Landlord Issues, what are my rights?

katherine08

So, I have a leaky ceiling in my first floor apartment. A few months ago the ceiling fell through...

The landlord responded and got it fixed. However, only partially. The ceiling got new boards and was replastered. It was never repainted (so huge cardboard things were visible on the ceiling against the rest of the white painted ceiling, not a big deal but a bit sloppy). However, what he didn't fix was the water damage of the residue from water leaking against the wall. So now there is water behind the wallpaper, and it is drooping down...does that make sense? Anyways, he took $300 off that months rent after we asked him to give us a discount. (Our kitchen was unusable for a week).

Now, it is leaking again. I called him about two weeks ago and he comes over and brings the plumber, but says he can't do anything about it. In the past week the leak has gotten worse and parts fo the ceiling/plaster have fallen off. My kitchen is unusable, I don't know what kind of water is leaking through. I have called him 3 times and he has yet to respond. What are my rights? What should I do next? Does calling 311 really help? I'd like the problem fixed and some kind of rent reduction...how should I handle this situation?

Thank you!!

modsquad

Stop calling the Landlord. You need to document everything: dates phone calls emails people you have talked/meet in relation to this, the people who fixed it the first time, the plumber who came to look with the LL. Most important, pictures of the damage and I'm not being facetious when I say use your imagination. I had a similar situation a few years back and took pictures of my diapered daughter sitting on the edge of a water soaked desk with 2 Dells sitting in water with monitors. Oh, the Dells? I found them on the street garbage day. Hard Drives were ruined of course. A got a free month' rent.
Take this evidence to a tenant's lawyer. His certified letter accompanied by the evidence should get the problem solved. You could try sending the letter yourself, if you want to save a couple a hundred. Make sure to certify.
If you have someone living below you enlarge the problem by pouring water down the damaged wall into their place too. You're under no obligation to protect anybody else's property.
311? Gotta couple of months and a few thousand to throw away?

dakotas way

Subject: ceiling

It sounds like there's still an active leak somewhere in the pipes in the ceiling. Or maybe it's someones toilet leaking above you. He says it can't be fixed, but it can. It's probably going to cost some serious bucks to get it done and he doesn't want to have to put holes in the ceilings or walls to get to it. But he has to, cause this sounds unliveable.
He definitely should have kept the hole open long enough to dry out any water. That being said, it sounds like an ongoing problem and he has to fix it.
Definitely certified letters are in order. You send one to him certified and one regular mail. That way you've covered all of your bases if you ever have to go to tenant court. It's all about documentation when you go to court. And when you take pictures, make sure you show the date in there somehow. Maybe a newspaper with the date or something like that to prove when this has occured.
But I don't at all agree with Modsquad about pouring water down the wall into the apartment below you. Totally uncool to do as a neighbor, no matter what the reason.
What? Share the misery??
That's just not nice!

pitu

http://www.tenant.net/nyc.html

and what modsquad said, except for the fraud and unneighborly behavior
:-'