Latest news with #CoryLWeiss
New York Times
02-08-2025
- General
- New York Times
How to Stop Your Landlord From Making You Pay for Repairs
Q: I have lived in a rent-stabilized apartment in a co-op building with a non-eviction plan since 1979. Recently, the super identified leakage, likely caused by the deterioration of the grout in my bathroom shower tiles. This is causing damage to other parts of the building. The owner of my apartment shares is financially responsible for maintaining the apartment, but is trying to make me pay for the cost of the repair, claiming that I was neglectful in keeping up the bathroom tiles and grout. Am I responsible for this? A: Do not let the shareholder — your landlord — push the cost of this repair onto you. You have lived in the apartment for 45 years, and deteriorating grout over that time is a maintenance issue, not a result of your negligence. 'This tenant is not responsible for the cost of these repairs,' said Justin C. Brasch, an attorney who represents tenants in New York. Cory L. Weiss, a partner at the Manhattan firm Tarter Krinsky & Drogin, who represents the landlords of rent-regulated tenants, agreed. 'The owner of the apartment is required to perform the repairs,' he said. 'The tenant would only be responsible for the landlord's cost of such repairs if the grout problem was caused by the negligent or otherwise wrongful conduct of the tenant.' It's up to either the co-op or the owner to fix the problem. If it's within the interior of the apartment, as you describe, it likely falls to the owner. The building's governing documents should have the answer. If your landlord believes the co-op is responsible, then they can make a claim against the co-op. New York's Division of Housing and Community Renewal outlines landlords' responsibilities under the rent regulation law, and states that an owner must provide and maintain required or essential services for tenants, including repairs. You can write a letter to your landlord by certified mail describing the grout deterioration, and stating that the problem is ordinary maintenance and that you're not responsible. Mention that if the repairs are not made, you will call 311 or file what's known as an HP action in housing court to demand that they are. If your landlord continues to insist that this is your responsibility, you can also bring a harassment claim against them in court.
New York Times
17-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
How Much Notice Do You Have to Give Your Landlord?
Q: I sublet a market-rate rental apartment in Brooklyn on a month-to-month basis. There is nothing in my sublet agreement with the prime tenant that states how much notice I have to give before I move out. A previous subletter moved out with only a few days' notice, and the prime tenant withheld their security deposit, claiming it had to be used for the uncovered next months' rent. Are they legally able to do that? Am I bound by some law requiring that I give more notice if we haven't agreed upon it? A: Technically, the law does not require that you give the prime tenant, who is also your landlord, a certain amount of notice before you move out. But there is some nuance here. 'If a judge thought it was unfair or inequitable — that there was lack of notice, even if it wasn't legally required — it could bear on the decision,' said David A. Kaminsky, a real estate lawyer in Manhattan. Mr. Kaminsky said he does not agree with those decisions, but sometimes they do happen. Giving notice of a full calendar month is both courteous and a way to protect your security deposit. 'If you wound up in small claims court, it would be helpful to be able to say you have given the landlord sufficient notice as you were able to provide,' he said. Cory L. Weiss, chair of the landlord and tenant practice at Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP, agreed that if your deposit were not returned, and you attempted to recover it by suing your landlord, a judge would consider the facts of the case, including your actions. 'The court often rules based on what it believes to be fair and equitable, notwithstanding the black letter law,' Mr. Weiss said. The law states that within 14 days of your departure, your landlord must return the security deposit to you, or give a detailed accounting of how they used it to pay for damages other than reasonable wear and tear. If you feel you've acted in good faith and the landlord tries to keep any portion of your deposit by claiming that you were late in giving notice, then you should consider legal action, said Mr. Kaminsky. 'I suggest taking the prime tenant to court to recover double the amount of deposit wrongfully withheld,' he said.
