Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New York
Hello. I signed a lease for an apartment in College Point, NY, which is considered to be part of NYC. The lease states that heat and hot water are included as part of the rent. However, I have had a HVAC certified technician inspect the apartment, and was informed that every heating unit in the apartment is dependant on the use of electricity, which I have to pay for. There are 5 units in total. 2 of these units run exclusively off of my electricity. 1 unit does not function whatsoever. The other 2 units provide only ambient heat, which is far below the amount needed to heat the size of the rooms in which they are situated. The only way to increase the amount of heat which these units produce is by using a fan feature, which is run off of my electricity. When I spoke to my landlord about this she began yelling at me, and making discriminatory remarks. She then threatened my wife and myself, saying that she knows hundreds of ways to have us kicked out of the building. I then informed my neighbors that they may be in the same situation. The next morning I recieved a phonecall from the building owner saying that 'since I rallied the neighbors she has begun eviction proceedings against me'. I have this message recorded, with proof that it came from her phone number. She has also threatened my wife and myself on atleast 3 seperate occasions, saying that she could get rid of us at anytime she wanted. Lastly, the building owner entered the aparent on 3 seperate occasions, during which she photographed the apartment. She She was only given permission to enter on 2 of those occasions, even after I called her and rescinded the permission. What can I do to protect myself and my family?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Send a formal letter to your landlord outling your complaints and start looking for a new apartment and be prepared to go to landlord tenant court. New York is full of bad landlords and it looks like your lease may be partially invalided give that it contains deliberate and misleading provision.
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