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In November 2019, the latest FDNY rules implementing Local Laws 114 and 115 of 2018 went into effect. These particular rules pertain to providing an emergency planning checklist to apartment residents and posting “Close the Door” signs in conspicuous locations. And in recent years, new Fire Department rules changing the content and delivery of the annual residential fire safety guides went into effect.
The following is a list of FDNY-related documents affecting owners of residential buildings with three or more apartments.
Before you can sue to evict a tenant for not paying the rent, you must send the tenant a legal notice known as a “rent demand.” In it, you ask the tenant to pay the rent owed and give him a chance to pay before starting a nonpayment proceeding. Although this seems simple enough, a surprising number of nonpayment cases get thrown out based on a rent demand that wasn’t properly prepared or delivered. To help you, here are seven Dos & Don’ts to follow when preparing and delivering rent demands to tenants.
When you get a violation notice from the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), it will specify a deadline for correcting the violation. HPD issues violations to owners of buildings that don’t meet the standards of the city’s Housing Maintenance Code and the New York State Multiple Dwelling Law. Buildings with significant numbers of unresolved violations may be subject to HPD-initiated litigation, eligible for the alternative enforcement program, or publicly posted on the proactive preservation initiative’s at-risk building list.
Seven plaintiffs have joined the Rent Stabilization Association (RSA) and Community Home Improvement Program (CHIP) to sue over new rent regulations they claim are ‟unconstitutional.” The plaintiffs are management companies run by three different landlords and an individual landlord. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, and names the city, the Rent Guidelines Board along with each of its members, and the state Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas as defendants.
The Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) made significant changes to various statutes governing rent-stabilized housing, including the Emergency Tenant Protection Act, the Rent Stabilization Law of 1969, various provisions of the State Real Property Law, The Real Property Actions and Proceeding Law (RPAPL), and the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR).
Last year, both New York State and New York City enacted several significant measures regarding sexual harassment in the workplace. At the state level, the labor law was amended to require the Department of Labor and Division of Human Rights to collaborate in developing both a model sexual harassment prevention policy and a model sexual harassment prevention training program for use by employers in combatting sexual harassment in the workplace.
On June 14, 2019, the New York State Legislature enacted the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (the Act), which significantly altered existing rent control and rent stabilization laws. The Legislature followed up on June 25, 2019, by enacting a “Clean Up Bill” to clarify some provisions of the Act. Most provisions of the Act became effective immediately on June 14, 2019.
Owners sometimes hire tenants to be superintendents. This practice can lead to serious problems unless the owner takes precautions. When a tenant is hired to act as a superintendent, he becomes the owner’s employee. This is not a problem. But suppose the owner later wants to fire the employee. The owner might discover that the employee retains his rights as a tenant. If the tenant is protected by rent laws, the owner won’t be able to evict the tenant. Thus, the owner will be stuck with a tenant who was a former superintendent and who was fired by the owner.
The City Council recently passed 17 bills meant to protect tenants and prevent landlords from harassing them out of their apartments. The legislative package includes new rules on renovations, tenant buyouts, housing court process servers, and more. With its passage, owners cannot use construction as a means of harassment or falsify information on construction documents without being penalized.
The Rent Stabilization Code (RSC) requires you to give advance notice to a rent-stabilized tenant before you can seek his eviction in most cases. The notice, known as a termination notice, informs the tenant that he must vacate or give up his apartment by a certain date.
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