Compensating tenants continued

Sorry, posted before I was ready, not sure why! I live in a 3 family which I own. The building next to me is slated to be demolished and a rental building is going up. I have spoken to the developers, and my lawyer and they are ironing out a licensing agreement so they can both use my water and electric as well as my property alley and backyard during construction. They will compensate (assuming the agreement goes through) more than enough to cover my expenses. As this will be such a invasive, annoying demolition and construction I was thinking about offering my tenants a little break on the rent just during demolition and putting in the foundation. Any thoughts?

webby1000

in General Discussion 7 years and 11 months ago

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murph | 7 years and 10 months ago

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When they built an apartment house behind me I fought them tooth & nail but when the started building a modified structure I “sold” them water for their incidental needs. The site had been a parking lot and had no water access(water line and hydrant were on the far side of the roadway). They paid my full electric billing for the term of the construction. I wanted it to be finished ASAP and do a good job so I was glad to assist; after all, they would be my new neighbors. No paperwork, no hassle. Maybe I cleared a hundred dollars on the deal. My neighbors suffered subsidence(sink holes across their back yards. I escaped any damage.

They got their electric current from a lamppost, not from me.

Only the LL has a claim against them. Tenants may initiate a claim against the LL for “uninhabitable” residence but if the contractor does no damage and works only within permitted hours there should be no problems. You can request NYC DoB to monitor any damage to your facade or structure–important with a brownstone. If they dig their foundation deeper get an agreement up front on that alone(look at their plans). The will surely undermine the party wall and must reinforce the footing from both sides. Even if you don’t have a party wall subsidence from the weight of their construction could wreak havoc. I passed a brownstone on State Street that abutted a new apartment house that was under construction. The facade was split at the window line from top to bottom on the far side away from the construction. The structure had dropped an inch or two. The crew was erecting new scaffolding in front of the brownstone to keep it from falling away. The GC was on his phone. Probably calling the lawyers.

I hope you have insurance and have them on board.

brooklynbasics | 7 years and 10 months ago

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Try to see if they will put funds in your attorney’s escrow account for cleaning or reimbursement for cleaning your tenant’s apartments if needed. Also make sure to specify if you can the kind of steps they will take to minimize dust and debris (plastic on windows, daily sweeping and spray down, etc.) Also you may already know this but if a new building is going up there could be questions about their work in relationship to your structure’s foundation, etc. You can hire an engineer to keep track of this for you and that way you will have an independent verifiable record of any damage. This is an expense homeowners usually pay for themselves I believe but you can negotiate and try to get them to pay for it.

slick | 7 years and 10 months ago

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If you’re negotiating, it doesnt hurt to ask for compensation on behalf of the tenants. Obviously, if you’re successful, pass it along. For their sakes, I would also ask the builder if you can distribute contact info to them so they can reach out if there’s a problem/complaint. If I was a tenant, a modest discount and mechanism to resolve problems like noise and dust would go a long way.

mozeeatupu | 7 years and 11 months ago

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Three or more family makes it a multiple dwelling so it should have a separate building account.

shahnandersen

in General Discussion 7 years and 11 months ago

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I doubt that an owner occupied three family house would have a separate building account.

mozeeatupu | 7 years and 11 months ago

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If you’re gong to give rent credit or lower the rent for a period, have the tenant pay full rent and send them a refund via building account to keep the accounting correct.

shahnandersen

in General Discussion 7 years and 11 months ago

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As to the rent, if they are paying full market rent, yes I think a little break would be appropriate for the inconvenience. If they are paying less, you’ve already given them a break and nothing more should be necessary.

shahnandersen

in General Discussion 7 years and 11 months ago

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I would also suggest that your lawyer ask the developer to include your tenants as named parties on the builder’s liability insurance in addition to you, the owner. It’s one more thing to show your tenants that you are concerned for their welfare during this uncomfortable process.

workisfun | 7 years and 11 months ago

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Beware of committing to a rent decrease for any indeterminate duration. The developer could be stalled for any number of reasons. I would consider bottles of wine and other treats from time to time. And I hope you have a contingency per diem or something if it does drag on. It’s compensation for you and incentive for them.