Problem with Landlord - Need Landlord/Tenant Lawyer

[Missy Johnson]

Here's the deal. I live in a non-rent controlled/stabilized apartment. Three months ago, right after I renewed my lease through 7/08, a gas leak was discovered in the basement of my walkup. Coned shut off the gas and I was without hot water and gas for 16 days. My landlord gave each tenant 50% rent abatement on this period. Little did I know that the two weeks without hot water would pale in comparison to what was ahead. It was determined that the entire building needed to be re-piped as those in place were old. I had to remove my belongings from my closet as contractors came in (unscheduled) on weekdays on and off for over a month. They covered nothing and destroyed everything. Dirt/dust on all, spackling dried onto my carpet, mixed in sink, even on my brita in the frige. Piss in my toilet, air conditioner left on, etc etc. You get the idea. (Yes I took pictures). My landlord seems to think that paying to have my apartment cleaned is the only compensation I am entitled to. I believe that I have been constructively partially evicted from my apartment during these 2 months that they were coming in whenever they pleased while I was not home. Not only that, I think that I should be entitled to some kind of damages for the fact that at least once a week I was brought to tears seeing dirty tissues in my recycling, spackling spilled all over - again, you get the idea. Imagine if you came home and it looked like a 5-year old tried to do a construction job.

Moral of the story is, I still do not have gas (3 months). The remaining construction is supposedly finished except for the massive holes behind my stove where mice are coming in.

What can I realistically expect out of this? I have not yet talked to a lawyer, but I am willing to pay for one even if all I can hope for is to break even. Honestly, I want my (*******) landlord to have to pay me for damaged property, the fact that I did not have full use of my apartment for 2+ months, the emotional stress this has caused me, and my attorney's fees.

Any advice??? Anyone with experience or who knows a good and reasonably priced lawyer, please help! (As an additional note - I do not desire to renew my lease next fall as I surely will not receive a renewal offer after this.)

 

[thirty5]

Well, im not sure if you are going after the correct person. Yes the landlord hired them. But i would go after teh contactor who is doing the work. I have done some construction for people in the past and i always covered up things and swept up after i left and such. I would compain to the construction company and make them do it. I dont think that you will get far with the landlord. Just my opinion.

 

[NYreefNoob]

landlord

he is correct, you are going to have to go after the contractor, the suit would be against them as far the damages go. the other problem the landlord didnt create, but you can always try

 

[thirty5]

The landlord usually has every right to allow someone access to your apt for emergency repairs, even if you are not at home. I would start out by calling the contractor company and file a complaint with them. Start to get estimates on repairs. Then send a copy to the company with a letter. Send certified return reciept so you have proof that you sent "something". Im not sure what the limit on small claims court is in NY. But that is probably going to be the route that you will need to take,

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I would call 311 and follow the steps they give you to landlord tenant court and civil court.

 

[Dj Orion]

Fox 5 problem solvers! they would love a story like that.

 

[thirty5]

Good Idea!!!

 

[bad coffee]

Missy,
most all of the landlord/tennant laws in NYC are based on the tennant's rights. There's housing court in brooklyn, I bet there's one in manhattan too. Usually when I was there, there was a table set up with volunteers/pro-bono lawyers helping the renters.

What you can do:
Put the rent in an escrow account. tell the landlord when everything is fixed, cleaned, and returned to 'livable' you will release the money to him.

File in small claims court for the max. I think it's $3000. Filing fee is something like $25.

I think you can also file in housing court for 'loss of use' since you didn't have gas. Is your stove gas?

B

 

[crox99]

My landlord seems to think that paying to have my apartment cleaned is the only compensation I am entitled to.

I am sorry but i believe the Landlord is correct. He hired a contractor to repair the apt. and now he wants to pay for the cleaning. He did his job.

 

[frank arriaga]

You could try prepaidlegal.com/hub/arriagaf good luck.

 

[muntai]

prepaidlegal

 

[Missy Johnson]

Thanks everyone. It is not the damages that I am concerned about at this point because I know that I can sue for them in small claims. I want a rent abatement for the period of time that my apartment was consistantly accessed on weekdays and also for not having gas. I know I can win a claim for property damages....it's what else I can sue for in small claims that I am unsure about. I've filed a claim in the past to get my security deposit back from another landlord. I just don't know if I can sue for a rent abatement without going to housing court and I don't know what I can show other than pictures and calculations. (Also BC - they've upped the max in small claims to $5k).

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Landlord tenant court can tell you if you can do that. Call 311 and they will give you their info. I get called to situations like this 3 or 4 times a month and that is the advice we give to everybody. I guess it works cause they never call us back.

 

[meschaefer]

You may be entiteld to rent abatement for the lack of gas. Unfortunatly your landlord and/or his agents are entitled to enter your apartment to make necessary repairs and maintenance. Furthermore, if your landlord is a coporation (most are) I do not believe that you can sue them in small claims court you would need to go to Civil Court. Although I can't take this on myself, I am sure I can get you somebody reputable it you would like. Let me know, and I will make a phone call or two for you.

 

[nemo]

Sue the contractor. They should be insured. If they are not, your landlord has a problem-- the problem that he hired unlicenced contractors. In that case, you can sue your landlord instead. Chances are your landlord will try to resolve this out of court. It is very hard to get rid of a tenant. Remember the movie Pacific Heights?

 

[lfsmarineguy]

I would go to a lawyer first and (before following through with filing) show the landlord the course of action your lawyer came up with. If he doesn't take care of it out of court than move ahead with it. Odds are he will try to come to some agreement with you before it goes too far, unless he is a complete putz. If anything, should you go to court, your landlord may name the contractor as a co-defendant. Or show both of them what your lawyer plans on doing and see what happens. The contractors will probably let you take them to court and use insurance but your landlord (if he's smart) will try to avoid it since he would get raped in there. Employers and landlords have almost no rights, it's all tenant/ employee based.

 

[ellebelle]

I have nothing to add to all of this, other than to say good luck!

 

[duke62]

the landlord was looking out for the safety of his tenants.i think u should not even think of going after him.running new pipes and tearing out the old ones is going to be a messy job and a long job at that.im sure the contractor was a licensed contractor because your land lord would have had to get permits from the city to do a job that large.as for the spackle on the carpets get a little warm water and pour it on the spots with spackle.spackle does not stain it is water soluable and will come right up.i believe u are more upset with the fact that u were inconvinenced with the fact u were put out for 3 mnths.find out if your landlord will pay for the little cleaning that has to be done and leave the lawyers out of it.it will cost you more in lawyers fees and tension with landlord its not worth it.

 

[Missy Johnson]

the landlord was replacing the pipes because one of the tenants smelled gas and coned shut the **** off in 5 minutes. we didn't have hot water for half a month and i think he was receiving threats from other tenants. i am not going to bust my ass scrubbing spackling out of my carpet that should have never been there in the first place. my landlord has shown me on many levels that he is not on my side. i become so incensed when i just think about this that i can't see straight. coming home to piss in your toilet and spackling in your refrigerator, lights and a/c on - on a recurring basis for 2 months is unacceptable. also, his 'contractors' are a bunch of people who do not speak english, wear any sort of uniform etc (edited back to PC for the post).

it is very easy to get rid of a tenant that is not living in a rent controlled or stabilized apartment - you simply do not offer them a renewal.

i talked to 311 and am going down to housing court to speak with someone tomorrow. i am going to see how much of this, if any, i can do in small claims court. i still do not have gas on in my apartment and supposedly contractors are heading there today, so i may be in for another amazing surprise of piss and filthy dirt when i get home.

thank you everyone for your help!

 

[xobklynqt143]

o geez i thought i had it bad!! good luck