[Aenigma]

My building has not had heat since January 18th. Hot water has been sporadic. There was also no heat or hot water for a week around Christmas, and also for a week around Thanksgiving. The management company has known for ages that the boiler needed repair. The landlord has known since this past November at the very latest – he sent a plumber to check out the damage in the basement. Repair is no longer an option: the boiler is inoperable. It is leaking steam and water; the last time I visited the basement, the whole space was flooded ankle-deep.

The tenants in the building, all of us rent-regulated (though some more than others), have called the landlord, the super, the city – hell, we had a midnight visit from the fire department last week. I have heard a city inspector, an engineer, a plumber, and a NationalGrid operative all swear openly when they saw the eviscerated beast that is our poor rusted dead boiler.

The latest news it that the landlord is allegedly working on replacing the boiler – but best-case scenario is a couple more weeks, assuming he’s acting quickly and in good faith. More likely, and still assuming relatively good faith, we’ll get heat again once the boiler has been replaced, National Grid has run a new gas line into the building, and our landlord has jumped through a number of inspection / certification / permit hoops. So, oh, you know: maybe late April? Sweet.

A couple of the building’s older tenants have a lawyer on retainer because of attempts by a previous landlord to forcibly evict them (in hopes of jacking up their enviably low rents). We’re meeting with him next week. I do not believe I can afford his services, but I’d like to get preliminary information about what our options are.

In the meantime, I’ve explored the Interwebs a bit and read some former housing part decisions, but I’d really like to hear from neighbors like you. Has anyone had experience in Housing Court? Anyone filed for – or negotiated – a rent reduction? Are damages or payment of legal fees ever awarded to tenants? Can anyone offer me hope that there is a better best-case scenario than just tolerating these awful conditions? Alternatively, I will accept alcohol.

Thanks.

[Flo]

http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/Forms/Rent/#tenant
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/tenants/faqs-for-tenants.shtml


Above is a link to DHCR forms for reduced rent either building wide or for individual apartment and to HPD info about filing a case in housing court against your landlord. I do know someone who successfully had the rent reduced both in his apartment and in his building due to lack of services by filling out the forms and working with DHCR. The key is to make sure you keep a record of the lack of services and keep all information from your calls to 311 and other data from HPD inspectors.

Good luck.

[Flo]

Forgot the key thing. Get it in writing. Write your landlord a letter and/or document your phone calls. Mail it certified. Keep a log of the lack of services and all visits by HPD etc. Again, good luck. It's absolutely no fun to have no heat in winter. Hope you are sleeping with a hat on.

[VoodooNYC]

Just wanted to say that I admire your sense of humor and upbeat attitude despite what you are going through. Good for you. I was without heat for a few days in the beginning of the year and hot water four days this week and i will say both times I found 311 to be spectacularly unhelpful and inept.

[RockerGirl77]

I haven't heard a story like this since the Gloria Trembicky "landlord from hell" problems a couple of years ago. I feel for you.

[vidro3]

rent strike?

[VoodooNYC]

Gloria Trembicky! Great idea! Aenigma: start a blog about it and get Fox 5 New's attention:

[Aenigma]

Thanks for the feedback, folks. Voodoo, I hope your hot water has been restored -- going without it might actually suck worse than going without heat. At least you can use a space heater to warm the air; you can't point a space heater at the faucet and hope it'll warm the water past ass-crackingly-cold.

I may or may not have tried this.

I have, however, noticed that my electricity bill for January was twice as high as the month before, which was itself twice as high as the equivalent bill last year. I wish our landlord weren't sapping me of physical strength, my sanity, and my money. Good god, man! - will you leave me nothing?!

Many people have suggested a rent strike, including my midnight firemen (should be the name of a pulpy novel, no?). There is something very viscerally satisfying about this course of action -- at least the bastard isn't profiting off my discomfort, right? But from what I understand, we tenants would still have to put the rent away in escrow, and rent strikes often result in a landlord pursuing eviction on the basis of non-payment. Then, of course, we could counter-sue for breach of the warrant of habitability, etc. etc., but it could get ugly. I know I'd freak out if I found an eviction notice on my door, even if it were completely unenforceable. The rent is high, but I'd still be hard-pressed to find anything comparable in a comparable area.

And for the record, I don't want to move. Then the assholes win.

[RockerGirl77]

You know, rents are dropping like crazy. I mean like crazy. I've been watching CL and stuff is going from $2k to $1,900 to $1,800 to $1,700 over the course of a few weeks. I found a really awesome place (the deals not inked yet, knock on wood) and I offered $300 a month less than the asking price, so there are definitely deals out there.

Regardless, someone should start an anonymous online rating system for rentals. Like a yelp for landlords or "rate my professor". people could say stuff like what has happened above and any positive or negative issues they have had, searchable by address so when you're looking for a new place you just look to see if anything has been posted at that address.

[arieshine]

Your landlord sounds like a total douchebag. I wish I worked for National Grid; I would turn off HIS heat.
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[Aenigma]

Actually, my super swears up and down that the landlord is a really nice guy.

This will be meaningful to me when "nice" is an officially recognized source of heat for NYC residences.

I like your wisdom-of-Solomon idea, however. (Apparently a judge in another state actually forced a landlord to live in his own crumbling tenements until they were repaired.) It is especially appropriate given the landlord's name, which of course I will not reveal here.

[Aenigma]

That Fox 5 News clip is gratifying to watch! I feel those tenants' pain. Although it's funny that the reporters are like, "Check out this crazy new-fangled high-tech method of complaining: BLOG!" Oh, 2006. Were we so innocent then?

The clip also confirmed to me that my living situation is worse than I realized. The news team was appalled by 15 open violations, of which half were C-grade, the most serious category?

I took a look at my building's complaint history on the city website (nyc.gov/hpd for those of you interested in looking up your own buildings). For illustrative purposes, some numbers:

Tenants in 7 units in my building have called Housing Preservation & Development 34 times in the last 4 weeks to register 83 complaints. There is an eighth unit, but I believe that tenant has been living elsewhere for a couple of months due to the heat and, oh, her ceiling partially collapsing?

At least six different inspectors have visited our building and issued notices of violation. In the last 6 months, there have been 51 registered open violations, 23 from 2009 alone. Of these, 15 are C-level violations, which are considered immediately hazardous and must legally be rectified within 24 hours.

Think I have a case?

[Carnivore]

No one in your building should not be paying rent until this is addressed. Your rent should be going into an escrow account, not to the landlord.
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[Carmen]

ftr, a friend of mine is living in one of glorias building and is meeting with her tonight to try to get out of her lease. no heat all year.
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whoa hey whoa hey whoa

[RockerGirl77]

[Aenigma]

[Flo]

My two cents regarding housing court is do not go alone. Get representation. I had a very bad housing court experience and I had read up on it and felt prepared, the building had numerous violations as did my apartment etc but things did not go my way (in some ways because I was just unfamiliar with how the place worked despite reading advice on tenant.net and in some ways I think because I was just ineffective at representing myself because of nerves or the judge was inclined to believe my landord/slumlord's lawyer).

The judges want you to sign a stipulation. They do not want to hear cases probably because of volume. If your landlord gets a lawyer who is down at housing court all the time, they will be familiar with the procedures and the judges,etc. You will not be treated in the same manner as your landlords' lawyer. For instance, I once spent all morning waiting around to be called because my landlord's lawyer had signed in and gone back to his office nearby. The court officer or clerk was waiting for both parties, but no one informed me that I was waiting on my landlord's lawyer. I nearly lost my mind because I had been at court a few times already (process was drawn out over months) and was told that the case would go to trial right away that day.

Seriously, my friends who have had lawyers came out of housing court unscathed. I took a bath. I recommend representation and documentation of everything. Really, filling out the DHCR paperwork for reduced rent couldn't hurt and it could help you with documentation should you find yourself in housing court. It also might motivate your landlord to do some repairs. Best of luck.

[Flo]

http://www.sbls.org/index.php?id=79

Some good advice here if you decide you want to file an HP action against your landlord for the lack of services.

[Carmen]

This is sort of off topic but I figure with everyone in here fighting with landlords- there are 3 units open in my building and we DO have heat. I've had my share of moments with the mgmt company but overall things are good. All studios and 1brs, 1200-1550 with utilities included.

*note I have absolutely no monetary interest in renting these places, I'd just like nice neighbors especially since one of them is directly above me.
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whoa hey whoa hey whoa

[Mougar]

[Carmen]

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

Do they allow little puppies named Oscar?!?!
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Babies aren't meat! They're not even people!

[Carmen]

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

Hhmm...PM me some info. Maybe I'll come take a look?
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Babies aren't meat! They're not even people!

[Aenigma]

[SJD715]

I know this post is a month old almost, I am new to Brooklyn and have questions. One is regarding heat and hot water so I thought I'd post here.

I know landlords are responsible for providing heat and hot water, but does that mean they pay for it? I can't find this answer anywhere. They just have to make it available? Like having a working boiler or thermostat and heaters? The place I am moving into has floor heaters and heats by gas. It is separate from the landlords who lives downstairs.

Thanks in advance for input and answer.

[Mpmav1]

From everything I've heard: they have to pay for it. Every place I remember looking at did pay.

I think maybe one time I heard they only have to pay if the building have 6+ units... but not sure about that. Anyone know for sure?
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Did Someone Say Walk?

[Carmen]

I don't think that they have to pay for it... the last apt I lived in had separate gas meters so we paid for all gas (heating, hot water and cooking.) I know a lot of people who pay their own gas bills which must include heating (the bills are exponentially higher in the winter so I doubt its just cooking gas.)
I have no idea of the actual legality, but im pretty sure its legal to charge for it (or there are a lot of landlords risking it!)
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