Another TENANT'S RIGHTS QUESTION! update*

laguna

Subject: Another TENANT'S RIGHTS QUESTION! update*

Yesterday evening we were locked out of our apartment for nearly 4 hours, all said and done. It was after 6pm and our landlord's office had closed. Being a good tenant, I contacted the emergency service number to inform that our lock was broken (tried both keys and lock would not turn). They informed us for over an hour that someone had been dispatched. After nearly 1 1/2 hours, I contacted them again. This time we were told it was our problem (!). Again, the lock was broken. We had our keys. We weren't locked out. Their problem, not ours. I explained this to the dispatcher who supposedly contacted someone who said no one could come and gave permission to contact a locksmith.

We have our bill, and I called our landlord's office today to make sure we could deduct this amount from our rent (as stated on the NYS Attorney General website: "In emergencies, tenants may make necessary repairs and deduct reasonable repair costs from the rent. For example, when a landlord has been notified that a door lock is broken and willfully neglects to repair it, the tenant may hire a locksmith and deduct the cost from the rent. Tenants should keep receipts for such repairs. " )

The office stated that we cannot deduct this from our rent check and that they would issue a check. The person I spoke with was also a bit flaky about covering the bill, stating that "It's normal wear and tear" (we've lived there for a year) and my favorite "It's no one's fault, it's the lock fault" when I told her it wasn't our fault the lock broke.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Do I not have the right to deduct this from my rent?

Thank you for your help!


Update: As I should have expected from our landlord, he cut me a check on the spot when presented with the bill. We've never had any problems in the past and has been good from the get go. The person we dealt prior to our landlord was only an intermediary and didn't fully understand what had happened. All is good.

garfunky

Subject: Re: Another TENANT'S RIGHTS QUESTION! Please help.

a lock spontaneously breaking is not willful neglect.
they did not ignore an ongoing issue, at least not one that you mention reporting to them.... the thing just broke.
its normal wear and tear. (but clearly something of an emergency)

fairly sure here -
if its the only lock on the door it is their responsibility.
if there are 2 locks they are only responsible to maintain one.
tenant must maintain secondary / tertiary locks.
(regardless of whether or not you installed them)

moving on,

they told you to go get a locksmith.
you state they are going to send a check.
(they probably just want to keep their bookkeeping in order)

so unless you truly want to p off your LL and truly want to damage the relationship - give them a chance to send the promised check.

document everything, and if they dont send you a check,
then start in on em.

thats how i would play it, at least.

garfunky

Subject: Re: Another TENANT'S RIGHTS QUESTION! update*

laguna wrote: Update: As I should have expected from our landlord, he cut me a check on the spot when presented with the bill. We've never had any problems in the past and has been good from the get go. The person we dealt prior to our landlord was only an intermediary and didn't fully understand what had happened. All is good.

told ya so.

given the chance , most landlords will do the right thing.

The only thing "wrong" was your expectation of
instant gratification from an after hours underling.

glad it worked out well.

laguna

it's not wrong to have high expections. incompentence doesn't really sit well with me.

but, the assistant at the landlord's office obviously didn't have the full story either.

garfunky

So if i call you in the middle of the night asking when your boss will cut me a check for something that happened 5 minutes ago, if you cant provide an instantaneous response, shall i label you incompetent ?

Dont expect an after hours underling to have such powers and you wont be let down.

I thought your initial post to be over reacting and borderline hysterical but realize you were probably just transferring your frustration and apparent need to assign blame for a random occurrence on to said underling.

The reason i replied to begin with is because ive seen people scream "tenants rights" when they shouldnt have and suddenly find that their landlord is booting them / giving them a $500 increase/ suddenly not bothering to fix real issues etc. i felt really bad when this happened to a neighbor , and thought maybe i could prevent a similar situation from spontaneously combusting.

You were mobilizing for nuclear war,
when waiting out the day was all that was required.

laguna

PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2007 3:20 pm Post subject:
So if i call you in the middle of the night asking when your boss will cut me a check for something that happened 5 minutes ago, if you cant provide an instantaneous response, shall i label you incompetent ? Dont expect an after hours underling to have such powers and you wont be let down.

Actually, I was referring to the woman in the landlord's office, not the "after hours underling" as evidenced by my initial question:

We have our bill, and I called our landlord's office today to make sure we could deduct this amount from our rent

Perhaps a more thorough reading of my initial post would have helped in your response.

I thought your initial post to be over reacting and borderline hysterical

My post, a question, doesn't quite qualify as hysteria. And, the fact that I posted an update a day later indicating that all ended well surely was enough to indicate I wasn't hysterical.

You were mobilizing for nuclear war, when waiting out the day was all that was required.

Again, I was asking a question. Isn't that one of the reasons these forums exist? I was seeking an answer...I didn't anticipate being scolded.

charlesbklyn

Subject: Cutting a check

I believe the reason a landlord would like to cut a check instead of just reduce it off the rent is that they can use the payment as a tax deduction for normal wear and tear on the building.

If they reduced the rent of the amount, it would be harder to prove to the IRS of the payment for repairs.

Having said that, I have heard of a lot of management companies in the area being very practically useless. They should have a 24-hour number and the ability to call of locksmith if necessary. Its the right thing to do, and not too difficult to boot.


Charlesbklyn