tenants' rights upstate ny

The Fair Housing Act is a federal law passed by Congress in 1968 and amended in 1988 that prohibits housing discrimination. Many landlords will attempt to put restrictions on how many people can be in a unit and how long guests can stay. If you have a disability, your landlord may not: Refuse to let you make reasonable modifications to your dwelling or common use areas, at your own expense, if necessary. (P45 L9). Be sure to put your name, address, and date on the letter, and to keep a copy (email and text allow this to happen automatically). This is the rental equivalent of telling auto lenders that they can't screen for prior repossessions, or telling insurance carriers that they can't screen for prior accidents. What it means: Security deposits are now limited to a max of 1 month's rent, and Landlords are no longer allowed to require last month's rent upfront. Ithaca residents can contact ITU's Organizing Help Line. Despite being a federally administered program, there is little publicly available information on the specifics of our rights to guests & visitors under Section 8. You may waive this if you wish to have a repair done sooner. It defines how renters will enjoy their home, how owners will maintain their property, and it can even affect a neighborhood's stability. In New York, lease agreements can be a written or oral agreement, but your lease . New law:No deposit or advance shall exceed the amount of one month's rent under such contract. If you believe there is an imminent physical threat of eviction, get in contact with your neighbors and/or your local tenants organization Ithaca residents can contact ITUs Organizing Help Line. 68 F) from Sep. 15 to May 31 Hot water Insect screens on your windows from May 15 to September 15. Between the certified letter for late rent after 5 days, followed by 14 day pay-or-quit notice, followed by 10 days to respond, followed by another 14 days of sheriff notice, not to mention weekends and holidays, I don't see how it would be possible to evict in New York in less than 60 days, and 90 would not be unlikely. During and after this 5 day period, you have the right to negotiate a forgiveness or payment plan with your landlord. (P47 L16). Your landlord IS allowed to keep all or part of your security deposit to cover any expenses you may have caused them. According to precedent set by the Zwerin v. Geiss ruling in 1963, for inspections and showings, your landlord must give you at least 24 hours notice before arriving, and for repairs they must give at least 1 weeks notice. Your landlord will not be able to keep your security deposit to pay for damage that existed when you moved in. NYS Tenants Rights Guide (English) Immigrant Tenant Rights (English) Please provide feedback by completing a short survey. Section 8 heavily restricts low-income tenants rights to live with and be visited by our families and friends. The petitioner is the person who starts the court case. If a landlord wrongly withholds some or all of your security deposit, Small Claims Court may award you up to three times the value of the withheld amount. Outside of the Ithaca area, you should contact Legal Assistance of Wester NY. Under this new law, since 2 year occupants still require 90 days notice of non-renewal, there's little reason for a Landlord to offer a month-to-month lease when they're still obligated to provide a 90 day notice of non-renewal anyway, so this will force tenants to choose to either lock in to a 12 month lease renewal or non-renew altogether. Beware of Paying Your Rent With Money Orders. Renters may have a right to withhold rent if their landlord has failed to provide them with safe, livable, and sanitaryhousing. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a person is in violation of this section if it is established that the person requested information from a tenant screening bureau relating to a potential tenant or otherwise inspected court records relating to a potential tenant and the person subsequently refuses to rent or offer a lease to the potential tenant. Once a landlord finishes their inspection, showing, or repair, they must leave the unit. Removing faucet heads and other necessary fixtures or appliances. It is illegal for your landlord to harass, intimidate, refuse to renew your lease, or evict you for complaining about poor living conditions. Inspect it with your landlord and a third person as a witness. New law:A special proceeding may be maintained under this article upon the following grounds: The tenant has defaulted in the payment of rent, pursuant to the agreement under which the premises are held, and a written demand of the rent has been made with at least fourteen days' notice requiring, in the alternative, the payment of the rent, or the possession of the premises, has been served upon him. Tell them it is a class A misdemeanor for any person to try to illegally evict a tenant under Real Property Law Section 768. Evictions will now be sealed and not made public. Take a copy of the letter to the landlord and ask for permission to have the disability-related pet. The first step is to write a letter, preferably signed by other tenants who rent from that landlord and/or your local tenants organization (Ithaca residents can contact the ITU Organizing Help Line for both) that notifies them of their wrongful withholding and threatens to take them to Small Claims Court if you dont receive the deposit by a certain date.You can also find success in asking tenants who replace you to withhold rent until the landlord returns your deposit. These items should go into the written agreement with your landlord. (P56 L13), Within a reasonable time after notification of either party's intention to terminate the tenancy, unless the tenant terminates 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. Under NY Human Rights Law, refusing to rent to someone because of their lawful source of income is illegal. The Court may award you damages for any part of your security deposit that should have been returned, and in the City of Ithaca can award you up to triple the amount of the wrongfully withheld deposit. If the landlord fails to give proper notice, tenancy continues under the existing lease or rental agreement on a month-to-month basis. You can also pay someone else to do it. This means that a tenant should not be evicted for an expired lease alone. If a landlord violates reasonable notice law, or shows up to your unit without a valid reason or your consent, NY Jurisprudence 2d says that they are committing trespassing. UTA United Tenants of Albany is an organization working with individuals and communities to promote and preserve safe, decent and affordable housing for all. The signature and title of the person receiving the rent. Are you a tenant, organizer, or lawyer with experience in Section 8 rights? If your neighbors are not facing similar problems, it is possible the landlord is discriminating against you. Address: 255 Orange St, Albany, NY 12210; Email: hotline@unitedtenantsalbany.org ; Website: www.utalbany.org ; Albany Community Action Partnership. Your security deposit CAN be deducted for: Damage you do to the space that goes beyond wear and tear, like large holes in the wall, significant carpet stains, broken fixtures, or cracked windows and tiles. Conversely, when tenants are swiftly reminded of their rental obligations and consequences are imposed within one week, tenants are far more likely to have the means to catch up and never fall under threat of eviction. A security deposit is the only deposit that landlords can legally ask for when you sign a lease, and is generally collected alongside your first months rent. According to Real Property Law Section 768, it is a Class A Misdemeanor with fines of $1,000$10,000 for a landlord try to make you leave by: removing any of your furniture or belongings, interrupting or turning off your heat or utilities. If the landlord continues to avoid repairs, you can contact Code Inspectors in your municipality in the City of Ithaca, the Building Division can be reached at (607) 274-6508. Be Aware! Residents of Ithaca and the surrounding area can contact ITUs Organizing Help Line. Once youve lived somewhere for 30 days, whether you have a lease or not, landlords cannot evict you without going to court multiple times and theyre legally required to give you specific paperwork before and after each time in order to proceed. (518) 526-9095 PO Box 11604. Almost always, police officers will take the side of property owners instead of tenants. If a landlord plans to not renew your lease, or raise your rent more than 5%, below are the necessary notice periods from Real Property Law L Section 226-C. You can sue another person without having a lawyer represent you. Predicate notices differ based on the kind of lease violation that the landlord is alleging. What it means: Pretty self-explanatory, if a tenant fails to appear in court for eviction and a default judgment is made in the Landlord's favor, the Landlord may not attempt to recover any attorney's fees. After the landlord serves you the Notice of Petition and Petition, the court clerk may send you a postcard that tells you to come to court. The following is a list of "good causes" for eviction: You may notice that expiration of the lease is not included in the list above, as it is NOT a good cause for eviction in Albany. Dear Friends, The contract between a tenant and landlord, whether based on a written lease or a handshake, is one of the most common and important deals made across our state. What it means: Landlords must provide written receipts for all cash payments of rent, and provide receipts if requested in writing by a tenant for personal checks. Cleaning that refreshes the space for new tenants, which would reasonably need to happen after every move-out, like carpet steaming, repainting or touching up walls you havent painted over, and removing dust. According to the same law, landlords must schedule all entries on weekdays between 9a.m. To get specific legal advice or representation in court, Tompkins County residents can speak to the Tenants Legal Hotline. We appreciate your support and hope the information on this site is helpful. The court shall consider any substantial hardship the stay may impose on the landlord in determining whether to grant the stay or in setting the length or other terms of the stay. Before you move out, you should have a witness inspect the apartment with you again. If you can, take photos or videos. Use this guide to know and assert your rights, in order to protect yourself and other tenants you are organizing with . If a landlord fails to provide the tenant with the statement and deposit within fourteen days, the landlord shall forfeit any right to retain any portion of the deposit. Threaten, coerce, intimidate or interfere with anyone exercising a fair housing right. New law:The notice of petition shall be returnable before the clerk, and shall be made returnable within ten days after its service. Occasionally a landlord may try to evict someone illegally without going to court, which is a crime under New York State Law. Under the new law, this has been extended to complaints lodged with not only with governmental authorities but with Landlords and/or property managers themselves, and the timing to be considered retaliation extended to 12 months. If your landlord is not providing you with safe, livable, and sanitary housing, you may also be able to ask the Court to reduce your rent. (518) 432-5810 10 Colvin Ave. Albany, NY 12206. See Building Issues & Maintenance to review your rights and your options for forcing your landlord to make repairs. If you live in Ithaca, contact ITUs Organizing Help Line to be connected to organizers who can advise you, refer you to free legal counsel, and set up an eviction blockade to prevent illegal evictions by your landlord.

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