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But ultimately, they did not file a housing court case. /Info 19 0 R A spokesperson for HPD, Jeremy House, told THE CITY that removing tenants from basement apartments and other illegal dwellings is done as a last resort. Mifsud did not respond to multiple requests for comment from THE CITY. } !1AQa"q2#BR$3br Thus, renting a basement designated for storage or accessory use creates an illegal occupancy in the building. 0 The official NYC heat season begins October 1 and runs until May 31. Copyright 2023 Law Office of Richard Kistnen. But the repairs never happened, HPD court filings alleged. Officers never believe our clients and our clients end up having to sue, when they should be immediately back in and the landlord should sue if they think they have a reason to evict somebody, said Nori. They cant do nothing about it because its not criminal.. Recently we renovated the storage area in the basement put in a stove, fridge etc. By law, landlords who try to evict tenants by harassment, intentionally cutting utilities or changing the locks can be arrested, issued a summons, and even go to jail for up to a year. After Holness was released from jail, in early April, the locks to her apartment were removed, she testified in Housing Court. In another, a landlord allegedly cut the power and water to a tenant in a bid to evict them. Tamel Anderson says his landlord locked him out of his Albany basement apartment. During this period, property owners must On May 25, Housing Court Judge John S. Lansden found Holness quite credible and said there is no doubt that [she] was a tenant for the last three years and was removed from the subject premises without due process of law Holness won her case, and was granted an order to get into her apartment. As is often the case, a tenant is renting the second floor apartment, while the landlord lives in the first floor apartment. The Certificate of Occupancy says that on your floor only four apartments are permitted but you know that there are five apartments. Because it was possible that they wouldnt help us, they would say we were renting illegally so we cant do anything, thats why I said we are not going to call, said Luis. The laws are different in different states. Even if Lynch doesn't show up having the violation will work in your favor for eviction. The notice mentioned that they received a complaint about "illegal conditions" which means someone ratted me out.I did purchase a gas stove for the basement (illegal, but I can have someone remove it temporarily), a small refrigerator and installed a kitchen sink. Criminal summonses, meanwhile, are adjudicated by the citys Law Department. 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. Demonstrators in Manhattan this month calling for an expansion of the eviction moratorium. New York small claims court will hear rent-related disputes. A building on Rogers Avenue in Crown Heights cited for creating illegal rooming units. Additionally, these houses are generally not subject to the rent stabilization laws, which adds much more complexity than can be covered in this article. Other illegally subdivided areas of an apartment, house, or a building. For housing advocates, the scant number of arrests confirms what theyve long observed that the police do not treat unlawful eviction as a crime, preferring to let tenants and landlords duke it out in Housing Court. There was never a time where my side of the story meant anything to the cops. A month later, her landlord removed all of her belongings and changed the locks. Eviction Moratorium Exception: Nearly 100 Basement Apartments Hit With Vacate Orders During Pandemic. Some tenants have become homeless after their basement apartments were exposed. Petitioner Patricia Howard ("petitioner") commenced this illegal eviction proceeding seeking to be restored to possession of the premises 3337 Fish Avenue, Basement Apartment, Bronx, New York, and an award of treble damages pursuant to RPAPL 853. C Z\" HPD launched a pilot program, the Basement Apartment Conversion Pilot Program (BACPP), in partnership with Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation. How to evict a tenant out of illegal basement apartment in nyc. /ProcSet [/PDF /ImageC /Text] Copyright 2023 MH Sub I, LLC dba Nolo Self-help services may not be permitted in all states. The Court noted in its opinion that "no landlord-tenant relationship can exist where there is an illegal apartment." The Court cited the case of Fazio v. Kelly, 2003 WL 22227363. Perhaps it is a fire hazard or there is no inside plumbing. 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. When does heat turn on in nyc apartments? Now what are we going to do? asked Norma. Im still staying at the shelter, trying to get permanent housing. 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. Utilities . The apartment is in the basement or attic. Nyc funded a pilot to make basement apartments safer but then it went off track looser rules on illegal housing sought the new york times city s illegally converted proved deadly in ida path cnn people trapped basements due flooding how do you know if where live is and are at risk telemundo 47 world today news tell apartment legal al eviction bringing code urban omnibus down ramps up what an tenants rights landlord greed carbon monoxide poisoning New Jersey, for instance, makes it very clear to landlords that they may not profit from illegal activity. The judgment amounted to $30,250. This includes commercial space altered for residential or manufacturing purposes. O&]@Gt.+`4otm*V{ v0h9[8BX77rQXga0B~#ZnMs+ 1xwdc8):hv_GK7]K?!z|.k9|Jfg-1|b Ydendstream You can report people living in commercial space. The most important was our underwear and our uniforms, because we were supposed to be working, said Norma. The price seems like a steal. /Parent 18 0 R Illegal apartments from analteredbasement, cellar, or attic. NYC Landlords Almost Never Get Arrested for Illegal DIY Evictions While thousands of tenants have filed cases claiming their landlords locked them out to defy the eviction moratorium, just a handful have been charged for the crime. At least three cases are still pending in criminal court. Between April and October 2021, HPD sued Mifsud five times in Housing Court, seeking building access for HPD repair crews and court orders directing Mifsud to provide heat, hot water and electricity, as well as civil penalties, according to petitions. /Filter [/FlateDecode ] Even when these conditions are met, the landlord must take the tenant to court, win, and . While fines and penalties have become much more serious for landlords, it does not change the fact that tenants must vacate an illegal property unless the landlord can remedy the illegal issue(s). xref Heating Regulations for the City of Yonkers. Obviously, a legal apartment is going to command more on the rental market than an illegal one. There are lots of rules, regulations and procedures that need to be followed, especially by landlords, to make sure that a unit that they are renting is in full compliance to rent. (a) it shall be unlawful for any person to evict or attempt to evict an occupant of a dwelling unit who has lawfully occupied the dwelling unit for thirty consecutive days or longer or who has entered into a lease with respect to such dwelling except to the extent permitted by law pursuant to a warrant of eviction or other order of a court of But, according to the report, Attempts to contact landlord unsuccessful. Listing Total Wanted: 1, the police did not arrest Mifsud. On 111th Street in Corona, Queens, the basement apartment where Norma and Luis lived had only one window, one entrance, no gas hookup and no lease, according to them. On March 3, inspectors from the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development cited immediately hazardous code violations and ordered Mifsud to provide electricity and heat. Theyre facing the same crisis as many during the pandemic, including lost income, health risks at work and precarious finances. 1. Holness withheld her rent in February because of the persistent utility shutoffs, according to evidence she later offered in a Housing Court case she filed against Mifsud. Manhattan Assemblyman Harvey Epstein is sponsoring a similar bill in the Assembly. Our side of the story didnt matter, said Stewart, who moved to The Bronx with his family soon after the December incident. Evicting tenants without getting a judges order in Housing Court first is a crime in New York, and not an uncommon one. SRO dwellings are specific types of dwellings that rent out single rooms. Eventually, her landlord changed the locks on her door. This type of activity violates zoning regulations. Norma and Luis did not receive any federal stimulus and unemployment benefits because they are undocumented, and they did not apply to the states Excluded Workers Fund, which has stopped taking applications. I packed to move and then COVID came. In every instance, the arrests came after those tenants made repeated complaints about building conditions to either Mifsud or HPD. Norma said they piled as many of their possessions as they could on their soaked furniture before rushing out. HPD inspected Holnesss apartment again on March 22 and issued three more immediately hazardous violations, because she again lacked electricity or hot water. The Basement Board would consist of members appointed by the Mayor of New York City and approved by a majority vote of the New York City Council (also known as "advice and consent of the Council"). /T 89591 To see the original article, click on the publication's link. The others were dismissed by judges or dropped by district attorneys. /L 90115 You can check the Certificate of Occupancy on the DOB website to see if the basement you wish to rent is legal. ( ( ( ( ( ?i~_u}oQO$X'4#.2r@k:3?). He can even work with other contractors, like architects and builders to help ensure all the work is completed in a timely manner. Hurricane Ida wasnt their first inundation their home had flooded at least three times before, according to Luis. By Ishan Thakore Feb 17, 2022, 2:00am PST Republish NYC Landlords Almost Never Get Arrested for Illegal DIY Evictions JFIF C Housing, Construction and Community Development, widely blamed for the deaths of 11 residents, Senator Kavanaghs Carpet Recycling Bill Signed Into Law, Gov. The carve-outs would make it easier to regulate the apartments and declare them legal without being fully compliant, Kavanagh said. /Width 348 Advocacy groups that had been pressing for such an effort for more than a decade celebrated the program, hoping that it would expand to other boroughs and provide thousands of additional apartments across the city. /Pages 18 0 R Basement Apartment Conversion Pilot Program (BACPP). You can opt out at any time. They said they last owed their landlord $200, which their rent ledger indicates they owed as of May 2021. In general, rent stabilization in New York City applies to buildings of six or more units built between February 1, 1947 and December 31, 1973. 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. 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. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. To report a Single Room Occupancy (SRO) being rented as a hotel room, use theHousing Used for Short-Term Rental (Vacation Rentals or Illegal Home-Sharing)page. To recap our example, we have a two family house where the tenant lives month to month with no lease on the second floor; the landlord lives on the first floor; and there is someone living in the basement which is not designated for dwelling purposes. After both arrests, he was released from jail and issued two temporary orders of protection, which limited his contact with Mifsud. Basements in one- and two-family homes can be lawfully occupied only if the following conditions are met: Basements in a one-family home can be lawfully rented only if the following conditions are met: Basements in a two-family home cannot be lawfully rented: Cellars in one- and two-family homes can never be lawfully rented. You can report past illegal conversion or alteration of a commercial space. 22 0 obj /N 3 Attorneys may be able to work out a deal with a landlord and avoid court. A group of Queens officials who have lived in basement apartments themselves said Wednesday that calls to remove such units are not realistic. We went to get a coffee and we sat down and began to cry, because, well, it was our house. If a landlord tries to evict a tenant based on any of these characteristics, the tenant can use the discrimination as a defense to the eviction. 0000001094 00000 n 0000001370 00000 n Common browsers are included in this page; mention of a specific browser does not imply endorsement or recommendation. The bill would grant theDepartment of Buildingsthe authority to create exceptions and new building codes. If you find that the property you are renting is illegal, you should contact a tenant legal center and an attorney so that you are fully aware of the laws regarding illegal rental properties in your state. My husband told me, Norma, lets go, because this is not going to stop. So all we did was get a black bag, a black garbage bag and pick up some important papers and what we could find, said Norma. Legislators say these apartments could be housing up to 100,000 people across the five boroughs and their unsafe conditions have put tenants at risk of death. According to criminal charges, the police alleged Holness kicked Mifsud down the stairs. The Brooklyn DAs office did not disclose how many cases it handled, while the Queens DA did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Mayor Eric Adams, Comptroller Brad Lander, the Regional Plan Association and the Pratt Center for Community Development are also behind the legislation. 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. Occupants of illegal basement and cellar apartments may be ordered by the City to vacate or leave any illegal basement or cellar apartment. Beginning March 20, 2020, all evictions across New York State were suspended until June 19, 2020, and the courts are not accepting any new eviction or foreclosure cases. 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