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October 2, 2009
Broker Rented Us an Illegal Unit
We rented an apt through Corcoran's rental division. They charged us $5000 for their "services". After living in the apartment for less than a month we found out that it was an illegal unit with no Certificate of Occupancy. It wouldn't have been that bad if there was a working oven and working heat... but there wasn't. My question is this, does anyone know if Corcoran needs to uphold to any laws to protect renters from this kind of fraud? They do not want to give us our money back and could not find us a new apartment so we were forced to leave Brooklyn. We don't think they deserve a cent because they should of at least done their due diligence to find us a legal unit. What else are you paying them so much money for. Any help or advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Comments
what a nightmare. start documenting apartment info. proof of no c and o etc.
Bring it to the attention of the district attorneys office and the real estate board of ny. fraud is fraud.
keep records of all your monetary damages and any lawsuits brought b corcoran etc.
Tis a bad one....
The r.e.broker and firm were negligent.
They didn't verify landlords info before accepting the rental for a tenant
Posted by: Ysabelle at October 2, 2009 8:43 PM
Look into filing a claim in Small Claims Court against the agent. You might be able get to get your money.
Posted by: ClintonHillGal at October 2, 2009 10:28 PM
Spread the word. Post it where you can. Call the papers (The Brooklyn Paper might go for this story).
Good luck.
Posted by: jland at October 2, 2009 10:49 PM
Question, you said "an illegal unit with no CofO"...
... is this an illegal unit (finished basement type thing) in a building with a CofO that covers the other legal apartments but not yours or is this a single unit in a condo type building where the building itself has no CofO?
Posted by: christopher at October 2, 2009 11:01 PM
Something is fishy here. You say it wasn't that bad (no C of O)except for the fact the stove doesn't work and there's no heat? That's pretty quick. It's pretty easy to fix a stove and honestly I haven't turned the heat on yet. Your beef is with the LL. You could of been living rent free for the lack of a C of O.
Posted by: modsquad at October 3, 2009 12:48 AM
How large s the building. Many brownstones do not have a C of O. Define basement. If there are windows and it is 50% or more above ground level then it is legal.
Then we can start addressing your situation. No stove & no heat are different issues.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at October 3, 2009 8:27 AM
Sounds awful. But really, were you forced to leave Brooklyn? There are many apartments available... legal, with heat and ovens and all amenities!
Posted by: coopfornow at October 3, 2009 9:18 AM
totally illegal. Corcoran is in the wrong here, they can be held liable if you get hurt in the building or worse. No builging can have people living there without a c of o. A friend of mine works for a Real Estate company that got in trouble for this exact situation and now they verify every building before ever listing or renting in the building.
Posted by: IrieMan at October 3, 2009 11:00 AM
also think you need to relate more info.
How do you know that there is no working heat(not heating season yet)?
Unless you control heat yourself and heating unit is in your space?
So oven not working....landlord may have not known this (as many people don't use them)....has landlord been notified?
How do you know not legal? Is this some industrial bldg?
What kind of bldg is it? how many apts?
Based on your info - you sound like drama person.
Posted by: Petebklyn at October 3, 2009 11:40 AM
"No builging can have people living there without a c of o"
Wow, you live in a parallel Brooklyn than me. Half the brownstones on my block have no CO and have rentals.
Posted by: cmu at October 3, 2009 12:06 PM
Same question here re: no C of O. MANY buildings do not have a C of O. There is nothing illegal about this. More info, please.
Posted by: curiositykilledthecat at October 3, 2009 12:31 PM
So you decided to leave Brooklyn after one month and now would like to recoup the $5000 you paid to Corcoran. Good try.
So you dug up the fact that the building does not have a C of O.
For the record, any building built prior to 1932 would not have a C of O unless after 1932 an alteration which required a C of O was made.
My guess is that your apartment is legal or Corcoran would have returned your money and not be subjected to a complaint to the Department of State or to a Court action.
Also, even at $5,000 per month rent, you are not entitled to heat in the summer and I am sure the landlord would have fixed your stove if that was the real issue.
Good luck...
Posted by: jre at October 4, 2009 8:31 PM
I assume you paid the 5,000 dollars. Sue them. Forget a lawyer. Go to petty claims court and get a form and ask for advice on how to file a claim from the people there. I am not sure now what the limit is - I am pretty sure it is 5,000 dollars. You will get a date and then you go to court and you then present details. Have everthing documented and prove that the apartment was illegal and whatever other evidence of your experience. You will get your money back.
Posted by: donatella at October 4, 2009 8:49 PM
It's hard to believe Corcoran would compromise their multi-million dollar business for $5000 (which is over the current Small Claims amount, btw). If you can afford 5K a month, you can afford a consultation with a good lawyer for a couple of hundred. They will fire off a letter and get you what you need; which should be restitution of the fee, and perhaps priority for a new unit--plus covering your moving expenses if there are truly in error.
Posted by: sogo at October 5, 2009 8:48 AM
It's hard to believe Corcoran would compromise their multi-million dollar business for $5000 (which is over the current Small Claims amount, btw). If you can afford 5K a month, you can afford a consultation with a good RE lawyer for a couple of hundred. They will fire off a letter and get you what you need; which should be restitution of the fee, and perhaps priority for a new unit--plus covering your moving expenses if there are truly in error.
Posted by: sogo at October 5, 2009 8:48 AM
Heating season starts on October 15th.
Did you call to set up your gas/keyspan account--maybe this is why the stiove isn't working???
Posted by: PHfamily at October 5, 2009 8:51 AM
My appologies, heating season starts on October 1, but with these guidelines:
Heat (During the heating season, October 1 through May 31)
* Between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., heat must register at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit when the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees;
* Between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., heat must register at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit when the outside temperature falls below 40 degrees.
Posted by: PHfamily at October 5, 2009 8:53 AM
I am well aware of the heating season laws. We lived in the apartment last Oct/Nov. This was not recent. We have been dealing with this for awhile now. Sorry for not being clear about this. Also we tried to have many of the other violations fixed while we were there but the landlord refused. We even offered to make the repairs ourselves and then she could reimburse us. We really wanted to be able to stay and tried everything we could to make the situation work. Really not a drama queen as one poster suggested. Just wanted to live in a safe/warm environment with our then 5 month old daughter. Thanks to the responders who actually had some advice to give and not just to be rude.
Posted by: oliviasmom at October 19, 2009 10:45 PM
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