Stove Replaced by a Cheaper Model
Q. I rented a nonstabilized apartment in a condominium in Brooklyn. One of the selling points was the kitchen with stainless steel appliances. After about a week, though, the oven stopped working. The management company decided to replace it with a cheaper model that looks ugly. Can we demand that it be replaced with something of […]
Subletting A Regulated Unit
Q. Can a person renting in a rent-regulated apartment in Brooklyn sublet the apartment or otherwise get out of the lease? A. A rent-regulated tenant usually has no automatic right to sublet or “get out of a lease”, said David A. Kaminsky, a Manhattan lawyer who represents tenants. A rent-controlled tenant generally has no lease and […]
Short Sale or Foreclosure?
There are many homeowners who are now faced with the burden of not being able to make their mortgage payments, and who are finding they have no equity in their home. If they are in a situation of having to sell, they find themselves in the precarious position of deciding if they should “Short Sale” […]
A Regulated Tenant Wants A Roomate
Q. I am a 70-year-old rent controlled tenant in a co-op building where I have lived for 42 years. My apartment is owned by a shareholder. I would like to have a friend move in. I am now the sole occupant and haven’t had a lease for many years. Can I have a roommate without jeopardizing […]
Calculating a Stabilized Rent
Q. I rent a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. The building used to be all rent-stabilized, but then some of the apartments, including mine, became market rate under the high-rent/high-income deregulation law. Recently, however, the landlord received a J-51 tax abatement, which requires all apartments to be rent-stabilized until December 2018. Is my now-stabilized rent based on […]
Succession Rights For Family Members
Q. Does the son of rent-stabilized tenants have the right to continue to live in the apartment and get a new lease in his own name after Mom and Dad have moved out? A. David A. Kaminsky, a Manhattan lawyer who specializes in landlord-tenant law, said that under the rent laws, a family member of a stabilized […]
Take Other Things, but Leave the Fridge
Q. I recently moved out of an apartment I had lived in for over 20 years. Because I had replaced my refrigerator, air-conditioner and stove, I advised the management I would be taking them with me. They have kept $900 of my $1,400 security deposit. Can they do this? A. “A landlord is required to maintain the […]
When Church Becomes A Landlord
Q. My rent-stabilized building was bought by a church. Do stabilization laws still apply? A. “The writer’s rent-stabilization rights continue even though the property was purchased by a church,” said David Kaminsky, a Manhattan real estate lawyer. He said the only way a change of ownership could result in the deregulation of an apartment was if […]
The Sponsor’s Voice Is Heard the Loudest
Q. My 75-unit Manhattan co-op recently adopted an amendment to our proprietary lease banning smoking throughout the building. The change required approval of owners holding two-thirds of the outstanding shares. The sponsor — who converted the building 25 years ago — owns about a third of all shares and voted for the amendment. Fewer than half […]
Neighbor Sues Over Second Hand Smoke
Woman with sick child says cigarette smoke comes through vents Christie Ewen’s neighbor is a smoker whose secondhand smoke comes through the vents and she’s suing him to make him stop. “We have to keep the windows open,” Ewen said. “In the winter it’s impossible. In the summer we get mosquitoes.” Ewen, 38, says her […]