landlord-tenant disputes

Landlords have a responsibility to provide safe, well-maintained homes. While the city does not enforce minor repairs, it does require landlords to adhere to housing codes. These codes are enforced by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development Violation (HPD).  If they do not, they may be issued one of three types of violations. A…

A rental history can help you in several different ways. For one, it can help you determine if your apartment is rent-stabilized. It can also help you argue against outrageous rent increases, even if your apartment isn’t rent-stabilized.  Seeing the history might also give you an idea of how often rent increases and by how…

Your landlord has certain obligations to make sure your apartment is livable. Those obligations include providing hot water year-round and heating during “heat season.” Heat season runs from October 1st to May 31st each year. We’re still a few months out…but knowing your rights is important before heat season begins. For one thing, landlords in…

It can be tough to be a renter in New York. This is because landlords experience a lot of concern about destructive or illegal activities occurring on their property. This concern is understandable, but it does not give them carte blanche to invade the privacy of their tenants on an unreasonable and persistent basis. Many…

If you live in a rent-controlled dwelling in New York, you probably appreciate knowing that your rent will remain affordable throughout your tenancy. You may be wary of engaging in any kind of landlord-tenant dispute with the property owner because you want to keep your residence. We understand how you might not want to “rock…

Landlord-tenant disputes in New York come in many forms. One of the most tragic of these forms is housing discrimination based on one’s immigration status. What many immigrants do not know is that it is illegal for landlords to discriminate against them in any manner. This blog post will address important housing discrimination elements for…

When your rental lease is ending and you decide to move to a new residence, having your current security deposit returned to you is vital. Most people in New York need this money to cover the expenses related to a new rental unit. For example, if you use most of your available funds to cover…

When brutally cold temperatures hit New York City, as they have this winter, renters are at the mercy of their landlords for their comfort and safety. The city has received some 22,000 complaints from New Yorkers about lack of heat or hot water. A nurse who lives in East Harlem says, “The heat and hot…

Many tenants in a New York apartment want to sublet the residence. For example, when residents must leave town for an extended period they may choose to sublet the residence in order to hold on to it. Many leases contain a clause stating that the tenant may not sublet the apartment. However, the law says…

If your name finds its way onto one of the many tenant blacklists for New York, you may have a great amount of trouble renting a home. Even worse, you probably do not even know you have been blacklisted. All you know is that no one wants to rent you a home and you have…