How should I be dealing with my landlord?

liam · April 2007

Last week, I opened up my pantry (a closet in the kitchen) to get some cereal, and was greeted by water streaming down the walls, a bunch of soggy foodstuffs, and a shelf full of wet tools. I called my landlord, he came over and got the water turned off pretty fast, and told me that he would deal with the problem right away.

.....The leak came from the landlord's rehabbing of the apt. right above us. While doing demolition, they cracked a drainage pipe. A plumber came out and they decided that all of the plumbing had to be replaced. Fine.

So, three days ago they demolished the ceiling over my bathroom and the wall in the pantry. There is a good inch of debri on the floor of my bathroom and inside the tub. Basically, the bathroom is unusable, and the kitchen is pretty difficult to use. I'm getting the feeling that they are days away from getting things in working order, and I'm incredibly nervous that the damage that has been done to my apt. won't be fixed atleast back to the (pretty shitty) quality it was before this 'project'.

So, what are my options? What can I do to guarantee that the apt atleast gets returned to it's former condition? What can I do to help expedite the process? I feel also like I'm due some compensation for the freaking hassle.....I've had to shower at a friends house and I keep buying coffee at Saje so that I can use the bathroom.......anybody got any suggestions?

apollonia666 · April 2007

Have you explained to him that you aren't at all able to use your bathroom right now? It's possible that he doesn't realize that his contractor has done all of this. Perhaps you should call him, explain the situation, and tell him that if your bathroom isn't fixed right away then you'll have no choice but to complain to HPD.

If you call 311 and make a complaint to HPD, make it clear that you want an inspector to come to your apartment. They'll give you a complaint number; keep track of that. HPD is supposed to contact you within two days to set up an appointment for an inspector to come over, but in my experience they're not too reliable about that, so if you haven't heard from HPD in two days, call again in two days with your complaint number or your complaint may end up being dismissed.

If an HPD inspector comes over and issues a violation against your landlord, maybe a fine from the city will get him moving.

liam · April 2007

....yes. I've spoken with him, and he's come in and looked at the damage. He says he is sorry, and that he hopes that it will be fixed asap.

He's a nice enough guy, but I think he's in over his head. I'm trying to be patient, but I'd really like to take a crap in my own toilet.

stacey · April 2007

If your landlord is an nice guy let him know right away that it is becoming a big problem as well as a health issue (mold can develop). Put it in a handwritten letter to him (and keep a copy). If he is over his head and you can do the repairs yourself (not the plumbing but the sheetrocking, etc.) talk to him about doing it yourself and taking it off the rent. I dont know if its the law but when we renovated our tenant's apartment we did not charge them rent while we were working on it.

oiseau · April 2007

Make sure he pays for that soggy foodstuffs.

boygabriel · April 2007

stacey wrote: If your landlord is an nice guy let him know right away that it is becoming a big problem as well as a health issue (mold can develop). Put it in a handwritten letter to him (and keep a copy). If he is over his head and you can do the repairs yourself (not the plumbing but the sheetrocking, etc.) talk to him about doing it yourself and taking it off the rent. I dont know if its the law but when we renovated our tenant's apartment we did not charge them rent while we were working on it.

Yeah you mentioned two legal recourses, both of which are aggressive but legal.

The first is that you get the repairs done yourself and take the money out of the rent. (and well-document all your attempts to contact the landlord and the city.)

The second option is to take money out of your rent b/c your landlord is not meeting his Warrant of Habitability, which is the automatic obligation in any rental lease that your landlord has to keep your apt habitable, which right now he's clearly not meeting 100%.

edit: ps. here's some info on Warrant of Habitability from another post I made a while back:

http://www.oag.state.ny.us/realestate/habitability.html wrote: this[/url] on tenant.net:
ARRANTY OF HABITABILITY

WThe Warranty of Habitability is an important section of the New
York Real Property Law. It requires owners of buildings to keep
their premises safe, clean and in good repair. Both the common
areas of buildings and the interiors of apartments must be free
of any condition that is detrimental to a person's health, life
or safety.

Under the Warranty of Habitability, tenants frequently seek rent
abatements by withholding rental payments, in order to get a
service restored or a defective condition corrected. If there is
a need for an emergency repair that the owner refuses to address,
tenants may also contract privately to have the repair done, and
then deduct the cost from the rent.

An owner's liability is limited, however, if the cause of the
service disruption is the result of a labor dispute. If there is
such a strike, and the owner reaps a profit as a result, a court
may order the owner to "pass through" the saving to the tenant in
the form of a one-time rent reduction.

Before a tenant withholds rent, it is advisable to consult an
experienced tenant organizer, legislative office, or attorney in
order to assure that the law is being properly applied.

The legal procedures available under the Warranty of Habitability
are explained in greater detail in the section of this booklet
entitled, "Your Remedies."

Also this on the website I linked above:

If a landlord breaches the warranty, the tenant may sue for a rent reduction. The tenant may also withhold rent, but in response, the landlord may sue the tenant for non-payment of rent. In such a case, the tenant may countersue for breach of the warranty.

Rent reductions may be ordered if a court finds that the landlord violated the warranty of habitability. The reduction is computed by subtracting from the actual rent the estimated value of the apartment without the essential services.

mateo · April 2007

What he said.

And, as he cautioned, both of the approaches are, however, aggressive. Best first recourse is always try to work it out with your landlord. But if it's already been a matter of days and it's something as essential as your bathroom, I would call your LL today or tomorrow and say, "Look, I know you said you would deal with the problem, but it's been X days. And I can't go another weekend without a bathroom. If your guys are busy, I'm just going to call someone to come over and fix it on Friday."

Also, I would work out some suggest some sort of accommodation for both the lost foodstuffs and the inconvenience. Come up with a number, $200 or whatever, and suggest it as a cost for your trouble. See if he agrees.

The law is definitely on your side. But you're best served by being nice about it.

liam · April 2007

I totally agree. I like my apartment, and he's enough of a nice guy that I don't want to be a raging litigous dickhead about the whole thing. I worry though that being a nice guy is working against me.

So, thank you for the advice. I plan on giving him a dollar amount on the ruined dry goods, as well as knocking off rent on the days that my apt. was basically uninhabitable. I bet it'll work out. Mostly, I just needed to vent. Thanks dudes.

ak217 · April 2007

Subject: at least your landolord ain't like this...

Good luck with your situation...I hope your landlord comes around.
At least your landlord ain't like this!

How should I be dealing with my landlord?

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