What Can I Do About My Terrible Neighbor?

New York Times

2 days ago

Q: I live in a co-op in Washington Heights. The neighbor directly below me passed away several years ago. Her grandson lived with her and remains in the apartment, though he does not own shares and is illegally living there. The unit has fallen to such neglect. We are now dealing with terrible smells and are infested with roaches and, we fear, rodents too. The building is offering a basic exterminating service, but it's not making a dent in the problem. What are our rights? What should we do?
A: If your downstairs neighbor is not on the lease, then he is, like you say, probably living in the apartment illegally.
But first, deal with the rodents and roaches. Shareholders and co-op boards have a landlord-tenant relationship in many respects, and it is your board's responsibility to make sure that pests do not overrun your apartment.
'If the building's regular extermination procedures don't solve the problem, the co-op is required to do more,' said William J. Geller, who practices real estate law at Braverman Greenspun.
Document the problem and write a letter to the co-op board. If it does not respond, call 311 to make a complaint to Housing Preservation & Development, and encourage your neighbors to do the same.
If the co-op does not take reasonable steps to stop the infestation, you could have claims against it for breaches of your proprietary lease, the warranty of habitability and fiduciary duty, Mr. Geller said.
As far as evicting your neighbor, that could take a long time. Check the proprietary lease to see if it outlines the succession rights for shareholders' family members. They are typically pretty strict.
'Most proprietary leases provide that a relative who is not on the stock and lease is not allowed to live in the apartment without the shareholder being present,' said Richard Klein, a partner who practices real estate law at Dorf Nelson & Zauderer LLP. 'If the shareholder is not there, whether they are dead or alive, it is an illegal sublet.'
There are two approaches to get him out: The co-op can either try to evict him with a notice to vacate and a holdover proceeding in housing court, or leave it up to the deceased shareholder's estate.
In the latter case, the co-op can serve notice to the executor of the estate, stating that the grandson must leave within 30 days or the proprietary lease will be terminated. If the executor takes no action to evict him, the co-op could terminate the lease and sell the shares at an auction, which would place the responsibility of eviction onto the new owner.