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In late September, a Vietnam veteran was sitting with his dog outside his building on Second Avenue in the East Village when a 45-pound air conditioner fell from a sixth-floor window. The air conditioner bounced off of the first-floor commercial tenant's awning and landed on his head. After nearly dying during surgery, the injured veteran filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the building owner.
Protecting tenants against domestic violence is a difficult problem many owners face. In some situations, you may be required to let a domestic violence victim out of her lease. In New York State, the tenantial lease termination bill was signed into law on June 4, 2007, and amended on Aug. 15, 2007. Together, the original law and the amendment authorize courts to issue orders terminating the lease or rental agreement of a domestic violence victim who has obtained an order of protection and can prove that she is at substantial risk if she remains in the dwelling.
It is time-consuming to go to the Environmental Control Board to fight a recycling violation you may get from the city's Department of Sanitation (DOS). If you are like most owners, you probably just pay the fine. But with fines for each violation ranging from $25 to $500, the costs can add up.
Winter weather creates hazardous conditions that can be extremely dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians. And while there are city agencies responsible for monitoring and dealing with the side effects of freezing temperatures and winter storms on public roadways, taking care of slippery sidewalks is a responsibility that falls directly upon building owners.
As Christmas approaches, many of your tenants will be setting up Christmas trees in their apartments. While a beautifully decorated tree can add to the holiday spirit and help create a fragrant indoor atmosphere, Christmas trees can also pose a serious fire hazard to tenants' apartments as well as to your building. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, Christmas trees account for an average of 200 fires annually, resulting in six deaths, 25 injuries, and more than $6 million in property damage.
Many owners supply tenants with appliances such as refrigerators, stoves, microwave ovens, and garbage disposals. And when these appliances eventually break down, you may need to know whether you are supposed to repair or replace the broken appliance. Failing to do so, if required, can result in a Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) ruling that you have reduced services, and the DHCR can order a rent cut.
A pandemic flu is a global outbreak of disease originating from a new flu virus. Since most people have little or no natural immunity to these new flu strains, pandemic flus are likely to be more severe than seasonal flus with greater risk of hospitalization and death.
Most owners and managers are not aware of all the different signs that are required to be posted in a New York City apartment building. It is difficult to keep up with the sign-posting requirements that are buried in several different city and state laws. However, ignorance is not a valid excuse when an inspector visits your building and issues a fine.
Keeping track of all the signs you are required to post in your building's lobby or entrance hall can be difficult. The sign-posting requirements are buried in several different city and state laws. But as difficult as it may be to keep up with the many different requirements, a missing or improperly posted sign could hurt you financially if an inspector visits your building and issues a fine.
QThe August 2008 issue of the Insider states that the most recent vacancy bonus for a one-year vacancy lease is 16 percent. Last year's one-year vacancy bonus was 17.25 percent. I expected this year's increase to be larger. Can you explain the difference?
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