NYC is very expensive! It’s easy to be taken advantage of, so we collaborated with our Super Neighbor, Brandon McKenzie, to help you KNOW YOUR RIGHTS and give you some helpful tips and tricks. Brandon is an attorney at Moss & Moss LLP, where he handles complex real estate litigation matters, and Co-Founder of ListAcross, a one-stop-shop for selling your stuff across peer-to-peer marketplaces (launching soon!).

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What should you do if your landlord isn't addressing maintenance issues?

Burn the building down, obviously. Just kidding! Under New York’s Warrant of Habitability law (Real Property Law 235-b) your landlord is obligated to maintain your apartment in safe and decent condition, and that’s not something that can be waived in a lease. Under the Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment (Real Property Law 235), you are entitled to have quiet and peaceful possession of your apartment. Have a neighbor who plays loud music at 3:00AM? Guess what! Your landlord may have to either get that tenant to turn off the music or soundproof your apartment. If you have maintenance issues (and I’m talking about real maintenance issues) here are some things you can do:

1. Tell your landlord.
   The minute you notice an issue, it’s typically good form to give your landlord an opportunity to fix it. Whenever possible, do this in writing, ideally over email, explaining what the problem is (photos are often helpful too). If you speak to your landlord by phone or in person, sending a follow up “as discussed” email right after document the conversion and action items is a great practice. Make sure to ask when you can expect the issue to be resolved. If the issue is serious, like a leak, include the urgency in your email and make a note of potential consequences of inaction. For example, “Dear {landlord}, I’ve noticed a leak under my bathroom sink. A good bit of water is pooling, and I’m concerned that if a plumber does not come out to address this ASAP, the water could damage the floors, seep into the ceiling of the apartment below, and potentially cause hazardous mold. Are you able to send a plumber out today? Given the urgency of the issue, I can make myself available to let the plumber in this afternoon if you need me to.”
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2. 311 (There’s an app too!).
   If your landlord doesn’t fix problems and those problem pose health or safety issues, especially issues that are code violations, inspections from city agencies like the Department of Buildings (“DOB”) and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”) can sometimes move things along. You can call 311 to report problems and ask for an inspector to come out. If an inspector finds violations, violation penalties can be thousands of dollars. Tenants don’t always love this option for fear of landlord retaliation, but landlords who retaliate against tenants can get in even more trouble.
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3. Repair and Deduct.
   If your landlord does not fix issues in a reasonable amount of time, another option is to repair and deduct (check your lease to see if there’s any language around this before doing it). Send another email to your landlord notifying them that if certain repairs are not timely made, you intend to hire a professional to do the repairs, which you will pay for, and then you will deduct the cost from your next rent payment. If you go this route, make sure to keep all receipts and to share copies of those with your landlord once the work is complete along with an explanation of what work that was done, preferably from the person who completed the work on their letterhead.
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4. ‍Withhold Rent.
   If all else fails, you may consider withholding rent, but you’ll probably want to speak with an attorney before going down this path. This is a tricky process that’s not as simple as just not paying, as that may land you in housing court in a non-payment proceeding or an eviction proceeding. Be sure to communicate the problems with the landlord on an ongoing basis and document the landlord’s failure(s) to fix those problems. If you do withhold rent, that money is not yours to spend as you wish; you generally want to put that money in escrow or in your lawyer’s client trust account. In that way, if you end up in court, the judge can see that you’re not just trying to get out of paying rent, and if the judge rules against you or says that you are entitled to some, but not all, of the rent you withheld, money can be moved quickly to resolve the matter.

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