On June 2, the City Council voted on legislation requiring inspections for self-closing doors in residential buildings. This is an additional fire safety measure to prevent fire tragedies, and it complements the recent legislative package that was passed in May and signed into law on June 1....
On June 7, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law New York State Senate Bill S4937C. This law allows hotels that are already authorized as Class B hotels to rent rooms for permanent residence purposes and unlocks $200 million in state funds to finance the conversions. The bill cites both the lack...
As summer approaches, many of your tenants may start to install air conditioners in their windows. Or they may ask a super to do the installation for them. But air conditioners that tenants or building employees improperly install or remove may cause you big trouble. They may fall out of windows...
At a recent City Council hearing, councilmembers questioned fire and housing department leaders on the city’s safety inspections of residential buildings in the wake of a January fire at a high-rise in the Bronx that left 17 people dead. The Bronx apartment building fire, the city's...
The DHCR has finally issued rules to permit rent-stabilized leases and lease renewals to be offered and accepted through electronic means. On March 25, the DHCR issued Operational Bulletin 2022-1, entitled “Electronic Lease Offering and Tenant’s Voluntary Consent.” The bulletin...
The Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) is mandated by law to establish yearly rent adjustments for rent-stabilized apartments in New York City. The board holds an annual series of public meetings and hearings to consider research from staff and testimony from owners, tenants, advocacy groups, and...
The NYC Department of Finance (DOF) requires certain owners of residential properties to file the Real Property Income & Expense Statement (RPIE) every year. The DOF uses income and expense information gathered each year from this filing to value your property accurately for the 2023–...
A recent disability discrimination case involving an emotional support dog highlights the murky waters owners must navigate when making exceptions to pet policies as a reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities. Many leases contain “no-pet” clauses, barring pets...
Local Law 84 (LL84) requires owners of large buildings to measure their energy and water consumption annually in a process called benchmarking. LL84 standardizes this process by requiring building owners to enter their annual energy and water use in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency...
Among the numerous required postings and signage for apartment buildings in New York City, the fire safety notice that's posted on the backs of apartment entrance doors is one that has been shown to be very necessary due to recent tragic events. When faced with a fire in one’s building...
