If there are 3 or more units and the landlord has not registered the building with HPD as a multiple dwelling then the landlord does not have the right to collect rent and the tenant would have a successful defense in a non-payment case.

A landlord providing a "warm safe place to live" is not, in itself, enough to overcome an illegal multiple dwelling or a violation of the C of O.

Posted by: marcus at December 8, 2008 3:17 PM in response to How do I determine if my apartment is a legal residence?

My understanding is that the landlord cannot collect rent from you for the residential use of the unit. If you have a commercial lease, I am not sure what the implication of the tenancy are then.

If you want to move out, why not just ask the landlord to kill the lease because it appears that it is an illegal residential unit and you don't want to end up homeless like the people in that building in Williamsburg?

Posted by: Boerumresident at December 8, 2008 4:48 PM in response to How do I determine if my apartment is a legal residence?

While I can certainly see scenarios in which a tenant should go after a CofO violation in order to protect onself (ie, finding out that you are living in a "luxury loft" that used to be used for some nasty heavy industrial use and are having a hard time getting out of the lease and don't want to shove it onto someone else), it could also be a real Dick Move on the OP's part, and could backfire as a practical matter.

I used to live in a loft building that had CofO problems, and some tenants in the building used the CofO issue to start a legal battle with the landlord because they were cold and had high gas bills in winter. This was not straightforward, it was a long, protracted legal battle, I think the only people who got anything from it were the lawyers, and it was a shame because the landlord was actually a fairly decent human who didn't need to be sued in order to do the right thing.

Posted by: vanburenproud at December 8, 2008 4:52 PM in response to How do I determine if my apartment is a legal residence?