QUESTION
My apartment complex is doing renovations and i feel we a re being mistreated and taken advantage of. Is there anything we can do?
Asked on Mar 13th, 2017 on Landlord and Tenant Law - New York
More details to this question:
Our apartment complex is being renovated and we were not provided with a temporary place to live. We are given a room during the day Mon-Fri, but at nigh and on the weekends we have to be in our own apartment. Our apartment is dirty everyday when we return to it. We have noticed that our property has been used and thrown around. We were left with out a shower for 2-3 days. We did not have a kitchen sink for almost a week. We found used razor blades in our kitchen that one of our children could have found. When we go to any of the workers or management about our concerns we are blown off. We have had to stay in a hotel for 2 nights due to the apartment being unlivable for my children. We were told that we can not be reimbursed for hotels and that they will not prorate rent for the time we are not in the apartment.
1 ANSWER
Civil Rights Law Attorney serving Rockville Centre, NY
Partner at
Lori Nevias, Attorney at Law
1 Award
There are a few things you can do. You can withhold rent and let your landlord take you to court, and use the condition of your apartment, which is a breach of the warranty of habitability that comes with any lease, as a defense. If it's serious enough, you'll get a rent abatement. You must have evidence- photos, videos, etc. If the apartment is completely uninhabitable you can leave and find a new place and sue your landlord for damages. The amount you would win , if any, will depend on the strength of your proof that all or part of the apartment is uninhabitable.
Answered on Mar 14th, 2017 at 2:48 PM