Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New York

I am a soldier in the us army currently stationed in Afghanistan my fianc�e lives in the state of New York in our home, "Under the warranty of habitability, tenants have the right to a livable, safe and sanitary apartment. This is a right that is implied in every written or oral residential lease. Any lease provision that waives this right is contrary to public policy and is therefore void. Examples of a breach of this warranty include
the failure to provide heat or hot water on a regular basis,
or the failure to rid an apartment of an insect infestation." My question is I live in a privately owned house and retain a lease that states that the tenant is to pay for all utilities, do I have any grounds to pay lower rent as the landlord has not payed for any heat, and in order to keep the house 55* I spend in excess of $800.00 a month for fuel oil. Also the furnace is a 50+ year old unit, and when it was repaired, twice, the technician notified the landlord that the unit needed to be replaced because it is inefficient and there are no longer parts available to properly repair the unit. Also there are no vents in our bedroom and we have our 3 month old son in there with us.

Asked on 12/01/10, 11:36 am

Locksley Wade Law Office of Locksley O. Wade

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Utility includes gas, electric and water. You should try and recover the costs of the furnace repair (e.g. deduct it from future rent).

Answered on 12/08/10, 3:26 pm

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