How To Sue Your Landlord For Repairs

City-Wide Task Force on Housing Court, Inc.

Information Sheet

How To Sue Your Landlord For Repairs

Your landlord is required by law to provide adequate services and to keep your building and apartment in good repair. If your landlord is not providing essential services such as heat and hot water or making repairs even though you have notified him/her in writing of the conditions in your apartment, you can sue your landlord in the Housing Part of Civil Court. This court is commonly called "Housing Court." The Court can order your landlord to provide services and make repairs. This action is called a Tenant-initiated action' or a Housing Part ("HP") Action. Individual tenants as well as tenant groups can start HP Actions for repairs.

How To File

Go to the Clerk's office of the Housing Court in the borough which your building is located. (See this Information Sheet for the addresses of the Housing Courts). Be prepared to wait in line. Tell the clerk that you want to bring an HP action against your landlord. The clerk will give you court papers.

The fee for bringing the action is $35. This fee may be waived if you cannot afford to pay. If you have a low income you should tell the clerk that you want to file a "poor person's" application and fill out the additional papers stating your financial situation.

Ask the clerk to schedule an inspection of the conditions in your apartment and/or building by the court inspectors from the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (DHPD). Each tenant will be asked to fill out a form called a "Request for an Inspection" listing the poor conditions, as well as a separate form. Make sure that everything that needs repair in your apartment or building is listed.

After the forms are filled out, the clerk will either take the forms and tell you to wait or will direct you to a judge who will sign the papers. The papers, signed by a judge are called an Order to Show Cause and will indicate the date to come back to court.

Serving The Court Papers

You will be given several copies of the court papers. You must deliver one copy to the owner and one to the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (DHPD). The papers will say how they have to be delivered.

Preparing For Your Day In Court

Gather evidence to show that services not been provided or repairs have not been made. For example, take photographs of conditions in your apartment or building and gather copies of letters you have written notifying the landlord of problems.

It is a good idea to keep a written record of building and/or apartment problems noting any steps you may have taken, such as phone calls to the landlord or conversations with the superintendent, to have the problems corrected . Write down dates and times.

If a group of tenants in your building has initiated the HP Action it is important to meet before the court date to agree on a plan of action and to go over evidence. You may want to choose which tenants will testify.

Your Day In Court

Come to Court on the date written on the Order to Show Cause. Your Order to Show Cause will also tell you in what room your case will be heard. Bring your photographs, written record of complaints, letters, and court papers with you. Be there at 9:30 a.m. SHARP. All the cases scheduled for that day will be called in this courtroom. Answer TENANT READY. when your name is called.

In this courtroom you will see many people including the judge, his/her law assistant, the landlord and his/her attorney, the court officer, and other tenants and landlords.

There may also be an attorney from the DHPD's Litigation Unit. The DHPD attorney is there to represent the City. Although this person is not your lawyer and may have interests which are different from yours, it is the City's legal responsibility to make sure that the repairs in your building and/or apartment are made.

If a DHPD attorney has been assigned to your case s/he may call out your building's address or your name and ask to speak to you. Tell the DHPD attorney about the conditions in your apartment/building and show him/her your evidence. The DHPD attorney should help you get a copy of the inspector's report based on the inspection you requested when you filed your HP Action.

IMPORTANT: Make sure you get the name and telephone number at the DHPD attorney before you leave the court. It will be Important later on to follow-up with the DHPD attorney, especially if the landlord does not make the repairs.

The court may urge you to negotiate a settlement with your landlord. The landlord may agree to make repairs but may argue that more time is needed. If you want to accept the landlord's settlement a "stipulation" will be written that outlines the agreement between you and the landlord. Make sure that any stipulation is signed and stamped "So Ordered" by the judge. This is the only way that the agreement is enforceable.

You may not agree with the proposed settlement with the landlord. You have the right to demand to have a hearing and have your case heard by the judge. Tell your story at the hearing. Show the judge your photographs, written record of complaints, letters, and other evidence. Ask the judge to examine the DHPD inspection report.

A history of your building's past violations should be stored in the computer the judge has in his/her courtroom. (Keep in mind, however, that the information on this computer is 8 to 10 weeks behind). If you requested an inspection on the day you filed your papers, that report SHOULD be available. YOUR GOAL IS TO GET THE JUDGE TO ISSUE A COURT ORDER FOR THE REPAIRS. If the landlord does not show up in court the court can still order that the repairs be made.

If the judge issues an Order, make sure you get the index number of your case before you leave. The original Order will be on file but it may not be possible to get a copy that day. However, you can contact the court or the DHPD attorney and ask for a copy when it is ready. Knowing the index number is important, especially if the landlord does not make the repairs on time and you need to return to Court. You may also have to prove that you delivered a copy of the Order to the landlord in the proper manner.

IMPORTANT: Your Order or Stipulation should include a schedule of what repairs are needed and when they should be done. It is a good idea to add a list of dates and times that you will be available to allow the landlord access to your apartment to make the repairs. This may help to avoid problems later if the landlord claims you were not home when s/he sent repair people to do me work.

Follow-Up After Court

If the landlord begins to make repairs, keep track of when they are completed and of what work remains to be done. Be sure someone is in your apartment on the dates that have been agreed upon to let the landlord in. If the landlord asks you to provide access to your apartment for repairs and then does not show up, keep a record of these dates and any attempts you may make to reschedule.

If the landlord does not complete the repairs within the amount of time indicated in the Order, you will need to go back to court. Ask the clerk to put your case back on the calendar for the purpose of holding the landlord in contempt of court and for civil and criminal fines. This means the landlord can be fined or jailed.

IMPORTANT: Contempt cases are complicated and time consuming. Be prepared for a tough fight! Landlords are rarely put In jail and if they are fined, the fines are often small. Several things may help strengthen your case: a) keep good records; b) stay in close touch with me DHPD lawyer and the DHPD Inspectors; and c) organize other tenants in the building to take action as a group.

Important

You should always seek advice as soon as you receive legal papers. Never ignore papers from the court. If you do you may be evicted. Consult a lawyer or a neighborhood housing organization as soon as possible.

Important Addresses

The Housing Parts of the Civil Court are located:

Manhattan

111 Centre Street

New York, NY 10013

(212)374-8416/8412

Brooklyn

141 Livingston Street

Brooklyn, NY 11201

(718)643-7528/7529

Staten Island

927 Castleton Avenue

Staten Island, NY 10310

(718)390-5420

Bronx

851 Grand Concourse (at 161st St.)

Bronx, NY 10451

(718)590-3570/1/2/3

Queens

120-55 Queens Boulevard

Kew Gardens, NY 11424

(718)520-3436/34l4

Where to go for help

THE CITY-WIDE TASK FORCE ON HOUSING COURT staffs Information Tables in each of the five Housing Courts five mornings a week (except Staten Island, which is open Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.) The information is free and is available to all unrepresented litigants. Referrals will be made to neighborhood groups and legal services organizations for additional assistance.

Legal Services

If you have a low income, you may be eligible for free legal services. To get the addresses of the legal services office closest to your neighborhood, contact:

The Legal Aid Society

11 Park Place or 230 East 106 St.

New York, NY

(212)722-2000

Legal Services for New York City

350 Broadway

New York, 10029

(212)431-7200

If you need a referral for a lawyer and you are not eligible for free legal services, contact:

The Bar Association

42 West 44 Street

New York, NY 10010

(212)626-7373

The Civil Court Info line has recorded information on Housing Court. The number is (212)791-6000.

If you are being evicted for nonpayment of rent, you may be eligible for an Emergency Grant from the Human Resources Administration (HRA), There is an HRA Unit in each Housing Court.

Each Housing Court, except Staten Island, has a Pro-Se Attorney who is there to help persons without an attorney who need advice and Information. The Clerk's office can direct you to the Pro-Se Attorney in the Court.

THIS INFORMATION SHEET has been written and prepared by the City-Wide Task Force on Housing Court, Inc., a not-for-profit coalition of community housing organizations. This information was not prepared by attorneys but by experienced housing organizers and should not be thought of as legal advice.

Fwd: Tenant Lobby Day: Weekly Update

In This Update: Tenant Lobby Day 2015 RAFA Update | Know Your Rights: Illegal Evictions TENANT LOBBY DAY - MAY 2015 Tenant Lobby Day is right around the corner! This year, we are headed to Albany with great NY City elected officials to educate state legislators about the rent laws. Rent laws are up for renewal in Albany in 2015, which means now is the time we need to organize. We also need to ask ourselves this question: why do we need to renew New York City laws in Albany? In 1971 Albany passed the Urstadt Law, which prevents city council from strengthening or renewing rent regulations. The Urstadt Law is more than a logistical annoyance – Albany is controlling NYC's rent laws and is dominated by big Real Estate spending. Tune in tonight! Vajra Kilgour and Kenny Schaeffer cover the housing movement in New York City and around the world. Click here to receive Twitter updates Read more about the Real Estate Lobby's influence in Albany and the Urstadt Law here: NY Times' Michael Powell on real estate's influence on Albany politics  Tenant/Inquilino's Kenny Schaeffer on the Urstadt Law We need big turnout on Lobby Day to show Albany and the Real Estate Lobby that we are serious about rent reform. State Legislators and the Real Estate Lobby need to know that we oppose the Urstadt Law and that we will not stop until we create real affordability in NYC.  Whether you are a long time activist or new to the Housing Justice Movement, Tenant Lobby Day is a great way to get involved. Email tenantlobbyday@metcouncilonhousing.org for more information. REAL AFFORDABILITY FOR ALL UPDATE  The Real Affordability for All coalition had a great meeting last Thursday, and organizational members started the process of writing a housing plan to solve the city's worst housing crisis. Before Mayor de Blasio releases his plan to build or preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing, the tenant movement must continue to influence the administration. The solution can't be to simply give real estate moguls tax abatements to build 80/20 condos with no real affordability. Tenants are taking action to make sure that Mayor de Blasio is focused on creating sustainable communities with affordable housing. On April 4, hundreds of Brooklyn tenants stormed the downtown area after growing tired of watching wealthy developers receive sweetheart deals without creating affordable housing. Two days later - on a Sunday afternoon - more than 200 tenants executed another large demonstration, this time in Bushwick. Next Thursday, April 24, the Real Affordability for All campaign is planning to have their biggest event so far. If your organization is interested in joining the campaign, email jaron@metcouncilonhousing.org for more information.  KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: ILLEGAL EVICTIONS  Landlords commonly threaten tenants with an illegal eviction. If a landlord threatens to lock you out of your apartment or put your stuff on the street, you need to know your rights. If any of the following apply, you are a legal tenant and an eviction must be carried out through the court system: You have a written lease permitting you to live in the apartment, even if it's expired. Your landlord ever accepted rent from you. You have lived in the apartment for 30+ days, even if no rent was ever paid and there is no lease. In order to legally evict a tenant, landlords need to first obtain an eviction order through the court and then hire a marshal to perform the evictions. The landlord, court, and marshal, are all separately required to notify you if you are subject to an eviction case. It is unlawful for anyone else, including the landlord, to evict or attempt to evict an occupant by: Using or threatening to use force Interrupting or discontinuing essential services (heat, electricity, water) Removing the occupant's possessions from the dwelling Removing the entrance door Removing, plugging or rendering inoperable the entrance door lock Changing the lock on an entrance door that requires a key Learn more: http://metcouncilonhousing.org/help_and_answers/illegal_evictions MET COUNCIL IN THE NEWS **Please note that the Met Council on Housing is not and has never been affiliated with the Met Council on Jewish Poverty in any way**  "Progressive Groups want More Affordable Housing" - NY Daily News "De Blasio Picks 5 Members for Rent Board" - NY Times "With Rent Hike Battle Ahead, De Blasio Appoints Members" -Wall Street Journal "Study: More NYers Can't Afford Housing in NYC" - AM New York "Renters Hope for Promised Rent Freeze" - NY Times   The Met Council on Housing is dedicated to fighting for safe, stable, affordable housing for more than 50 years. Visit us on the web at www.metcouncilonhousing.org 339 Lafayette Street #301 New York, NY 10012 United States

More Electronic Resources

Here are some more resources for those of you doing research on tenants' rights, your building, etc. Click on the links and you'll jump to the appropriate website.

Division of Housing and Community Renewal

Law Help

Department of Housing Preservation and Development

Department of Buildings

City Register — ACRIS (Property Records)

New York State Unified Court System

Electronic Courts

Access to Official Court Reports On-line

New York City Government Website

New York City Department of Finance

NYC Housing Authority

NYC Department of Homeless Services

National Center for Housing and the Environment

The following link is specifically about MOLD:

Lab Results, LLC

Homelessness, Subsidies and Policy...

“Solutions” to homelessness and policies on housing subsidies have been all over the online media recently. I’m passing on some of the more attention-grabbing pieces here because it could be interesting to compare this to H.S.I.’s policies regarding ending homelessness. Click on blue links for more details. You may feel that this is a minor concern for us since we’re no longer homeless, but many of us came to Kenmore Hall because we were homeless once. The problem is growing, and funds are getting tighter all around – keep your rent subsidy as long as you can! And some people may want to get involved in some of the public actions posted below.

From Gotham Gazette

De Blasio's Homelessness Reset: Advantage Lessons Learned

by John Surico

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On June 23rd, 2004, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg outlined his five-year strategy to attack homelessness in New York City. It was an agenda his administration vowed would cut the rate by 66 percent by the time the mayor left office at the end of 2009, before he convinced the City Council to extend his and its term limits. And, better yet, he said, it wouldn't cost that much at all. "This new plan aims to replace the City's over-reliance on shelter with innovative, cost-effective interventions that solve homelessness," the mayor declared.

At the heart of this was Advantage. A rental assistance program started in 2007, Advantage would transition thousands of homeless families from the New York City shelter system into affordable housing through one- to two-year subsidies. Both city and state funds would cover 40 percent of rent the first year, and 30 percent the second year.

Read More

April 2014

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POLICY MATTERS A monthly update on policy issues in the fight against homelessness in NYC.  Something to Celebrate in the New State Budget A last-second language change on Monday, March 31 paves the way for a critical rental subsidy program for homeless New Yorkers. As state legislators and Governor Cuomo enacted the new state budget they removed language prohibiting any city in New York of over 5 million from using state money to fund a rental subsidy program for homeless people.  Just 5 days before this year's March 31st deadline the prohibitive language was still firmly in place. There were media stories reporting policy makers were saying it was too late in the process to change it. But client leaders, advocates and public officials championing the cause stepped up efforts in the final hours of budget negotiations and overcame long odds to remove the prohibitive language. Read more about the advocacy campaign, Care for the Homeless' testimony before City Council and the last-second budget change here.  That clears the way for a subsidy program absolutely critical to fighting and ending modern day homelessness. This success isn't an end, though. It's a beginning. If you want to join our grass roots campaign to build the better policies that can end modern day homelessness as we know it in New York, sign on by sending your e-mail and contact information to policy@cfhnyc.org. We'll sign you up for this monthly Policy Matters newsletter, too!

Shelter Census Hits New High as Housing Hits New Low

Over 111,000 People in NYC's Shelters in 2013 Even as we celebrate the opportunity to more effectively fight homelessness, we recognize just how enormous NYC's homelessness crisis has become. More than 111,000 New Yorkers slept in city homeless shelters in New York City at some point in 2013.  The Coalition for the Homeless State of Homelessness 2014 report released in March documented these new records: ·  City DHS shelters averaged a record high daily census of 53,615 people ·  That included a horrendous 22,712 children, another record high ·  In 2013, average duration of stay in shelter for homeless families increased to 14.5 months The recent increase in city shelter population has been driven primarily by homeless families. In 2002, DHS reported an average of 7,111 families in city shelters. That increased in January, 2013, to 12,712 families - an increase of over 78% in 11 years. Last month New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli also released his Housing Affordability in New York State report, documenting falling median wages in New York and rising housing costs have pushed many New Yorkers over the housing crisis edge. Three million New York households are in housing they can't afford. Read more.
Join Care for the Homeless at NYC AIDS Walk on May 18 For almost a decade Care for the Homeless has taken part in the NYC AIDS Walk, raising public awareness, supporting the cause and raising funds for the fight against HIV and AIDS. In 2014, Team Care for the Homeless, led by client leaders from our two consumer boards, is once again participating. About two dozen clients and staff are already on board, and we hope you will join us. The walk is on Sunday, May 18, in Central Park. Opening Ceremonies kick off at 9:15, with the walk starting about 10 a.m. It's a 6.2 mile walking course. We take a fairly leisurely pace (though each walker can set their own pace), so it's a 2.5 hour walk if you go the distance. Team members are invited to participate for as much or as little of the event as they are comfortable. It's a festive, fun atmosphere featuring music, celebrities, lots of support and good will. Last year we walked in terrible rain, but we've been assured it'll be a beautiful day for a celebration and a walk this May 18th. You're invited to join the Care for the Homeless AIDS Walk team by contacting us atpolicy@cfhnyc.org, or you can sign up with our team at the AIDS Walk New York website.

Letter to the Editor published in the New York Times "A Crisis of Homelessness': Read Bobby Watts' latest Letter to the Editor in the New York Times and learn why we need to increase our federal support for affordable housing, not let it fall victim to mindless sequestration. Download the printable version of this month's Policy Matters newsletter here.

alt="Care for the Homeless Logo" name="14527bb77217eaec_ACCOUNT.IMAGE.18" border=0 v:shapes="_x0000_s1027">Policy Matters is a monthly update on policy and advocacy issues in the fight against homelessness in New York City.

Learn more and support our Homelessness at careforthehomeless.org.