Tenant Law Podcast

In Episode 19 we discuss the many factors that go into a court deciding whether an apartment is a Rent Stabilized tenant’s primary residence, focusing particularly on what happens when you need to leave town for a long time to take care of a sick relative.

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In Episode 18 we discuss the very important difference between a roommate and a subtenant, and we explain why that difference is so important.

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In Episode 17 we discuss a new rule allowing Rent Stabilized tenants to add their Domestic Partners to their leases, and we also cover some considerations for any Rent Stabilized tenant considering adding a spouse or a partner to their lease.

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In Episode 16 we discuss Airbnb, and all kinds of Short-Term Renting in the wake of the controversial New York City Local Law 18, which recently went into effect.

Today’s pod will be longer than our typical 10 minutes because this is a big topic for New York City. We are going to be talking about the case brought by Airbnb against the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement that upheld Local Law 18.

In the Tenant Takeaway segment, we are going to talk about which NYC tenants can still do Short-Term Renting legally, and how they can do Short-Term Renting legally in NYC. We are also going to be talking about how tenants can take steps to prevent a neighbor in their NYC apartment building from doing illegal Short-Term Renting.

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In Episode 15 we discuss whether excessive noise from a neighboring apartment violates the warranty of habitability and justifies a tenant withholding rent in New York City. The episode also explores the legality of operating a Group Family Daycare in a New York City apartment.

Ask us your questions at tenantlawpodcast@gmail.com.

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In Episode 14 we see a tenant who drove a U-Haul up to his apartment, removed most of his possessions, and drove away for eight months. When he came back, the landlord had changed the locks. Would the court restore this tenant to possession? And why?

In Episode 11 we discuss the law that says many tenants have a right to a pre-exit inspection. For non-Rent-Stabilized tenants, within a reasonable time after notification by either the landlord or the tenant of either’s intention to terminate the tenancy (unless it is the tenant terminating the tenancy with less than two weeks' notice), the landlord shall notify the tenant in writing of the tenant's right to request an inspection before vacating the premises and of the tenant's right to be present at the inspection. If the tenant requests such an inspection, the inspection shall be made no earlier than two weeks and no later than one week before the end of the tenancy. The landlord shall provide at least forty-eight hours written notice of the date and time of the inspection. After the inspection, the landlord shall provide the tenant with an itemized statement specifying repairs or cleaning that are proposed to be the basis of any deductions from the tenant's deposit. The tenant shall have the opportunity to cure any such condition before the end of the tenancy. See General Obligations Law 7-108(1-a)(d).

In today’s case, we see what happens when the landlord fails to give the tenant the notice of the right to the inspection.

Ask us your questions at questions@tenantlearningplatform.com.

In Episode 10 we discuss a case where a tenant triumphed in court after undergoing terrible harassment by her landlord.

Ask us your questions at questions@tenantlearningplatform.com.

In Episode 9 we discuss what happens when a landlord asks a tenant in a Rent Stabilized apartment to move to another apartment within the same building and the tenant agrees. Does tenant’s Rent Stabilized “status” move with him?

Ask us your questions at questions@tenantlearningplatform.com.

In Episode 8 we discuss whether the Housing Court will recognize polyamorous relationships when making decisions about who can succeed to (inherit) a Rent Stabilized apartment.

In Episode 7 we discuss what types of businesses you can run in your New York City apartment and the legal manner in which you can run your business.

Today we discuss how to succeed to (inherit) a Rent Stabilized apartment. We also talk about what happens if you family member is unwilling to testify on your behalf in court.

In this episode we discuss the difference between Rent Control and Rent Stabilization and whether a landlord and tenant can contract in or out of rent regulation, as we look at a new appellate case that everyone is talking about. Is this case really a game changer?

In Episode 4 we discuss what happens when a Rent Stabilized tenant sublets her apartment to a subtenant and overcharges the subtenant more than the legally regulated rent. The tenant could owe the subtenant the overcharge amount back, plus triple damages. Today's case is interesting because the DHCR held that the landlord, as well as the tenant, was responsible to the subtenant for the overcharge, even when the landlord did not collect more than the legal rent, based upon the concept of illusory tenancy.

Today we discuss a Housing Court case that was dismissed because, although the apartment was located on the second floor of a building, the landlord described the apartment as being on the first floor. This leads us to an interesting Tenant Takeaway about how to turn winning a battle into maybe doing better in the overall war!

Ask us your questions at questions@tenantlearningplatform.com.

We discuss the difference between a permanent “Preferential Rent” and a one-time “rent concession” for Rent Stabilized apartments. We also discuss the pros and cons of tenants joining a class action with other tenants against the landlord.

Ask us your questions at questions@tenantlearningplatform.com.