Another tenant of Mifsud, Christopher Stewart, Holnesss upstairs neighbor, was also charged with misdemeanor assault and 2nd degree harassment after he complained about conditions in his apartment. /Outlines 14 0 R The unregulated nature of these basement apartments waswidely blamed for the deaths of 11 residentsin Septemberduring Hurricane Ida. This is a change from the previous minimum of 8 feet, thanks to the recent revision of the city's building codes. You may not have a free ride to stay without paying, but you may have the right to recoup at least some of your losses. Participants in this survey will not receive further communication from the City with regards to this survey. Report an SRO illegally converted, overcrowded, or used as business. 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. /N 3 Norma and Luis did not call the police to report an alleged lockout, they said, after seeing what happened to a neighbor who tried. THE CITY was unable to reach the landlord of their unit after multiple requests. Mayor Eric Adams, Comptroller Brad Lander, the Regional Plan Association and the Pratt Center for Community Development are also behind the legislation. You can report a rooming house, boarding house, or other Single Room Occupancy (SRO) dwelling that is used as a business, illegally converted, or overcrowded. It also carries hefty civil penalties, too. He said that despite the program cuts, funding for loans remains to support the nine approved applicants. HPD did not respond to requests for comment. In this case, since the basement is not designed for dwelling purposes, it may not be rented. You should be contacting an attorney to follow the proper eviction proceedings and save yourself a criminal charge in the process. That being said, if you are a landlord and want to evict a tenant but not sure because you have someone living in an illegal basement, the answer is that you can. 0000063002 00000 n 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. She was shut out for good. 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. 3. 1. 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. >> The rental agreement in many states becomes unenforceable. The NYPD declined to comment. Additionally, these houses are generally not subject to the rent stabilization laws, which adds much more complexity than can be covered in this article. /Parent 18 0 R He can even work with other contractors, like architects and builders to help ensure all the work is completed in a timely manner. So, lets assume that a landlord owns a two family house out in Queens. /T 89591 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. In an effort to help more tenants live safely and legally in basement dwellings while also bringing in income for homeowners last year HPD and other city agencies launched a pilot program in East New York and Cypress Hills. Stewart and Holness, who are both Black, see a racist double standard in their treatment by the police. Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents. [1] notice to pay rent or vacate the premises. /TrimBox [0 0 612 792] The landlord has brought a holdover case to evict the second floor tenant. Other ruined possessions included power tools, an orthopedic mattress and scooters to deliver food. We definitely all noticed a huge uptick in these types of cases during the pandemic, said Deenihan. Norma said they piled as many of their possessions as they could on their soaked furniture before rushing out. The City intends to use the data collected from this survey to generally add and improve City services. I didnt want to waste my time talking to a cop, and in the end, they wouldnt do anything, said Luis. To do so, they must first give 14 days'. Threats of eviction are not only illegal, but also damaging to the well-being of New Yorkers. 0000059225 00000 n Critics who want the city to crack down on illegal basement apartments and end their use say the units are unsafe and lead to overcrowding. Of course the tenant loses as well because he must vacate; but the landlord must pay his relocation expenses which are assessed at an amount equal to six times the monthly rent, five days before the tenant vacates the premises. Usually these are separate rooms or living spaces sharing the utilities of a primary tenant, either with or without his knowledge. 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. 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 . According to him, police alleged he hit Mifsud in November 2020 and kicked her down the stairs in December. 0000064161 00000 n But ultimately, they did not file a housing court case. ;KiadxtaV9[">)jcjT Just make sure the rest of the house is in order! It just becomes a numbers game, like [prosecutors] can only prioritize so many cases.. 1. SRO dwellings are specific types of dwellings that rent out single rooms. This type of activity violates zoning regulations. Evicting tenants without getting a judges order in Housing Court first is a crime in New York, and not an uncommon one. /Filter [/FlateDecode ] << You can check the Certificate of Occupancy on the DOB website to see if the basement you wish to rent is legal. 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. Other illegally subdivided areas of an apartment, house, or a building. 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. Demonstrators in Manhattan this month calling for an expansion of the eviction moratorium. Holness eventually had to move on to an apartment elsewhere in Queens. In New York City, where you can expect to pay more than $2,000 a month for even a modest one-bedroom apartment, you can find one of these unregistered rentals for less than $1,000. The arrest data are revealed in a trove of criminal data New York State released in response to the 2020 George Floyd protests, to increase transparency in the criminal justice system. %%EOF 20 0 obj The financial plan released Thursday sets up a monthslong process of negotiation and hearings within the City Council. An estimated 830,000-plus households in New York State are behind on rent, the majority in New York City . In New York, a landlord can evict a tenant for not paying rent on time. Know that saying, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is"? I lose everything, said Holness. All Rights Reserved. /O 22 If the tenant does neither after that time, the landlord can move forward and file an eviction lawsuit. /Length 232 Heating Regulations for the City of Yonkers. The Official Website of the City of New York. If the property is located in Nassau County, Suffolk County, or outside of New York City, you can sue up to $5,000 in City Courts or $3,000 in Town and Village Courts. You don't have permissions to view these records. The state Senate and the Assembly are close to passing legislation that would legalize the underground market of unregulated basement apartments in New York City. They sought a pause on rent, but their landlord told them to leave instead. The Bronx DAs office said their office prosecuted 11 cases carrying an unlawful eviction charge since 2018, resulting in one guilty plea. Honestly, I didnt want to return there, said Carol, who asked that her last name not be published. 3 HPD will re-inspect the premises on the enforcement date to verify the illegal basement or cellar apartment is vacant and properly sealed. Because their restaurant work was cut during the pandemic, they had fallen behind on rent but were gradually paying their landlord back, according to them and a rent ledger they maintained. John Farr. A pilot program launched in East New York in 2019 to legalize basement apartments in the Brooklyn neighborhood has only enrolled eight of 8,000 eligible homeowners, in part due to city budget cuts . New York State laws make it illegal for landlords to engage in any action that is intended to force tenants to leave their homes or otherwise give up their rights under law. I called the police, and I was so despondent. A spokesperson said that generally cases are sealed because the charges were dismissed or defendants pleaded guilty to a non-criminal violation such as disorderly conduct. 0000000688 00000 n Click a topic, or press the enter key on a topic, to reveal its answer. How to evict a tenant out of illegal basement apartment in nyc. Heres What to Do Next. She left the rehab facility this past May, during the pandemic, and was homeless. 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. Groups advocating to legalize more basement living quarters where it can be done safely estimate based on a tally of housing units unaccounted for by the 2000 Census that more than 114,000 New Yorkers live in such apartments. In NYC, you can search for a propertys Certificate of Occupancy by searching the Department of Buildings Building Information Search System. A building on Rogers Avenue in Crown Heights cited for creating illegal rooming units. Most browsers include functionality to let you increase or decrease the text on a web page. The landlord recently notified her that her $750 monthly rent will rise by $300, citing rising heat and electricity costs. 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. Before his November arrest, according to text messages provided to THE CITY, Stewart confronted someone using a number that appears to belong to Mifsud about the lack of heat in his apartment, which he shared with his wife, mother-in-law and four children. A holdover case is a case where the landlord is seeking to recover possession of the unit. Manhattan Assemblyman Harvey Epstein is sponsoring a similar bill in the Assembly. Everything is dead, he said in the video, looking at his appliances. But seeking help for everything from dealing with hostile landlords to repairs can lead to homelessness. Lets also not forget an important fact in our example: there is someone living in an illegal basement. Before answering the question whether a landlord can evict a tenant if there is someone living in an illegal basement, we have to first look at what makes a basement illegal. There is a minimum ceiling height of 7 ft. Copyright 2023 Law Office of Richard Kistnen. Shes now suing Mifsud in small claims court for what she alleges was thousands of dollars in lost property. We already lost everything.. Perhaps it is, by mortgage requirements, supposed to be owner occupied. 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. Report past illegal conversion of a commercial space. What Is An Illegal Apartment In Nyc Are The . 0000073831 00000 n Illegal Basement Apartment Nyc Eviction. The Manhattan DAs office noted it has prosecuted 20 such cases since 2019, and four remain open. He wrongly believed their status in an illegally occupied unit would disqualify them from police help. DOB also posts Tips for Renters to help identify when an apartment is illegal. Of the 11 defendants cases provided to THE CITY by the Manhattan, Brooklyn and Bronx DAs, six list unlawful eviction below charges like criminal trespassing, assault, burglary, menacing and criminal mischief. ( N E b # x ' Pendstream 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 . 2022 All Rights Reserved, NYC is a trademark and service mark of the City of New York. 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. The exception to this is very narrow: the owner of an unregistered multiple dwelling may maintain a holdover proceeding and may recover possession in such a proceeding where the ground for recovery is not rent-based, although no ancillary money judgment may be sought or awarded. Czerwinski v. Hayes, 8 Misc3d 89, 799 NYS2d 349, 2005 NY Slip Op 25121 (N.Y. App. 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. Usually, if a cellar has any windows, the windows are too small for an adult to fit through. During the dead of winter, Holness said in an interview, she wore a diaper at night and slept in 14 layers of clothing to stay warm in her barely habitable apartment. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Cozy Basement Apt 30mins To Nyc Nutley Updated 2022 S. City Puts 14b On Illegal Basement Apartments. 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. Now comes the interesting part. In California, while you must vacate an illegal unit once it is discovered, you may not have to pay any rent and may be entitled to a refund of part or all of the rent you have paid while you were there. Eviction cases are not handled by the small claims court system. Mifsud said Stewart threatened and endangered her life, which Stewart denied in the text messages. We still havent figured out how we move forward with the little bit of money left in the budget.. Please call 311 for more information on compliance. Eviction for Nonpayment of Rent. 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. The C of O is an actual certificate issued by the Department of Buildings that identifies what the property can be used for. You can report past illegal conversion or alteration of a commercial space. About 47% of criminal . The case from the Supreme Court, Appellate Term, Second Department, decided the case of Pickering v Chappe, 2010 NY Slip Op 20326 (29 Misc 3d 6) "there is no bar to the . 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. Kavanagh said he expects a floor vote on the legislation before the session ends on June 2. For whatever reason, the tenant was served with a thirty day notice to vacate the premises. Now Im in a bind here, said the Queens resident, a freelance writing consultant who wished to remain anonymous. Doctor Urged NYCHA Arsenic Tests After Patients Death. Both Stewart and Holness denied ever hitting Mifsud, and all of their cases were dismissed and sealed. Holnesss arrest was the third time in five months that officers in the 101st Precinct arrested one of Mifsuds tenants. Plumbing and everything works. 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. 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. w !1AQaq"2B #3Rbr 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. 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 you found this article interesting, perhaps you might enjoy reading whether a landlord may collect rent when a house is in foreclosure. The apartment is in the basement or attic. City of New York. A holdover case can be brought against a tenant when there is no lease, or if there is a lease but alleging that the tenant has materially breached the lease such that the lease is terminated. This includes commercial space altered for residential or manufacturing purposes. . In Corona, Norma and Luis fled flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida that poured water waist high in their basement apartment. /S 132 Getting in and out Basement apartments must have multiple means of egress in case one entrance is blocked by fire, for example. Under the states multiple dwelling law, the conversion process into legal two-family homes is expensive for landlords, which has compounded the proliferation of accessory dwelling units in recent years. Department of Housing Preservation and Development inspectors issued 95 vacate orders for illegal occupancy between March and October of this year. Perhaps it is a fire hazard or there is no inside plumbing. Its hard. 0000058871 00000 n I called the police, and theyre saying to me, Its not criminal, its not criminal, its not criminal, said Holness. 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. Sets up a monthslong process of negotiation and hearings within the City was unable to reach the landlord has a... 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