illegal basement apartment nyc eviction

The unregulated nature of these basement apartments waswidely blamed for the deaths of 11 residentsin Septemberduring Hurricane Ida. At least three cases are still pending in criminal court. They sought a pause on rent, but their landlord told them to leave instead. The NYPD always or almost always will send it to Housing Court as a housing matter. Illegal apartments from analteredbasement, cellar, or attic. We should recognize that they are an important part of our city's affordable housing stock and ensure they are safe for the residents.. Other ruined possessions included power tools, an orthopedic mattress and scooters to deliver food. Eviction Moratorium Exception: Nearly 100 Basement Apartments Hit With Vacate Orders During Pandemic. Usually, if a cellar has any windows, the windows are too small for an adult to fit through. 0000063002 00000 n 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. About 47% of criminal . You can check the Certificate of Occupancy on the DOB website to see if the basement you wish to rent is legal. The tenant doesnt move, so is then served with court papers a Notice of Petition and Petition for Holdover. 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 >> The guide lists specific instructions for arresting landlords if an officer has probable cause some sign that the law is likely broken. /Width 348 The bill (S8783/A9802) allows for . In every instance, the arrests came after those tenants made repeated complaints about building conditions to either Mifsud or HPD. 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. 0000063195 00000 n << Tenants in the New York City Housing Authority's Cooper Park Houses, a historically Black low-income housing complex in Brooklyn, are accustomed to making do and defying the odds, whether that means scrambling to secure last-minute holiday meals for . Holnesss arrest was the third time in five months that officers in the 101st Precinct arrested one of Mifsuds tenants. The rule is as follows: a landlord may bring a holdover action to evict a tenant, even if there is someone living in an illegal basement. 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. Even if Lynch doesn't show up having the violation will work in your favor for eviction. << The Corona apartment where Norma and Luis lived, the night of Hurricane Ida. 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. 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. Getting in and out Basement apartments must have multiple means of egress in case one entrance is blocked by fire, for example. /Root 21 0 R Illegal use is when a residential or commercial property is being used contrary to Certificate of Occupancy or zoning. Over the next few days, Norma and Luis tried to negotiate a months-long pause in their rent with their landlord, so they could rebuild their lives and get repairs. Know that saying, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is"? But none of that money will go to Holness. 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. Other illegally subdivided areas of an apartment, house, or a building. To avoid any potential defects, however, and to try and minimize a motion to dismiss that may be filed, it would be a best practice NOT to include any request for a money judgment. The majority of tenants in these units are immigrants and people of color, and we must act to protect them from future storms.. After both arrests, he was released from jail and issued two temporary orders of protection, which limited his contact with Mifsud. 0000057704 00000 n The Kavnanagh-Epstein bill would grant the city authority to provide financial relief, rather than penalties, to landlords and tenant protections to those living in basement units. Tenants in buildings built before February 1, 1947 who moved in after June 30, 1971, are also covered by rent stabilization. Click a topic, or press the enter key on a topic, to reveal its answer. No defendant arrested in 2020 or 2021 has been convicted of unlawfully evicting a tenant when that charge was the top charge listed, according to the court data. "Occasionally we also see situations where there's an apartment that's entirely in an attic or basement, which is generally illegal," Himmelstein adds. /T 89591 Petitioner alleged that on or about February 12, 2021, respondent landlord Aletha Grant . /Type /Page This system is really rotten, you know, said Holness. Members and sponsors make THE CITY possible. DOB also posts Tips for Renters to help identify when an apartment is illegal. 0 The NYPD declined to comment. >> So, lets assume that a landlord owns a two family house out in Queens. In a Brooklyn case, on two occasions a landlord allegedly entered a tenants apartment, hit the tenant, took the keys and threw the tenant down the outside apartment steps. New York small claims court will hear rent-related disputes. Usually these are separate rooms or living spaces sharing the utilities of a primary tenant, either with or without his knowledge. 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. 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. Tenants-rights advocates have spent years urging the city to legalize basement apartments. 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. 0000075357 00000 n To do so, they must first give 14 days'. The city remains committed to the basement pilot as an important tool for unlocking more affordable housing, and are excited to move forward with nine qualifying homeowners, said House. 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. 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. But an eviction moratorium keeps them from being kicked out. To report active/current construction without a permit or against approved plans, go totheBuilding Construction Complaintpage. She left the rehab facility this past May, during the pandemic, and was homeless. They said they last owed their landlord $200, which their rent ledger indicates they owed as of May 2021. Perhaps you must go through a portion of another apartment to get to yours. John Farr. Their possessions including his food delivery scooter were destroyed. I think its absolutely abysmal, said City Councilmember Shekar Krishnan (D-Queens), who co-founded the housing legal services provider Communities Resist. 1. This can include illegally renting housing to guests who stay less than 30 days. A tenant in an illegal apartment may be entitled to relocation expenses if the landlord attempts to Department of Housing Preservation and Development inspectors issued 95 vacate orders for illegal occupancy between March and October of this year. Many of the arrests led to desk appearance tickets, which allow defendants to come back to court later even though the NYPD patrol guide expressly prohibits issuing the tickets for unlawful evictions. The New York State Eviction Moratorium that allowed tenants to file a hardship declaration to stop their eviction expired on January 15, 2022. . Tenants have to choose between the harassment and the bad conditions or complaining and being thrown out by the city, said Sateesh Nori, a housing attorney for Legal Aid in Queens. x.kluH(&,uijV/Ppq1!=m~RdJFl;:8*^#M)ARE+!F.&$0 8yAB`]J Occupants of illegal basement and cellar apartments may be ordered by the City to vacate or leave any illegal basement or cellar apartment. 0000074030 00000 n 2022 All Rights Reserved. The tenant will most likely report the illegal basement and you will be required to return all of the tenants rent money back to her. Holness also said that her temporary order of protection complicated things, because the police said she could be arrested for just being around her own home. If the Vacate Order is issued by HPD, the agency will notify the owner and occupants and provide an enforcement date. 0000000688 00000 n Can you be evicted from an illegally rented property? The price seems like a steal. 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). In November 2021, Judge Enedina Pilar Sanchez ordered Mifsud to pay the city in civil penalties for the dozens of days Holness was without heat and the 89 days she was without hot water, charged at $250 per day. Even when these conditions are met, the landlord must take the tenant to court, win, and . 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 is a change from the previous minimum of 8 feet, thanks to the recent revision of the city's building codes. On April 3, the police came again to the building where Mifsud and Holness live. He said that despite the program cuts, funding for loans remains to support the nine approved applicants. /BitsPerComponent 8 This type of activity violates zoning regulations. /Info 19 0 R To see the original article, click on the publication's link. But ultimately, they did not file a housing court case. The tenants, many of them immigrants, often reside without a lease as they live in fear of being discovered by authorities. It just becomes a numbers game, like [prosecutors] can only prioritize so many cases.. New York residents are eligible for ERAP if they meet the following criteria: Household gross income is at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). View > Zoom InMacintosh Shortcut: Command+. The judgment amounted to $30,250. Illegal activity in progress, including gambling, drug dealing, or immediate danger to life or property. 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. This type of activity violates zoning regulations. 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. Both HPD and DOB may inspect for illegal occupancy of basements or cellars. 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. Our side of the story didnt matter, said Stewart, who moved to The Bronx with his family soon after the December incident. But this time, they arrested Holness. The New York State Human Rights Law also makes it illegal for a landlord to discriminate against a tenant based on creed, age, sexual orientation, marital status, or military status. In Corona, Norma and Luis fled flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida that poured water waist high in their basement apartment. You can opt out at any time. After they left their apartment, they spent two days in Corona Park before Norma called her brother in Brooklyn to ask for a place to stay, according to Norma. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. 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. On rent, but their landlord told them to leave instead This system is really rotten you! To report active/current construction without a permit or against approved plans, go totheBuilding construction Complaintpage that poured waist! 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