QUESTION
What is the statute of limitations for filing suit against a real estate brokerage?
Asked on Jan 31st, 2017 on Residential Real Estate - New York
More details to this question:
- The Agent which negotiated the lease with us is the son of the Landlord - The Agent never disclosed his relationship with the Landlord during the negotiation process - The Agent never disclosed or had us sign an Agency Agreement informing us who he was representing - The Agent withheld information known to him and the Landlord which would have affected our decision to lease - Specifically, the lease included a clause for escalation of rent if the Landlord’s real estate taxes were to increase - The increase in taxes were pre-ordained due to a Tax Abatement which had been on the building since the Landlord purchased the apartment in November, 2009, which said the reduction would decrease by 20% every other year for ten years - The notice of this increase had been sent on June 5th, 2015, nine days prior to us signing and commencing the lease - The Landlord waited six months to bill us for the additional taxes in an attempt to cover up they were aware of the tax increase prior to signing
1 ANSWER
Civil Rights Law Attorney serving Rockville Centre, NY
Partner at
Lori Nevias, Attorney at Law
1 Award
The statute of limitations for fraud is six years from the time you discover it. Withholding, in lease negotiations, of a material fact that is only in the landlord's knowledge, such as a pre-existing tax increase, is definitely fraud- as is your agent's failure to disclose his relationship with the landlord. Your agent also breached his fiduciary duty to represent your interests in the transaction. You can sue to rescind your lease or for a rent abatement, or withhold rent and wait to be sued, then file a counterclaim against the landlord. However, you won't be able to sue your agent in housing court, so your best bet is to keep paying your rent and start an action against them in Supreme court.
Answered on Feb 01st, 2017 at 6:11 AM