Boarding houses and rooming houses are SROs. This is a read only version of the page. /Linearized 1 In New York, a basement, cellar, or attic apartment needs to be at least 7 feet high in order to be considered a living space. 64 as two-decade-long fight to reclaim building still going strong. (914) 965-3331 4:30 pm-8:30 am. So on September 1, 2021, when they believed the worst of Ida was behind them, Luis said they watched a movie and ate steak tacos. And it hurt us very much to leave our home, said Norma. Learn if an apartment or room is illegal or unsafe. >> Paying Rent Rent Reduction for NYCHA and Section 8 Rent Freeze for Seniors and People with Disabilities Landlord-Tenant Mediation Project Eviction The bill (S8783/A9802) allows for . These represent extreme circumstance and are issued at the urgency of the households safety and well-being, he said. Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. On May 4, Holness sued Mifsud again in Housing Court on the basis of the missing locks. Undocumented immigrant couple Norma and Luis say they were illegally evicted from their Queens apartment after it was flooded in Hurricane Ida. Plumbing and everything works. This type of activity violates zoning regulations. ( ( ( ( ( ?i~_u}oQO$X'4#.2r@k:3?). Its goal: to work with property owners to legalize 40 basement apartments in one- to three-family homes. However, renting an illegal apartment comes with its own risks, including that your landlord won't have to comply with local laws relating to renting places to . This can include illegally renting housing to guests who stay less than 30 days. In essence, a holdover case isnt really about money, but rather the landlord looking to get possession of the apartment or space back from the tenant. The basement is occupied by one family and does not include boarders. /Length 53886 I dont want to be caught in a situation to move into a worse situation.. << Even as a pandemic eviction moratorium shields many New Yorkers, the city's housing agency has ejected scores of tenants from basement apartments and other unauthorized dwellings, records show. So, lets assume that a landlord owns a two family house out in Queens. Unless the lease states otherwise, rent is due . Basement Apartments Safe for All had even developed specific conversion blueprints, focused on such details as waiving parking requirements, floor-area ratio and, crucially, providing owners. There was never a time where my side of the story meant anything to the cops. LISTEN: A State of the State for an Unsettled State, How These NYC Public Housing Residents Became Models for Tenant Rights Activism, In State of the State Speech, Hochul Backs Adams Housing Agenda. During the pandemic, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued guidance to police statewide, urging them to enforce unlawful evictions as a criminal matter if they had probable cause. These costs can be significant. I was only picking them up outside. /Prev 89579 You can report past illegal conversion or alteration of a commercial space. The Pratt Center for Community Development, a community planning organization within thePratt Institute, has been advocating for the legalization of accessory dwelling units for 15 years. Its hard. That is not a reasonable solution for a city with a housing crisis.. On Sept. 1, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an Agency Order, applying to residents earning less than a specified amount, the order banned evictions for. Too many of our most vulnerable community memberslow-income residents, immigrants, seniorslive in illegal basement units with no safety regulations and no protections, said Jose Miranda, member of NYC Base, a coalition of community groups, planners and lawyers that advocates for legalizing the citys basement apartments. As a result, the second floor tenant has been living in the apartment as a month to month tenant. What this means is that a landlord can bring a holdover case to evict a tenant, even if there is someone living in an illegal basement, but may not in that holdover case seek an award of money damages, such as for unpaid rent or use and occupancy. If a landlord is seeking to evict a tenant in a property where there is someone living in an illegal basement, the best option would be to NOT include any language that requests a money judgment. In NYC, you can search for a propertys Certificate of Occupancy by searching the Department of Buildings Building Information Search System. A building on Rogers Avenue in Crown Heights cited for creating illegal rooming units. Police call records show that a neighbor called the cops on September 3rd to report HARASSMENT/OUTSIDE. But the police did not help their neighbor, according to Norma. However, if the problems could not be solved then it would become a vacate or evict. Around the date Mifsud was served with the court papers, the building locks got changed altogether, Holness testified, and Mifsud did not provide her with a key. stream They are detailed for police officers in the police patrol guide. Its very hard.. If it was somebody white calling, I believe this would be a different case, said Holness. For a subterranean apartment to potentially qualify as a legal living space approved by the Department of Buildings, more than half of its height must be above curb level. Menu > Zoom > +, In the View menu, select Zoom. I called the police, and theyre saying to me, Its not criminal, its not criminal, its not criminal, said Holness. Unauthorized basement and cellar units come with risks including exit issues, unsafe gas and electrical systems, and a lack of light and ventilation, theDepartment of Buildingssays. Most of the buildings also have numerous vacant apartments, part of a longtime pattern of warehousing, tenants said. The exception to this is very narrow: the owner of an unregistered multiple dwelling may maintain a holdover proceeding and may recover possession in such a proceeding where the ground for recovery is not rent-based, although no ancillary money judgment may be sought or awarded. Czerwinski v. Hayes, 8 Misc3d 89, 799 NYS2d 349, 2005 NY Slip Op 25121 (N.Y. App. Report past illegal conversion of a commercial space. C Z\" Another hurdle is the 2020 New York State discovery reforms that substantially expanded records prosecutors must turn over to the defense, and tightened the time to do so. Stewart and Holness, who are both Black, see a racist double standard in their treatment by the police. The rental agreement in many states becomes unenforceable. Newark has free . /T 89591 Holness eventually had to move on to an apartment elsewhere in Queens. In this case, since the basement is not designed for dwelling purposes, it may not be rented. City of New York. The others were dismissed by judges or dropped by district attorneys. Get updates on important news and legislation from this Committee. Those arrests and summonses, however, represent a tiny fraction of times tenants allege they are locked out or intentionally left without heat or hot water. Between Feb. 3 and March 2 2021, Holness filed complaints with the citys 311 system 14 times, records show, reporting that her apartment had no heat, gas, electricity, smoke detector or carbon monoxide monitor. New Jersey, for instance, makes it very clear to landlords that they may not profit from illegal activity. Usually, if a cellar has any windows, the windows are too small for an adult to fit through. /Height 346 This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The bottom of any yard or other required open space cannot be higher than six inches below the window sill of any required window in the room. The flooding of last September proved just how important it is that basement units be safe, regulated homes, Manhattan Assemblywoman Yuh-line Niou said. Members and sponsors make THE CITY possible. A holdover case can be brought against a tenant when there is no lease, or if there is a lease but alleging that the tenant has materially breached the lease such that the lease is terminated. You can opt out at any time. modsquad81. Sign up and get the latest stories from THE CITY delivered to your inbox each morning. If your apartment is indeed illegal, the landlord cannot collect rent on it in the first place, as he's breaking the law. The Official Website of the City of New York. At Montefiore, nurses won a 19% wage increase over three years. endobj Petitioner alleged that on or about February 12, 2021, respondent landlord Aletha Grant . But this time, they arrested Holness. 20 18 Now what are we going to do? asked Norma. Utilities . 2022 All Rights Reserved, NYC is a trademark and service mark of the City of New York. To report a residential rental less than 30 days, go to the Housing Used for Short-Term Rental (Vacation Rentals or Illegal Home-Sharing) page. View > Text Size > Largest, In the View menu, select Zoom In. Each agency may issue violations for illegal occupancy conditions or issue Vacate Orders that the occupant leave the illegal space. For example, to increase text size using: In the menu to the right of the address bar, select and set Zoom level. Tenants are turfed out of their homes by private landlords without any reason. Of those who responded, Manhattan . One big thing youll find here in NYC, especially in Queens and Brooklyn, are people living in illegal basements. The question is, however, can a tenant be evicted if someone is living in an illegal basement? /XObject << /Im13 24 0 R >> The court in the same case stated above that " there is no statute prohibiting the collection of rent from an illegal one or two family dwelling." Case law supports my argument. Eviction for Nonpayment of Rent. Then on March 10, Holness sued Mifsud in Housing Court with the help of a Legal Aid Society lawyer, seeking emergency repairs. If a tenant is defending against a case like this, the best option would be to review the court papers for language seeking a money judgment and, if such language is in the court papers, file a motion to dismiss the case. Perhaps you must go through a portion of another apartment to get to yours. Carol Holness alleges her former landlord threw her belongings in the trash while trying to evict her from her Rockaways home. Illegal activity in progress, including gambling, drug dealing, or immediate danger to life or property. Criminal court is a huge assembly-line type justice place, where you have hundreds of thousands of cases going through every year on all different levels, said Deenihan. A household may qualify based on current income or calendar year 2020 income that is at or below 80 percent AMI. Attorneys may be able to work out a deal with a landlord and avoid court. Suing her landlord in June didnt restore her to her previous home, because she was living in what the city deemed an illegal boiler room. Md&8KSwe Qp&kUnaD2JbV{S&lk_*gVZN4[2Up'os* The NYPD declined to comment. Nyc Artists Lofts Before And After The Loft Law Modern Studios For Today S Creatives Cityrealty. Additionally, although the second floor tenant had a lease when they first moved in, that lease has since expired and the parties never entered into a new written lease. left the program with just $91,000 for the year, LISTEN: A State of the State for an Unsettled State, How These NYC Public Housing Residents Became Models for Tenant Rights Activism, In State of the State Speech, Hochul Backs Adams Housing Agenda, Northwest Bronx Leads City in Heat Complaints, No Heat in Your NYC Apartment? /Subtype /Image A pilot program launched in East New York in 2019 to legalize basement apartments in the Brooklyn neighborhood has only enrolled eight of 8,000 eligible homeowners, in part due to city budget cuts . The high number of dismissals is not surprising based on how the justice system works, said Gerard Deenihan, a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Societys Queens office. When it comes to landlord-tenant issues, very few places in the United States, or possibly even the world, are as complicated as housing in New York City. Unlawful eviction is a Class A misdemeanor, putting it on par with other misdemeanors like sexual misconduct or petit larceny. HPD cited Mifsud eight times in January 2021 for violations in Stewarts apartment, two of them immediately hazardous. Manhattan Assemblyman Harvey Epstein is sponsoring a similar bill in the Assembly. Your use of this website constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use, Supplemental Terms, Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. By the time Lansden had ordered Holness be let back in, another Housing Court judge, Enedina Pilar Sanchez, had ordered Mifsud to allow HPD crews in to do emergency repairs correcting the heat violation. 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