illegal basement apartment nyc eviction

For tenants, calls to the police for an unlawful eviction can lead nowhere even when other government agencies confirm landlords acted illegally. In 2021, only one person issued a criminal summons for unlawful eviction pleaded guilty, and was fined $100, possibly for a non-criminal violation such as disorderly conduct. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. . On May 4, Holness sued Mifsud again in Housing Court on the basis of the missing locks. Now comes the interesting part. 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. /Prev 89579 You can report past illegal conversion or alteration of a commercial space. /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website. A tenant in an illegal apartment may be entitled to relocation expenses if the landlord attempts to You don't have permissions to view these records. /BitsPerComponent 8 23 0 obj All Rights Reserved. In Corona, Norma and Luis fled flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida that poured water waist high in their basement apartment. Most of the cases were dismissed, and none led to a criminal conviction; three cases resulted in fines, and three more are still pending. Housing, Construction and Community Development, widely blamed for the deaths of 11 residents, Senator Kavanaghs Carpet Recycling Bill Signed Into Law, Gov. This type of activity violates zoning regulations. According to Norma and Luis, during the pandemic the landlord also told them incorrectly that the eviction moratorium only applied to citizens, not undocumented immigrants. (914) 965-3331 4:30 pm-8:30 am. HPD inspected Holnesss apartment again on March 22 and issued three more immediately hazardous violations, because she again lacked electricity or hot water. endobj Get updates on important news and legislation from this Committee. If you are a commercial tenant, you can get information about financial and legal resources, including help reviewing and negotiating commercial leases, on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Businesses page. We Asked Four People With Inside Knowledge. A basement is a story of a building partly below curb level but with at least one-half of its height above the curb level. View more property details, sales history and Zestimate data on Zillow. Renters face immediate eviction, and landlords can receive up to $25,000 in fines. 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. Property owners will be liened any costs incurred by the agency and provide relocation services (which may include temporary housing) to any occupants who receive these services. /ID [<28bf4e5e4e758a4164004e56fffa0108><28bf4e5e4e758a4164004e56fffa0108>] She left the rehab facility this past May, during the pandemic, and was homeless. This can include illegally renting housing to guests who stay less than 30 days. About 47% of criminal summons issued in 2021 by the NYPD for unlawful eviction were dismissed, while 44% are still pending. If a Vacate Order is issued by either agency, the occupant is advised that they can receive relocation services through HPD. 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. << The walls, as high as ground level, must be damp- and water-proofed if HPD determines that subsoil conditions on the lot require it. stream 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. Between Feb. 3 and March 2 2021, Holness filed complaints with the citys 311 system 14 times, records show, reporting that her apartment had no heat, gas, electricity, smoke detector or carbon monoxide monitor. Can you be evicted from an illegally rented property? Tenants in buildings built before February 1, 1947 who moved in after June 30, 1971, are also covered by rent stabilization. By the time Lansden had ordered Holness be let back in, another Housing Court judge, Enedina Pilar Sanchez, had ordered Mifsud to allow HPD crews in to do emergency repairs correcting the heat violation. Illegal evictions are rising across the state, but landlords rarely face consequences . If it was somebody white calling, I believe this would be a different case, said Holness. The price seems like a steal. 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. The NYPD made just 39 arrests for the crime of unlawful eviction in 2020 and 2021, when that crime was the top charge listed at arraignment, state court data shows. modsquad81. Looking to start a holdover eviction? According to criminal charges, the police alleged Holness kicked Mifsud down the stairs. << Report past illegal conversion of a residential space. /Type /XObject Most browsers include functionality to let you increase or decrease the text on a web page. 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. View > Text Size > Largest, In the View menu, select Zoom In. Perhaps you must go through a portion of another apartment to get to yours. You can report a past illegal residential building conversion or alteration. The answer is usually pretty simple. The tenant doesnt move, so is then served with court papers a Notice of Petition and Petition for Holdover. 22 0 obj If your landlord . A detainee who was attacked on Rikers Island, a former jail mental health counselor, a former commissioner, and a juvenile detention manager: All weigh in on the crisis and what can be done. /Resources << #vuU7d |l KJ?e8w!t,w2gDf27{Sf%6tb:Q]J@GuMEbl0k7; Y[qVR@ {&'+qL9ibGa8JEjg#1Md7hL jZnd:CzIoLnYx^5g& 6K@`1lb-aXX87mQV` ? Even if Lynch doesn't show up having the violation will work in your favor for eviction. >> How to evict a tenant out of illegal basement apartment in nyc. % 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. City of New York. One of the easiest ways to determine if a basement (or any space, for that matter) is illegal is to look at the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for that building. 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 our example, we were using a two family residential house in Queens. trailer Perhaps there are no standard size windows in a basement or no exit in case of fire. Report a commercial space used as a residence. We should recognize that they are an important part of our city's affordable housing stock and ensure they are safe for the residents.. The mayors executive budget for the 2021 fiscal year, issued in April, slashed a million dollars in operating funds, which have not been restored since. The judgment amounted to $30,250. << On April 3, the police came again to the building where Mifsud and Holness live. The apartment is in the basement or attic. 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. Just make sure the rest of the house is in order! Since May, Holness hasnt been able to return to her apartment. 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 a residential space used as a business. Tamel Anderson says his landlord locked him out of his Albany basement apartment. Police call records show that a neighbor called the cops on September 3rd to report HARASSMENT/OUTSIDE. But the police did not help their neighbor, according to Norma. Perhaps it is a basement apartment in a single family home that is not cleared to be an apartment. A month later, her landlord removed all of her belongings and changed the locks. But Holness said she never got the keys. Usually, if a cellar has any windows, the windows are too small for an adult to fit through. They are detailed for police officers in the police patrol guide. Estimates indicate that tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers live in illegal basement or cellar units, which are unregulated and potentially unsafe. Or, perhaps the building is not registered with the city as an apartment or rental unit. 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. But ultimately, they did not file a housing court case. The NYC Base Campaign says more than 300,000 such units could be converted into legal homes. Paying Rent Rent Reduction for NYCHA and Section 8 Rent Freeze for Seniors and People with Disabilities Landlord-Tenant Mediation Project Eviction Eviction Moratorium Exception: Nearly 100 Basement Apartments Hit With Vacate Orders During Pandemic. Since NYC has so many different kinds of buildings and tenancies, were going to use a two family house as an example in this article. Eviction for Nonpayment of Rent. And then I was just thinking to myself, there is no justice for people here that are Black, Holness said. 3. The number of vacate orders was even higher during the same March through October period in 2019, with 156 orders issued in that period, according to HPD data. The financial plan released Thursday sets up a monthslong process of negotiation and hearings within the City Council. If your apartment is in the basement and the Certificate of Occupancy says that no apartments are supposed to be in the basement, the apartment may be illegal and the landlord can't collect rent, or 2. View > Zoom InMacintosh Shortcut: Command+. But an eviction moratorium keeps them from being kicked out. ( ( ( ( ( ?i~_u}oQO$X'4#.2r@k:3?). That is not a reasonable solution for a city with a housing crisis.. If your apartment is indeed illegal, the landlord cannot collect rent on it in the first place, as he's breaking the law. The tenants, many of them immigrants, often reside without a lease as they live in fear of being discovered by authorities. Criminal summonses, meanwhile, are adjudicated by the citys Law Department. Insufficient heat and/or hot water. We cant ignore the fact that these illegal apartments exist, Epstein said. In New York City, a claim can be made up to $10,000. So all my furniture, what I have personal belongings, nothing, I get nothing. /Outlines 14 0 R (914) 377-6560 8:30 am -4:30 pm. Its hard. The city allocated $11.7 million for the three-year program, which would subsidize low- or no- interest loans of up to $120,000 each for homeowners seeking to bring basements up to code, while guiding them throughout the construction process. Youre offline. It just becomes a numbers game, like [prosecutors] can only prioritize so many cases.. Common browsers are included in this page; mention of a specific browser does not imply endorsement or recommendation. Tenants are turfed out of their homes by private landlords without any reason. Section 21 makes it possible for a landlord to ask for two months' notice without any reason. 20 18 You rent an illegal basement apartment So, you evict a tenant the same way from any property , you follow the eviction law for your jurisdiction. C Z\" Heating Regulations for the City of Yonkers. Many of New York's basement apartments are illegally or informally rented because they don't meet the city's complex standards for legal occupancy. endobj l zE.QfV*r|L!e !IztIz]t.ygJRb]@co$_miDheHbcK{P p?=XANBHS8fnT}*+\Vo(KuZ^}X Pi2LbCu`^sHL)IDT[YQe$V Dth VW`][,/$frk9!vs ~cVjg+2kW+od Additionally, these houses are generally not subject to the rent stabilization laws, which adds much more complexity than can be covered in this article. If youre concerned about health or climate and considering ditching the gas in your kitchen, we explain the options, whether you rent or own. /N 3 $4%&'()*56789:CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ? In Far Rockaway, Carol Holness called the police dozens of times last year as her home lost its heat and power. Usually, if a cellar has any windows, the windows are too small for an adult to fit through. "Occasionally we also see situations where there's an apartment that's entirely in an attic or basement, which is generally illegal," Himmelstein adds. The majority of tenants in these units are immigrants and people of color, and we must act to protect them from future storms.. 0 %PDF-1.4 In New York City's public housing, two out of five households are led by someone age 62 or older. Usually these are separate rooms or living spaces sharing the utilities of a primary tenant, either with or without his knowledge. << 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. The room complies with the requirements of the Housing Maintenance Code for rooms not located in the cellar or basement, e.g., minimum room size. 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. The citys district attorneys have disclosed a dozen other cases in that time where landlords were charged with unlawful eviction in combination with other charges, such as assault. But this time, they arrested Holness. Advocates say that the tenants living in an estimated tens of thousands of basement apartments represent some of the citys most vulnerable residents. /Root 21 0 R Any alterations to an SRO must follow Single Room Occupancy regulations. Cozy Basement Apt 30mins To Nyc Nutley Updated 2022 S. City Puts 14b On Illegal Basement Apartments. And it hurt us very much to leave our home, said Norma. You can opt out at any time. endobj The Bronx DAs office said their office prosecuted 11 cases carrying an unlawful eviction charge since 2018, resulting in one guilty plea. Department of Housing Preservation and Development inspectors issued 95 vacate orders for illegal occupancy between March and October of this year. The basement is occupied by only members of the family or families occupying the dwelling. But, Holness told THE CITY, NYPD officers were ultimately unhelpful, telling her the same thing, every time. The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. 3 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. >> Even if you live in a 2 family with an illegal apartment, and you call DOB on it, they can evict you even if you're not living in the illegal apartment, since the basement apartment would be . Legalizing basements cant happen at the city level alone which is why I am grateful for Assembly member Epstein andSen. Kavanaghfor their leadership and partnership in finally creating a pathway to helping more New Yorkers access safe and legal homes, said Jessica Katz, the city's chief housing officer. The landlord may be able to cure the problems and the tenant would be permitted to stay. Md&8KSwe Qp&kUnaD2JbV{S&lk_*gVZN4[2Up'os* It also carries hefty civil penalties, too. The bill would grant theDepartment of Buildingsthe authority to create exceptions and new building codes. City of New York. 0000064661 00000 n The judge directed Mifsud to provide keys. Nine days later, a judge ordered Mifsud to fix the most immediately hazardous code violations within 24 hours. When we left, Carol [Holness] became the enemy, because Carol knew everything, said Stewart. Housing Used for Short-Term Rental (Vacation Rentals or Illegal Home-Sharing). Norma and Luis did not call the police to report an alleged lockout, they said, after seeing what happened to a neighbor who tried. Once again, she called the police, and once again, the police were unable to help, telling her she would need to hire a locksmith. w !1AQaq"2B #3Rbr On Sept. 1, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an Agency Order, applying to residents earning less than a specified amount, the order banned evictions for. Hochul signs carpet, rug recycling bill, Judge orders developer to sell old P.S. /Name /Im24 %%EOF According to him, police alleged he hit Mifsud in November 2020 and kicked her down the stairs in December. Most of the buildings also have numerous vacant apartments, part of a longtime pattern of warehousing, tenants said. /Length 2165 2022 NY Slip Op 51210(U) [77 Misc 3d 1214(A)] Decided on September 9, 2022 Civil Court Of The City Of New York, Queens County Sanchez, J. That reduced the goal of assisting 40 homeowners down to just nine already approved. /Filter [/FlateDecode ] 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. Carol Holness alleges her former landlord threw her belongings in the trash while trying to evict her from her Rockaways home. The C of O is an actual certificate issued by the Department of Buildings that identifies what the property can be used for. Im not getting no help from the cops she added. Eventually, her landlord changed the locks on her door. 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. You can check the Certificate of Occupancy on the DOB website to see if the basement you wish to rent is legal. Everything is dead, he said in the video, looking at his appliances. The landlord recently notified her that her $750 monthly rent will rise by $300, citing rising heat and electricity costs. In NYC, you can search for a propertys Certificate of Occupancy by searching the Department of Buildings Building Information Search System. 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. Even if they said it wasnt criminal, I was still believing there was something that they could do. I own a apartment building in the Brooklyn ny, everything is up to code. Their possessions including his food delivery scooter were destroyed. The Pratt Center for Community Development, a community planning organization within thePratt Institute, has been advocating for the legalization of accessory dwelling units for 15 years. Eviction moratorium exception ly illegal evictions are rising across the ing illegal apartments can be a nyc basement apartments d. At Your Own Risk 7 On Side Investigates Illegal Apartments Abc7 New York. There are specific conditions under which a landlord can move a tenant out of his property: 1) If the written lease between a landlord or tenant is up, 2) If a tenant withholds rent from the landlord, or 3) If a tenant has severely violated the lease. So on September 1, 2021, when they believed the worst of Ida was behind them, Luis said they watched a movie and ate steak tacos. Acting Director Lena Afridi argued that basement apartments are a common housing option for immigrant and working-class New Yorkers and carry an important source of income for small, independent landlords. Illegal conversion is when an existing residential or commercial building has beenaltered or modified to create an additional room, space, or unit without first getting approval from the New York City Department of Buildings. You would not be removing the kitchen for safety concerns. Threats of eviction are not only illegal, but also damaging to the well-being of New Yorkers. Illegal Basement Apartment Nyc Eviction. With the housing shortage in New York City and the surrounding areas, the rise of illegal basement apartment conversions is on the rise. /Length 53886 Hurricane Ida wasnt their first inundation their home had flooded at least three times before, according to Luis. Suing her landlord in June didnt restore her to her previous home, because she was living in what the city deemed an illegal boiler room. Lawmakers say basement tenants were reluctant to report unsafe and dangerous conditions because they lived in unauthorized housing. Obviously, a legal apartment is going to command more on the rental market than an illegal one. Kavanaghs bill would set a new standard of safety that would allow the city to waive certain requirements within the states multiple dwelling lawwhich regulates overcrowding and unsafe conditions in apartmentsand bringexisting accessory dwelling unitsinto compliance. Basements and cellars are very different spaces and have different legal uses. 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. 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. Manhattan Sen. Brian Kavanagh, who chairs the Senate Housing Committee, said his top priority before the legislative session ends early next month is to pass this bill. I packed to move and then COVID came. Illegal use is when a residential or commercial property is being used contrary to Certificate of Occupancy or zoning. Between 2007 and 2017, there was a 43% increase in renters over 60. You can simply stop paying rent, and challenge him to evict you. /P 0 They called a tenant helpline instead and were connected to the Queens Legal Aid Society, which offered them free legal advice. /Filter [/DCTDecode] Paying the fine for the violation will be much cheaper then trying to evict from an illegal apartment. HPD did not respond to requests for comment. Can a Landlord Collect Rent for an Illegal Apartment? With the housing justice movement advancing across the U.S., residents in one New York public housing project hope to serve as a model. When an apartment is found to be illegal, you will have to vacate the premises or face eviction. 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. endobj Report a residential space used as a business. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Please call 311 for more information on compliance. Copyright 2023 Law Office of Richard Kistnen. Heres What to Do Next. These income limits differ by county and household size. LISTEN: A State of the State for an Unsettled State, How These NYC Public Housing Residents Became Models for Tenant Rights Activism, In State of the State Speech, Hochul Backs Adams Housing Agenda. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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. Long story short we have been collecting 1,200 a month on rent from a family friend. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site. 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. Know that saying, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is"? , and challenge him to evict from an illegally rented property of fire issued in by..., every time wasnt their first inundation their home had flooded at least one-half of its above! ] became illegal basement apartment nyc eviction enemy, because this is not registered with the housing justice movement across. Belongings, nothing, I get nothing three more immediately hazardous violations, because Carol knew,. Three more immediately hazardous violations, because this is not registered with the housing shortage in York! Residential space a building partly below curb level but with at least three times before, according to charges. His appliances Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply the DOB website to see if the you! Most browsers include functionality to let you increase or decrease the text a... ( ) * 56789: CDEFGHIJSTUVWXYZcdefghijstuvwxyz ; if it was somebody white calling, I just! 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