Living Through Renovations
Hi all — I live in a 2 unit brownstone. Our landlord has decided he wants to convert the units to condos and has to do a good deal of renovation in order to do so. He expects us to stay in the home while this renovation is being performed. I am trying to figure…
Hi all — I live in a 2 unit brownstone. Our landlord has decided he wants to convert the units to condos and has to do a good deal of renovation in order to do so. He expects us to stay in the home while this renovation is being performed. I am trying to figure out what our options are and am having a tough time finding information (perhaps there isn’t any). Is there any legal guidance that you can recommend re: whether he can perform these renovations while we’re living there? I imagine they’ll take a few months.
We’d be amenable to getting out of our lease early, but I think he’ll say no to that — he clearly wants to earn rent while doing the renovations because he’s trying to get our housemates to extend their lease through the end of next year, which is when he thinks the conversions will come through. I can’t imagine living through 3-4 months of renovations at the rent we’re paying (you don’t even want to know).
Any thoughts you have would be most appreciated!
Even homeowners don’t live directly in the room that is being renovated during renovations. It is a serious health hazard because it exposes people to lead paint and fumes from paint and paint strippers. The most people might do is live in another part of the house and even that is still very messy and awful. This LL may be the most entitled person on the planet. He wants you to help pay for his reno and live in the mess and noise while doing so.
There’s a lot of good advice here but it’s a lot so plan your steps based on what you learned and keep it simple but strong when you communicate with the LL. Hold your ground. He is 100% in the wrong. Crazy wrong.
I once had a landlord that once gave me three days notice to move. I smiled and asked a couple Qs and then immediately got a lawyer. He backed off quick since he was totally in the wrong.
Don’t forget this is landlord’s property but it is YOUR HOME by law. NYC laws are very clear about this and protect you.
I would call lawyer now. If your LL is “super aggressive” you’re going to need to prep for a fight. Get help.
You should probably go to the extreme–do NOT allow your LL access to your apartment without 24 hours notice, maybe he needs a certified letter explaining this, etc. I don’t know what the laws are exactly, but I’d draw a big boundary. Don’t think about being nice anymore, or the better person. Once your dealing with someone this unreasonable, compromise does you no good.
When I had my LL dispute, I lived in Florida, which has a low cost lawyer program. I paid $25 for the first two hours of legal help. Hopefully, New York has a similar program and you can solve this without too many hours of effort or too much expense.
this guy sounds AWFUL.
please do keep us posted here.
I didn’t read everything. too many posts so I may be repeating.
Anyhoo, make sure you document every thing he says. It’s best to correspond with landlord by email. This way u have it on record.
Remember u have rights. The more u let him know that without it getting ugly, the better. At the end of the day, you, make sure all his paper work is in order. Landlords try to bypass a lot of the filing stuff $$$. So when in doubt you can call 311 just to check. And u can do it anonymously.
Wow, and I thought I’ve had some bad landlords. This is simply not legal in any way. Doesn’t matter how aggressive he is, if he starts work without your permission (which you’d be INSANE to give) call the police. Also – document everything, and take pictures – preferably with something that gives you a timestamp.
According to law, in order to convert to condos with tenants in the building he has to prove that you don’t want to buy and he will have to jump through all sorts of loops. It’s a long involved process. Can’t remember the details but google the state of new york coop and condo conversion handbook, and look at the section on tenants rights (pg. 15)
Starting work in January? In the middle of a NY winter? Paying full rent? At the very least you’ll be very, very cold. Your landlord must be smoking crack. Check the Building Information System for permits. The day the first workman shows up, call 311.
Not mentioned in the comments above but if he wants to start work in Jan and you are forced to move he would have to “pay you” in order to move.
Otherwise tell him tough and he cant start the work inside your apartment until after you leave in May.
It’s one thing for there to be work on the building at large, or renovation in an adjacent unit….but serious renovation in your apartment? Forget it. What’s in it for you?
Wow, this is just one of the weirdest things I have ever heard of. I guess I’ll just add to the chorus. Your landlord is insane, and you do not have to put up with this lunacy. He is asking you to live ON/IN a construction site. Has he ever seen a construction site? They are obviously not habitable. How incredibly bizarre.