Bill Would OK Harassment Suits Against Landlords
The City Council introduced a bill yesterday that would allow renters to sue landlords for harassment. At present, tenants are only able to sue landlords over specific violations, not over patterns of harassment. The would-be law has grown out of the citywide hemorrhage of affordable housing, because more and more tenants are claiming that landlords…
The City Council introduced a bill yesterday that would allow renters to sue landlords for harassment. At present, tenants are only able to sue landlords over specific violations, not over patterns of harassment. The would-be law has grown out of the citywide hemorrhage of affordable housing, because more and more tenants are claiming that landlords are trying to drive them out of rent-regulated apartments by systematically denying basic services like heat or hot water, according to renter advocacy groups. Unsurprisingly, landlords think the bill could lead to a lot of baseless lawsuits. Think this would be a good thing?
Bill Would Give Tenants Right to Sue Landlords [AM New York]
Hot Water for Landlords [NY Post]
Photo by West Side Neighborhood Alliance
Thi city has almost 1 MILLION RS/RC apartments. If rent regulation was to disappear tomorrow, think what it would do to the market – rents will inveitably go down making housing much more affordabl for everybody. This would clearly help lower income families that currently do not have a regeluated apt, but also some of those who pay close to market rents for a RS one.
Are you kidding, Hipsters are the ones snagging these prime RS apartments. 😛
I know a few youngsters with nice Manhattan jobs in RS apartments. I know even more that are currently paying brokers to get into some.
1:02 PM: We are without a doubt moving. My point is that there are plenty of law-abiding decent people in RS apartments. We aren’t all unemployed grubbers paying $300 for a classic six. We are teachers, cops, carpenters, office managers, etc.
I’m actually for getting rid of RC and RS. Once no one is around to perform all the services in the city maybe there will be true housing reform.
12:42 – 1st if your apartment is near market then MOVE if the LL isnt giving you essential services – secondly if you are just making 100K combined with graduate degrees then you are very young and clearly havent been working very long (less than 3yrs) so again if you are making over 100K (with full benefits and 2-3mo OFF) at less than 3yrs in your career you are clearly much better than middle class and you really shouldnt be relying on a private LL to subsidize your housing (not that you shouldn’t take advantage of the law if it lets you – just that the law is wrong and isnt helping who it should)
12:25 I know very well the conditions that moderate income people face, since I own some of the buildings they live in. And for less than $1,000 they can get a large pre-war 1BR with new kitchens (with ceramic floors new appliances inc a dishwasher), all new bathrooms (with porcelain tile wainscotting & new plumbing), refinished hardwood floors in buildings with video intercoms, new laundry facilities, upgraded pre-war lobbies and elevators.
Sure there are some horrible landlords and sure $975 isnt accessible to all but any couple making over 35k a year (who has decent credit and has NEVER been to LL/Tnt Ct can afford a very nice apartment in NYC within 35 minute subway ride of Midtown.
This law is dangerous as proposed – It is already impossible to ‘take a chance’ on a less than steller application and forget about a working section 8 person. Once they move in you virtually CANNOT get them out (no matter what they do), so you have to be 100% sure before you give a lease. As a result good but marginal (credit and income) people are forced to live in the worst buildings. If this law was passed – the checks would have to be even more stringent and this city would be more inaccessible to the people you claim to want to help.
no one should have the right to live in 1300 sq ft for $240 / month
no one
Well 12:04 PM, since I did bring up money, I have to say that you haven’t looked at the teacher’s contract lately. (It’s posted for all to see at UFT.org.) There is no way we could pay 3k a month in rent.
This year we will just break 100k for the first time (yay, we can pay more on our student loans). I don’t think the $1436 we pay for a RS one bedroom in a non-gentrified section of Washington Heights is that far under market. Unless you think the market would put a premium on the hooker on our corner who occasionally brings work into our stairwell.
rent control and rent stabilization are crap. anti-american. do away with it all. it is biased towards the young and those new to the city.
why should one person have to foot the bill for another. go live in a building you can afford.
Thank you, 12:25.