My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: New York.
I was recently married and I moved in with my spouse and their roommate, both of whom are named on the lease of a two-bedroom apartment in a non-rent controlled 3 apartment house. The apartment is definitely not above board, as it is a finished basement, there is one mailbox, rent is paid in cash, the landlord enters the apartment to collect rent, and so on. The landlord is a difficult person, and has been obnoxious and abusive over the phone.
The landlord discovered that I lived in the apartment soon after I moved in because my spouse called them to notify them of sewage backing up into our shower whenever an upstairs apartment flushed. His immediate reaction was that I was not supposed to be living there, and that it was a violation of the lease (the template of our lease is here: http://ift.tt/1tYMPQ9). Our toilet did not flush, so our entire bathroom was inoperable. My spouse called on a Sunday night informing the landlord that we required an emergency plumber to fix an ongoing sewage backup. The landlord replied that "his guy" would arrive the next day at noon, presumably after the upstairs neighbors used the facilities in the morning. We stated that this would be unacceptable, as it represented an ongoing risk to health and property (every flush upstairs = more sewage), and the landlord consented to our calling a 24/7 plumber after a long conversation. Our plumber came and cleared the main sewer line at our own expense, which fixed the problem temporarily. The next morning the problem returned, and following our call the landlord sent a plumber who cleaned the line running from the main line to our toilet, fixing the problem. The plumber said that it was a "muck stoppage," and that it was due to normal use over time. My first question is whether our expenses are reimbursable, and if so, what might be the best way to get the landlord to pay. Second, I am wondering if he can make me leave the apartment, or take any action against my wife or her roommate.
A few days after the landlord found out that I live in the apartment we received a new lease, which reflected an 8% increase in rent ($150). My wife and her roommate previously agreed to let the landlord know if they were interested in staying at the end of this month, so dropping off the lease is ahead of schedule and unusual. Is this increase enough to make a case for retaliation, discrimination due to marital status or harassment?
I'm interested and grateful for any advice on this, especially if there are issues or considerations I'm not seeing. We'd like to stay in the place for another year, want to be reimbursed, and don't want to pay rent, and it would be good to know what options we've got.
I was recently married and I moved in with my spouse and their roommate, both of whom are named on the lease of a two-bedroom apartment in a non-rent controlled 3 apartment house. The apartment is definitely not above board, as it is a finished basement, there is one mailbox, rent is paid in cash, the landlord enters the apartment to collect rent, and so on. The landlord is a difficult person, and has been obnoxious and abusive over the phone.
The landlord discovered that I lived in the apartment soon after I moved in because my spouse called them to notify them of sewage backing up into our shower whenever an upstairs apartment flushed. His immediate reaction was that I was not supposed to be living there, and that it was a violation of the lease (the template of our lease is here: http://ift.tt/1tYMPQ9). Our toilet did not flush, so our entire bathroom was inoperable. My spouse called on a Sunday night informing the landlord that we required an emergency plumber to fix an ongoing sewage backup. The landlord replied that "his guy" would arrive the next day at noon, presumably after the upstairs neighbors used the facilities in the morning. We stated that this would be unacceptable, as it represented an ongoing risk to health and property (every flush upstairs = more sewage), and the landlord consented to our calling a 24/7 plumber after a long conversation. Our plumber came and cleared the main sewer line at our own expense, which fixed the problem temporarily. The next morning the problem returned, and following our call the landlord sent a plumber who cleaned the line running from the main line to our toilet, fixing the problem. The plumber said that it was a "muck stoppage," and that it was due to normal use over time. My first question is whether our expenses are reimbursable, and if so, what might be the best way to get the landlord to pay. Second, I am wondering if he can make me leave the apartment, or take any action against my wife or her roommate.
A few days after the landlord found out that I live in the apartment we received a new lease, which reflected an 8% increase in rent ($150). My wife and her roommate previously agreed to let the landlord know if they were interested in staying at the end of this month, so dropping off the lease is ahead of schedule and unusual. Is this increase enough to make a case for retaliation, discrimination due to marital status or harassment?
I'm interested and grateful for any advice on this, especially if there are issues or considerations I'm not seeing. We'd like to stay in the place for another year, want to be reimbursed, and don't want to pay rent, and it would be good to know what options we've got.
Extending a Lease Emergency Plumbing / Questionable Rent Increase / Difficult Landlord
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