Flooded Basement
I recently moved into a basement duplex in Brooklyn. The first month here, my basement was flooded with about 2-3 inches of water/mud. The water came up from the drain hole in the basement. My landlord said it was the city’s fault that the basement flooded because they had added tree pits to the sidewalk…
I recently moved into a basement duplex in Brooklyn. The first month here, my basement was flooded with about 2-3 inches of water/mud. The water came up from the drain hole in the basement.
My landlord said it was the city’s fault that the basement flooded because they had added tree pits to the sidewalk and in doing so, creating a crack in the street which allowed water to come into the basement. Days later, the city fixed the hole in the street and I assumed everything would be okay.
This month, during the heavy rain, the basement was flooded once again. The water came in from the drain hole in the basement and when we notified the landlord, they had the super come and plug the hole up as a temporary fix. Later that night, there was heavy rain once again. This time, the water came in from various holes in the baseboards as well as a hole behind the washer/dryer closet. The water had nowhere to escape since the drain hole had been plugged up the night before so the water level slowly rose in the basement as the rain went on.
I called 311 the morning after the third flooding and had an inspector come to check out the issue. He said he did not see any issues with the street/tree pits and that nobody else on the block had been flooded.
Is my landlord at fault for any of this? I believe the building/basement has serious construction issues. The drain hole should not allow water to come INTO the basement and even if the water level rises outside, the basement should be properly sealed in order to prevent water from entering, correct? The landlord is making changes to the backyard and the two drains, which I don’t understand — if it’s the city’s fault, why would the landlord be fixing anything? Also, the city has come and filled in all the tree pits with cement so there are no longer any holes on the sidewalk. It hasn’t rained again since so I am not sure if things are fixed or not.
What should I do next? Am I entitled to any form of reimbursement for the property damage, wasted time cleaning up the mess, and/or not being able to use the basement during that time? I don’t even know if I want to move my furniture back down there because it might flood again. What are my rights as far as ending my lease? I signed a year long lease and it’s only 3 months in. I do not have renter’s insurance at the moment. Any opinions?
sounds like the space is legal then, but doesn’t change the fact that if they allow you to use it you are paying rent for the square footage, and when you moved there they didn’t disclose the flooding.
The new info OP provided makes a big difference. You were told you could use the basement but on the lease it is shown as non-habitable space. So you rented NOT a duplex, but one floor with access to storage in a cellar that floods.
There may not be much the owner can do to stop the flooding, though it is their responsibility. The owners were being at best overly optimistic when they verbally suggested it would be a good idea to use the basement for your media room and the wording on the lease should have been a tip-off.
As for the basement, they said it couldn’t be used as a bedroom but could be used as a media room, office, band room, etc. I currently use it as an office/media room/family room.
The lease DOES say I’m not suppose to use it as a living space (i.e. bedroom) but before signing the lease, I asked if I could use it as an office/media room and they said it would be perfect for that and that it would not be a problem. Does this mean that it probably is illegal and they lied to me?
The landlords are real estate lawyers. They probably said it that way to rope me in and I was duped! 🙁
Does this mean that even if I uncover that the basement is illegal, I’m trapped? What a nightmare…
You pay rent, LL owns property, keeps it clean and safe. Maybe HE has an issue with the city, but not you.
don’t accept this treatment.
we have tenants, would NEVER think for one second this would be their problem… I also agree with others your basement level sounds illegal.
call a lawyer.
I believe it’s a check valve but the EXACT same thing happened in my house. When rain is heavy – regardless of how long it rains – the lines under the street overflow and water comes back in from the same pipes it goes out from.
It’s completely fixable and can be done for $2-$3k. Richie at Sessa Plumbing diagnosed the problem and fixed it promptly after several smaller plumbers shrugged their shoulders.
On the other hand, the original solution proposed by Buscarello Construction was completely wrong, didn’t work and the work cost me thousands. Live and learn.
From practical POV, if the mess is documented well – photos – tell landlord in writing (politely) it’s uninhabitable. Ask him several times to fix and then bail. Good luck . . .and sorry,
Wow – this landlord sounds like a real piece of shit.
I don’t have any advice – but just got really mad reading your story. Don’t back down and let him blow you off.
I agree strongly with Bob Marvin and Denton. As for the landlord and others here blaming the city sewers, that’s a sad situation for property owners but people simply can’t rent out basements like that. Take action soon because we’ll only get more heavy rains. Especially in Winter when we get rain on top of snow and ice melting it, which has happened every year the last few years in this climate-changing NYC.
What Bob Marvin said, plus whether you could break the lease will depend on a few things, like was the basement just in the lease as storage space, or was it supposed to be habitable, and whether it is legally habitable. If it’s legal living space, the landlord is required to follow a ‘warrant of habitability’, meaning in spite of what is in the lease, he has to offer you a space that’s livable. A space that floods on a regular basis would clearly not meet that definition.
I have spoken to the landlord and he says he isn’t at fault for the flooding that has occurred. He said any property damage is due to the city digging the tree pits in the front sidewalk and we should just contact our insurance company to start a claim against the city. I didn’t purchase insurance so I cannot take this route.
I have not asked to break the lease after the last flood but had brought it up before and he said I would be liable to lose the security deposit and have to pay for every month the apartment is vacant.
Are there ways to check whether or not this basement is legal? Or if the city’s tree pits were actually the cause?
If I can prove the city’s installation of the tree pits were not the cause of the flooding, is the landlord liable for the damage? It’s also the third time in three months, I would assume that is considered neglect if they did not fix the problem the first time, right??