At some point, you may find yourself suing a tenant in housing court to collect overdue rent and to evict the tenant if he or she doesn't pay. During the course of the case, the tenant may bring up any and all excuses to delay eviction. The tenant may claim that there are conditions in the...
It's not too soon for owners of buildings that contain rent-controlled units to begin preparing for the upcoming 2012-2013 maximum base rent (MBR) cycle. The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) has recently released the 2012-2013 MBR forms. The forms that need to be filed...
After the beating your building probably took this winter, you may notice cracks beginning to form in your façade or at other points in your building. Some cracks might not need attention, while others could have serious structural consequences. But how can you tell the difference? Much of the...
On March 24, 2011, the NYS Court of Appeals ruled that the NYC Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) had the power to impose extra increases on long-term tenants of low-rent apartments. The issue dates back to 2008, when the RGB passed a measure in Orders Nos. 40 and 41 to allow owners of rent-stabilized...
One way tenants may steal electricity is by stealing from the building supply. Tenants may tamper with wiring and hook up directly to your building's metered electricity supply. A tenant who does this taps into power that you're paying for. Another way to steal electricity is directly...
In the past few years, we have seen an incredible rise in bedbug infestations in New York City. While reports of infestations might have ticked down this past winter, experts say that bedbugs will be present in record numbers in a few months, says Jeffrey White, a research entomologist for...
This winter New York City has experienced record-breaking snowfall. With the latest snowstorm at the end of January, the city received about 19 inches of snow in what has become the snowiest January in more than a century of record keeping. The average winter in New York City brings 21 inches of...
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to “public places” and not to private communities. However, if your building allows public use of its swimming pool or other facilities, you may be subject to the ADA and its most recent revisions.
If you make improvements to a rent-regulated apartment or you make a building-wide major capital improvement (MCI) to a property, you may be entitled to a rent increase. The amount of an “individual apartment improvement” rent increase is equal to 1/40th of an improvement's cost...
A recent court decision could affect the ability of owners of former Mitchell-Lama buildings to convert thousands of apartments citywide to market-rate rents.
On Oct. 19, 2010, the Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, issued two decisions substantially weakening the “four-year rule” on overcharge cases. The rule prevents the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) from investigating rent overcharge complaints by looking...
The Red Flags Rule is a regulation published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under its consumer protection authority to compel businesses to develop written plans to combat identity theft. It was created under the authority of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) and the...
