Legal Advice Needed ASAP - Landlord Wants To Demolish Wall

I have an emergency situation where my landlord needs to demolish one of my bedroom walls & closet because of messed up piping in my building. I have told him about a leak in my ceiling for months (it fortunately stopped leaking a while ago). When I needed the help he never came to even look at it. Now, all of a sudden they want to demolish my wall & only compensate me $100 even though my room would be under construction for two weeks, perhaps longer. He wants his workers to begin in mid-to-late December, which gives me 2-3 weeks notice. I would be displaced from living in my room, even though he said I should be able to live in it. I honestly don’t see how.

My roommate & I would would not be able to supervise when workers are here because we both work during the day and are rarely home. I’m worried about personal possessions & valuable items being stolen and potential damage to property.

I’m reading up on tenant rights and hearing a lot of different advice. This feels like not enough notice, so I am demanding at least half of my rent to be compensated for the month. Some friends are telling me to change my locks / withhold rent but I’m not sure if that’s the right way to go. Any help is extremely appreciated!

Guest User | 9 years and 4 months ago

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slopegirl | 9 years and 4 months ago

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also if you don’t have renters insurance, get some

Guest User | 9 years and 4 months ago

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Thank you so much everyone. I definitely wasn’t going to move forward on the changing locks / withholding rent – just needed more advice since I’ve never dealt with this kind of situation before. Fortunately I have met with my LL in person and he’s been semi-reasonable. Hoping I can be compensated more since there will be no way to sleep in my room with the mess it will create. Will definitely document the entire process. Asking the workers to be bonded & for me to be listed on the insurance policy is a great idea. Thanks again, super appreciated.

EJR | 9 years and 4 months ago

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Do not change the locks or withhold rent. Both of those are terrible suggestions. Whether or not your landlord’s proposed actions are permissible is governed largely by your lease agreement. As others have said if emergency repairs are required, nothing your landlord is doing seems patently unreasonable. It is unfortunate that your landlord is only offering you $100. The best thing to do is have a discussion and figure out the best solution for everybody. Ask him the basis for the $100, explain your concerns and listen to his responses. Hopefully there is a compromise position that works for everyone.

anotherposter | 9 years and 4 months ago

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I’m with the others on handling rent and also suggest you document everything and get things in writing from the LL (per Arkady’s advice). Take photos/video of the space and your valuables as they are before the work begins so you’ve got something to reference if needed later. Ask the LL to ensure he/she will have the space properly cleaned (or offer you more money to pay someone to do it) and provide protection (sealing off space with plastic or storing items in plastic bin) as that kind of work can make a ton of mess.

It does really suck that he’s only offering $100 in compensation since it sounds like you can’t use that space for that time and if you’ve got a roommate, sleeping in the living room might not be a great option, BUT try to really reason with your LL about it to at least minimize dirt/damage to your stuff. Housing in NYC sucks and if you like the space enough that you don’t really want to deal with moving, you’ll probably benefit in the long run by trying to be calm and reasonable with the LL instead of getting loud and threatening. It sucks.

Workers in your house does not ensure theft. We had a lot of crews through our home as we lived through various projects and the demo dust was my major stress since we didn’t have anything go missing.

daveinbedstuy | 9 years and 4 months ago

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If the landlord needs to gain access for repairs, he needs to gain access. I doubt there’s any laws about specifically how much notification he needs to give you. Two to three weeks seems more than adequate. And, don’t listen to your friends about changing locks and withholding rent. If the repairs go on and on or are not completed, perhaps put rent in escrow.

cmu | 9 years and 4 months ago

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While the compensation seems way too low, it might follow your lease (percentage of apt not habitable for up to 30 days.) But otherwise, as a landlord myself, I don’t think the timing is unreasonable IF it’s some kind of urgent situation your landlord found. How could you expect him to delay repair? If it’s a handyman fix, I doubt and would not expect them have insurance or be bonded. I think you need to talk to your landlord and negotiate terms more to your liking.

Arkady | 9 years and 4 months ago

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I wouldn’t withhold rent. I’d get a letter from the LL stating that the workers will be bonded & asking that you be listed on the insurance policy. If you have apt. insurance, ask your agent about protections.