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As summer approaches, many of your tenants may start to install air conditioners in their windows. Or they may ask a super to do the installation for them. But air conditioners that tenants or building employees improperly install or remove may cause you big trouble. They may fall out of windows during or after installation, injuring or killing pedestrians and prompting expensive lawsuits against you. Improperly installed air conditioners may also damage the building facade, as well as window frames and apartment interiors.
The DHCR has finally issued rules to permit rent-stabilized leases and lease renewals to be offered and accepted through electronic means. On March 25, the DHCR issued Operational Bulletin 2022-1, entitled “Electronic Lease Offering and Tenant’s Voluntary Consent.” The bulletin was issued as a result of the passage of Chapter 74 of the Laws of 2022, which allows tenants to voluntarily consent to accept electronic lease offerings and allows the DHCR to create rules and procedures for these offerings.
A recent disability discrimination case involving an emotional support dog highlights the murky waters owners must navigate when making exceptions to pet policies as a reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities. Many leases contain “no-pet” clauses, barring pets altogether. And other leases may permit pets but with restrictions on the number, type, size, or weight of the pet, and impose conditions such as extra fees, security deposits, or additional rent charges.
Among the numerous required postings and signage for apartment buildings in New York City, the fire safety notice that's posted on the backs of apartment entrance doors is one that has been shown to be very necessary due to recent tragic events. When faced with a fire in one’s building, with smoke filling the public hallway corridors, not everyone will have the presence of mind to remember the instructions provided in the fire and emergency preparedness guide, or the time to search for documents with instructions.
We’ll run down the requirements for self-closing doors, smoke and CO detectors, fire escapes, stove knob covers—and all the related notices.
On Jan. 9, a fatal blaze began in a Bronx apartment unit, escaped an open door, and spread through the 19-story building. The fire killed 17 people including eight children in what is the city’s largest loss of life from a single fire in 30 years.
Rooftop water tanks help deliver drinking water to millions of New York City residents. Based on an inventory of buildings that stand seven stories or taller, it’s estimated that there are 12,000 to 17,000 water towers in New York City. As needed, pumps push water to rooftop tanks where the water is stored until used. When a faucet is turned on within the building, water exits the tank and gravity carries the water to the floors below to be used.
A proposed bill wouldn’t block the exit—but it would require a formal approval process.
Owners’ ability to deregulate apartments and be exempt from rent stabilization requirements were severely eroded with the passage of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA) in June 2019. The HSTPA implemented a series of historic reforms to rent laws that included repealing high-rent vacancy and high-rent/high-income deregulation.
Owners who couldn’t get relief in the original Emergency Rental Assistance Program can now apply for thousands of dollars in aid through a new state program launched on Oct. 7. The Landlord Rental Assistance Program (LRAP) gives eligible recipients payments of up to a year’s worth of past-due rent. The program was created from legislation enacted on Sept. 2 that included an extension of the eviction and foreclosure moratorium through Jan. 15, 2022.
On Aug. 12, the country’s highest court sided with a group of New York owners who challenged the state’s COVID Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act (CEEFPA). The CEEFPA was signed into law in December 2020, effectively freezing nearly all evictions in the state. In the recent decision, the Supreme Court struck down an important component of New York's eviction moratorium.
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