Last Monday, we told you about the new ownership of 86 E. Fourth St. at Second Avenue ... A resident there passes along the following:
Things shaking up after the sale ... tenants got notes under their doors saying the front door lock would be changed on [Nov. 14th] and that everyone had to come in to the realtor office to get new keys. However, when people started going in, the realtors were confused and said the lock wasn't being changed ... Beginning of resident harassment to chase us all out? Who can say. Lots of notes getting slipped under the door these days...
Have other tips or photos about the situation here? Please send them our way via the EV Grieve email ... grieve98@gmail.com
Better study up on your rights - if they want to change the front door locks, they've gotta deliver the new keys to you. If they don't, and you're locked out, it's basically considered an illegal eviction. You're the tenant: if the landlord wants to make changes to common areas/facilities, fine, but they have no right to demand that you cater to their convenience.
ReplyDeletechanging the lock on the front door is hardly harassment...jesus christ
ReplyDeleteI agree that the front door lock should be replaced every now and then for security reasons, however asking each tenant shlep to their office for the key is ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteThis was likely done to "weed" out any tenants that might be subletting, or simply not on the lease.
The initial letter stipulated that when picking up the keys, tenants would have to show identification, a bill with their address, and be the person named in the lease.....
This touched a nerve for me. This (notes under doors/key changes)is exactly how the new owner of my building started. The building was 100% emptied of old tenants within a painful 18 month period of no heat no hot water, demolition in adjoining apartments etc, etc on the way. Tenants from 2 to 27 years standing and with no way of staying in the neighborhood all gone. Little or no help from the city who have no ability to adequately respond when laws are broken; pathetic fines, pathetically small numbers of inspectors.....
ReplyDeletePlease, please advise the tenants, all tenants with new landlords, to:
1] Immediately get to know the legal status of your apartment and your legal rights thoroughly. Sadly there are a lot of sleazy sharks in the landlord business in this neighborhood and a lot of very overworked tenant advisers giving out what is sometimes very poor quality or out of date advice about extremely complex housing law. DOUBLE-CHECK everything. Check out these sites for starters:
http://www.metcouncil.net/helprights.htm
http://www.housingnyc.com/html/resources/faq/rentstab.html
http://www.cwtfhc.org/for-tenants
2] Form a tenants association NOW. The landlord WILL try to pick you off individually. You can get help from
http://www.coopersquare.org/our-work/housing-social-services
http://www.goles.org/organize.html
3] Start researching good tenant lawyers. Don't wait until you need one. Make sure you find one who specializes in representing tenants only, and preferably one who knows your landlord's particular method of getting tenants out. And definitely NOT one who also represents landlords. Interview them, don't let them interview you. Watch out for the sleazy ones who are more than happy to exploit your inexperience with the legal system.
4] Keep a record of EVERYTHING.
5] Think about your future. If you wish to challenge the landlord in housing court, be aware that the city sells the names of those who appear in housing court. There have been recent court cases to limit this. Hundreds of credit report style agencies buy them. Your name could end up on a tenant blacklist used by landlords around the country, not just in NYC.
I am so sad that I know so much about this. I was forced into learning by the illegal behavior of my previous landlord and know how traumatizing it can be not to be able to feel secure in your home. Hopefully your situation will not be so dire. Good luck!
Important: Read this http://www.shalomtenants.org/listings/shalom101.php for a taste of what is likely coming your way. It's for one landlord but is a good basic primer for many.
ReplyDeleteI have a tip for the tenants, there are some good resources on NYC tenants rights at the website tenant.net.
ReplyDeleteAlso, all the tenants getting together and hiring a tenant attorney might not be a bad idea - as people who go into this sort of law are often not in it for the purpose of making big bucks, it might not be too expensive.