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January 6, 2009
Tenants Driving Me Crazy
Okay, I admit this is venting, but here goes: I inherited tenants when I bought my building. They have a while to go on their lease and a very low rent.
Man, do they complain! I keep the heat at a reasonable temperature at night (65 degrees or so), start it very early (5am) and switch to night late (midnight). I get a screaming call from the tenant, who tells me he isn't going to take it any more because it is freezing in his apartment. He plans to put a heater in the apartment, which is against the lease.
The wife complains about how cheap everything is (admittedly not high-end, but not bad and they pay next to nothing), how much noise the tenants above them make (they exercise in the afternoon, during her nap in the living room, where she sleeps instead of the bedroom) and curses at me, if she even bothers to say hello. They have changed the lock and not given me a key. The police have shown up twice due to fights with their teenaged daughter and the have screamed at me and the third-floor tenants for calling the police (we didn't call the police; the teenaged daughter did). And the scream and scream and scream at each other!
Oy vey! What a handful. Any advice about how to smooth things over for the duration of their lease?
Comments
As an NYC landlord for over ten years, it's ALWAYS the lowest rent (usually stabilized) tenants who complain the most.
Often they simply have nothing better to do with their time than complain.
If the NYC vacancy rate hits 5% and stays there long enough, the law stipulates the end of rent stabilization which would be a godsend for market rate renters, private landlords, and the city of NY as whole.
Sure, some previous renters might have to move to Allentown, but we live in a free market capitalist country, not the former USSR! Why the hell do private citizens have to support other private citizens in the first place?
The current NYC rent laws don't even have any low income requirements to qualify.
It's a joke set up to get votes for pandering liberal politicians.
Posted by: IronBalls at January 5, 2009 7:14 PM
get used to it...they are the reason that you paid a lower price for the building than if it was delivered vacant
Posted by: eman1234 at January 5, 2009 7:33 PM
If they put a heater in the apartment - is that grounds for eviction?
If not, why not consider buying them out. I think it is disgusting to have to do this, but I guess in some cases it is the only real choice. If it were me, I would figure out how much more in rent I could be getting and offer to pay them that much to get out. Factor in the value of not having the headache of dealing with them anymore and negotiate from their.
Posted by: newsouthsloper at January 5, 2009 8:46 PM
eman1234,
That's easy for you to say. I not only support these people since their rents don't come close to covering my costs, but I have to talk to them and see them regularly as well.
Your point that I got a better price because of the rent regulated tenants is true, but even from a fairness perspective for the average New Yorker, why do the lucky few get to live their lives nearly rent free while the rest of us have to work for a living to pay the bills?
Wouldn't it be better if rents were lower for EVERYBODY instead of just the lucky ones who either inherited their deals or rented years ago?
With full deregulation, rents would drop across the board for everybody except those folks with artificially low rents.
Why wouldn't you want to pay a lower rent?
Posted by: IronBalls at January 5, 2009 9:09 PM
ugh!
sorry you have crummy tenants - but is 65 degrees warm enough? sorry am unaware of what the minimum heat requirement is
I'm a landlord and we pretty much keep it above 74 (we like a warmer house)
the screaming fights though are just not right and you can send letters to them reiterating they are to leave there disturbance free and if they keep causing a ruckus to the other tenants you will have to take action to remove them
Posted by: gemini10 at January 5, 2009 9:10 PM
sorry to say, but this is new york, and you were aware of the rules when you bought your house..you have to live with your evil renters , and they will probably sue you when their lease ends...stop whining..you are a yuppie pussy
Posted by: eman1234 at January 6, 2009 12:27 AM
I wouldn't offer to buy them out. Once you name any figure, people go crazy and say they won't move unless you pay them (crazy figure here). My mom offered to pay moving expenses for her tenant to move out one month early, and the girl then refused to move for less than $40,000!! For one month, on a non-stabilized apartment. We had to go to court, and she totally lost, but it was such a hassle, and she never would have thought about trying to milk my mom out of $$ if a buyout was not brought up.
It's hard to smooth things over with complainers like that--you need to let them know that YOU are in charge, not them. DO NOT SPEAK TO THEM. Do not answer the phone when they call. If they ring the bell, you are not home. A lot of times these people just want someone to complain to. That is not your job. They can put complaints in writing, and you can just ignore them, since you are more than fulfilling your obligation to them. Also, let them know that you'd be MORE than happy to let them out of their lease. Say, nice as can be, "There's no point in living somewhere that makes you unhappy! If you're not happy here, of course I can let you out of your lease, no penalty." That almost always shuts people up. Memorize that and repeat that for every unreasonable complaint. Hey, they might take you up on that and move out early!
If things get really bad, copy the NYC heat guidelines and tell them you'll lower the temp to 55 at night (which is your right). If they install a heater, write a letter saying it's a violation of their lease (hey, you might be able to evict them!). Same with the noise--that's a violation of their lease too. You might get lucky and be able to evict them for lease violations.
Posted by: brooklynblondie at January 6, 2009 12:50 AM
You also may want to put a sensor in their apartment to see what the temperature really is. If they're on the top floor and the roof isn't insulated, it might really be HUGELY colder on their floor.
Posted by: brooklynblondie at January 6, 2009 2:00 AM
find out what grounds you would have to terminate a lease. If your tenant puts in a heater, call the Fire Department to inspect. after all, heaters are dangerous. Don't let them push you around- bear in mind they probably are the sort of people who love to bitch and moan about everything. You could let them know that you will not be renewing their lease when it's up- that is your right, I believe.
One thing you should do is try to see if their complaint about the heat is legit. I am the middle tenant in my building- the apartment above and below me are warmer than mine- sometimes quite a bit. we go crazy trying to figure out why that is and I probably need to add plastic over the windows. But your tenant may need that done.
Legally you are entitled to have a key, especially for emergency access. (I was the building superintendent in my previous apartment). you should keep a record of noise, complaints, and the times the police have been called. they sound awful, and while even bad tenants have rights, they do not have a right to abuse you, disturb everyone else or refuse you access to the apartment. Good luck.
Posted by: bxgrl at January 6, 2009 2:11 AM
Change the locks and give THEM a key. Make weekly inspections to check for a heater. Put a thermometer in their apartment to read the temperatures. Make sure it stays where you put it.
Send them a letter outlining the NYC rules on heat and then follow the other posters advice on communicating with them...by letter only.
Call the police whenever there's a disturbance and don't take any more shit from them.
Get a competent real estate attorney's advice before any buyout offers. I would start at 3 months rent and hold firm at one year's. You'll need him anyway when you decide to tell them that you're not renewing their lease.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at January 6, 2009 9:02 AM
And can you get a letter from your other tenants complaining about them? May help if you have to go to housing court..
Posted by: BH76 at January 6, 2009 9:48 AM
quote:
As an NYC landlord for over ten years, it's ALWAYS the lowest rent (usually stabilized) tenants who complain the most.
that is such BS
*rob*
Posted by: PitbullNYC at January 6, 2009 10:02 AM
Do NOT change the tenant's locks—that would be would be a violation of the Unlawful Eviction Law (NYC Administrative Code §26-521). In NYC, by law, tenants in multiple dwellings can install and maintain their own locks on their apartment entrance doors in addition to the lock supplied by the landlord. The lock may be no more than three inches in circumference, and tenants must provide their landlord with a duplicate key upon request. "Double cylinder" locks (with keys removable from the inside) are unlawful. Make a written demand to the tenant to provide a copy of the key, and deliver it both in person and by registered mail.
Speak with a knowledgeable landlord-tenant attorney and draw up a Notice to Cure the actions, behaviors and obligations you believe the tenant is violating. Make sure the notice correctly describes the conditions in violation of the tenant's obligations and provides a deadline to fix them. Make sure YOU, as landlord, are not also in violation of your own obligations, which are set by law, and are not subject to whether you like or dislike the tenant. If you are not familiar with the NYC Housing Maintenance Code, read it. You can find it here, along with lots of other useful information on the HPD site: http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/owners/code.shtml
By law, residential owners must provide adequate heat between October 1 and
May 31. During this period, between 6am and 10pm, if the outside temperature is below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, owners must heat apartments to at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Between 10pm and 6am, if the outside temperature is below
40 degrees Fahrenheit, owners must heat apartments to at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Owners must also provide hot water at a minimum constant temperature of 120 degrees Fahrenheit all year round.
Posted by: vinca at January 6, 2009 10:16 AM
Question about the heating law... I live in a rental, and have my own thermostat and pay my own gas bill.
Just curious, how does the law work in that case? If you have your own thermostat, then the landlord does not have to provide any heat? Just curious, thanks.
Posted by: wintaki at January 6, 2009 11:48 AM
wintaki- does your apartment have its own heating unit? then you're the one paying it. that's unusual though- it's a newish renovation I take it?
second vinca on not touching the locks. But you do have the right to keys. double cylinder locks are only allowed on ground floors as long as there is another exit in case of fire.
Posted by: bxgrl at January 6, 2009 12:06 PM
I think 65 degrees at night is more than reasonable (we set our thermostat to 62 from 11pm - 6am).
Posted by: brooklynfamily at January 6, 2009 12:24 PM
Go with firm over-kindness. The poster above was so right about using conciliatory remarks about the tenant seeming unhappy and you allowing them out of the lease with no penalty.
I had an awful renter years ago. She drove a very nice tenant of many years out of the building with her screaming and stomping at all hours. We talked with her about life being too short to be unhappy. We said that although she had many months on her lease, if she wanted she could move now and we'd give her back her security deposit on the very day she was moving. And it worked!
This tenant of yours may be paying an absurdly low rent so it may not be so easy with them.
You do need to follow MDL to the letter but do it in an arms length way. Firm and over-kind.
Posted by: Bessie at January 6, 2009 1:12 PM
Bxgrl: By NYC law, the tenant is required to provide the landlord a copy of the key *on request* for a lock they install. Double-cylinder locks are illegal on tenant apartment doors. I have never seen anything regarding legality of double-cylinders in other parts of a building, but I would not think it wise, nor would I want to be responsible for a lock that prevented a tenant from exiting a building or reaching safety in ANY emergency (not only fire).
Wintaki: If you live in a rent-stabilized apartment the rate of rent increases for apartments where heat is neither provided nor required to be provided by the owner differs from apartments where heat is provided. If not living in a regulated apartment, and if terms of your tenancy are that you have your own thermostat and are responsible for paying for your own heat, then those are the terms you agreed to.
It's more than possible to have fantastic landlord-tenant relations. When that does not exist, the LANDLORD needs to be sure that they do not personalize the conflict. Bessie's last line summarizes it well: "You do need to follow MDL to the letter but do it in an arms length way. Firm and over-kind."
Posted by: vinca at January 6, 2009 1:53 PM
Was agreeing with you re keys, vinca.
I found out about double cylinder locks with my first NYC apartment. it was on the ground floor and was actually allowed because in case of fire I could easily get out the front window which was 505 above grade. I've been told the same thing by firefighters but no on recommends them in any case because someone will always lose the key at the wrong time.
Posted by: bxgrl at January 6, 2009 4:01 PM
god luck..sorry to be a putz earlier, but do you really think that the renters will just pack up at the end of their lease?...these characters sound like trouble.. get a landlord tenant lawyer now...i personally have the best tenants in the world, except that they like it way too warm, but i can live w/ that
Posted by: eman1234 at January 6, 2009 9:22 PM
>>>>>That's easy for you to say. I not only support these people since their rents don't come close to covering my costs, but I have to talk to them and see them regularly as well.<<<<<
You poor thing. You mean that you actually must look at and talk to people of color?
You are a sick, greedy and citter individual.
Posted by: Demander of Respect at January 14, 2009 3:57 PM
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