lot, including improvements, the actual assessed value of the lot, and, most important, the value upon which the lot...
New Laws & Regs
January 28, 2015
The NYS Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act, which was signed into law by the governor on May 28, 2010, took effect in full on Jan. 1, 2015. Overseeing the law’s enforcement is the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). Businesses and households are no longer allowed to...
In the News
January 28, 2015
City Council Member Corey Johnson seeks to introduce new legislation that would change the methodology of the city’s Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) for determining rent guidelines for rent-stabilized apartments. At a rally in front of City Hall, he said that while owners’ operating...
In the News
January 28, 2015
On Jan. 20, the City Council’s Housing and Buildings Committee held a hearing to discuss various matters related to short-term apartment rentals, especially those listed through Airbnb, the pioneering home rental service. New York has emerged as Airbnb’s largest market. The company says...
Feature
December 18, 2014
When a tenant passes away or moves out of your rent-controlled apartment without leaving behind any occupants who qualify as tenant-successors, the apartment becomes decontrolled or no longer subject to rent-control laws. If that apartment is in a building built before Jan. 1, 1974, containing six...
Court Watch
December 18, 2014
In November, in a 5-2 vote, New York State’s highest court ruled that a lease for a rent-regulated apartment is a public benefit, just like disability or unemployment benefits, and cannot be seized as an asset in a personal bankruptcy.
Dos & Don'ts
December 18, 2014
Each year, tenants file heat and hot water complaints with the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR)—most of them at this time of year. City codes require owners to keep their buildings reasonably heated—68 degrees during the day and 55 degrees at night—from Oct. 1 to...
