Report a residential space used as a business. >> So displacement leads to . /Filter [/FlateDecode ] %%EOF So all my furniture, what I have personal belongings, nothing, I get nothing. 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. Its very hard.. Some states are very strict with landlords who rent illegal apartments to tenants. Evicting tenants without getting a judges order in Housing Court first is a crime in New York, and not an uncommon one. 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. Most of the cases were dismissed, and none led to a criminal conviction; three cases resulted in fines, and three more are still pending. Everything is dead, he said in the video, looking at his appliances. We encourage legislators to pass this bill as a first step in providing New York City with the local control it needs to enact measures that bring these units up to code, creating safe housing for all, Afridi said. Department of Housing Preservation and Development inspectors issued 95 vacate orders for illegal occupancy between March and October of this year. 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. 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. Usually these are separate rooms or living spaces sharing the utilities of a primary tenant, either with or without his knowledge. 21 0 obj 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. 0000000017 00000 n City of New York. On March 3, inspectors from the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development cited immediately hazardous code violations and ordered Mifsud to provide electricity and heat. 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. 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 . To see the original article, click on the publication's link. Petitioner Patricia Howard ("petitioner") commenced this illegal eviction proceeding seeking to be restored to possession of the premises 3337 Fish Avenue, Basement Apartment, Bronx, New York, and an award of treble damages pursuant to RPAPL 853. To report a residential rental less than 30 days, go to theHousing Used for Short-Term Rental (Vacation Rentals or Illegal Home-Sharing)page. This is a read only version of the page. The apartment is in the basement or attic. 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. But, Holness told THE CITY, NYPD officers were ultimately unhelpful, telling her the same thing, every time. Occupants of illegal basement and cellar apartments may be ordered by the City to vacate or leave any illegal basement or cellar apartment. 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. I lose everything, said Holness. The tenant doesnt move, so is then served with court papers a Notice of Petition and Petition for Holdover. /Font << /F14 25 0 R /F18 29 0 R /F22 33 0 R >> Im a scavenger, and Im a person picking out from peoples garbage.. 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. 1. Copyright 2023 MH Sub I, LLC dba Nolo Self-help services may not be permitted in all states. 37 0 obj Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents. Beginning March 20, 2020, all evictions across New York State were suspended until June 19, 2020, and the courts are not accepting any new eviction or foreclosure cases. The illegal basement apartment is a different concern. Boarding houses and rooming houses are SROs. /Name /Im24 /Filter [/DCTDecode] The walls, as high as ground level, must be damp- and water-proofed if HPD determines that subsoil conditions on the lot require it. Theyre facing the same crisis as many during the pandemic, including lost income, health risks at work and precarious finances. The Official Website of the City of New York. We already lost everything.. Of those who responded, Manhattan . A building on Rogers Avenue in Crown Heights cited for creating illegal rooming units. But seeking help for everything from dealing with hostile landlords to repairs can lead to homelessness. This amount is mandatory and is not based upon the actual expenses that a tenant incurs. New York City tenants filed 2,642 residential illegal lockouts cases in 2020 and 2021 in Housing Court, according to data from the state via the Housing Data Coalition in collaboration with the Right to Counsel Coalition. w !1AQaq"2B #3Rbr We still havent figured out how we move forward with the little bit of money left in the budget.. Newark has free . I was afraid they would do the same thing over and over, she said of her landlord. The others were dismissed by judges or dropped by district attorneys. /Pages 18 0 R The City Health Commissioner Refused. An official record of violations against her landlord did not help Holness who found herself a police target instead. 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. But none of that money will go to Holness. So, lets assume that a landlord owns a two family house out in Queens. You can check the Certificate of Occupancy on the DOB website to see if the basement you wish to rent is legal. In every instance, the arrests came after those tenants made repeated complaints about building conditions to either Mifsud or HPD. 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. 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. >> 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. 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. He can even work with other contractors, like architects and builders to help ensure all the work is completed in a timely manner. The answer to whether a landlord can evict a tenant when there is someone living in an illegal basement is: it depends. Additionally, although the second floor tenant had a lease when they first moved in, that lease has since expired and the parties never entered into a new written lease. HPD launched a pilot program, theBasement Apartment Conversion Pilot Program (BACPP),in partnership with Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation. The unregulated nature of these basement apartments waswidely blamed for the deaths of 11 residentsin Septemberduring Hurricane Ida. Mifsud said Stewart threatened and endangered her life, which Stewart denied in the text messages. /L 90115 Now comes the interesting part. 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. You should be contacting an attorney to follow the proper eviction proceedings and save yourself a criminal charge in the process. /P 0 The majority of tenants in these units are immigrants and people of color, and we must act to protect them from future storms.. This type of activity violates zoning regulations. 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. A month later, her landlord removed all of her belongings and changed the locks. 0000001094 00000 n To change the text size on NYC.gov you can use your web browser's settings. Eviction notices for trumped-up reasons. Perhaps it is a basement apartment in a single family home that is not cleared to be an apartment. And then I was just thinking to myself, there is no justice for people here that are Black, Holness said. The only regulatory solutions the city has is to inspect, issue violations and vacate, Kavanagh said. Md&8KSwe Qp&kUnaD2JbV{S&lk_*gVZN4[2Up'os* A basement has at least one-half of its height above curb level, while a cellar has less than one-half of its height above curb level. Another hurdle is the 2020 New York State discovery reforms that substantially expanded records prosecutors must turn over to the defense, and tightened the time to do so. This can include illegally renting housing to guests who stay less than 30 days. 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. 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. THE CITY was unable to reach the landlord of their unit after multiple requests. HPD inspected Holnesss apartment again on March 22 and issued three more immediately hazardous violations, because she again lacked electricity or hot water. To report a Single Room Occupancy (SRO) being rented as a hotel room, use theHousing Used for Short-Term Rental (Vacation Rentals or Illegal Home-Sharing)page. /ID [<28bf4e5e4e758a4164004e56fffa0108><28bf4e5e4e758a4164004e56fffa0108>] When we left, Carol [Holness] became the enemy, because Carol knew everything, said Stewart. The police appear more likely to issue an arrest when additional crimes are alleged, case files suggest. After the flooding stopped and the water began to drain, Luis took a video of himself in a bathing suit, taking stock of their ruined possessions as he waded around his home. Perhaps it is, by mortgage requirements, supposed to be owner occupied. This project was produced with support from the Investigative Reporters & Editors Journalist of Color Investigative Reporting Fellowship. We definitely all noticed a huge uptick in these types of cases during the pandemic, said Deenihan. Any alterations to an SRO must follow Single Room Occupancy regulations. Eviction When an apartment is found to be illegal, you will have to vacate the premises or face eviction. /BitsPerComponent 8 << The pilot programs interruption comes at a time when tenant advocates say theyre hearing residents of basement apartments are facing greater pressure from their landlords. You will also be fined for having an illegal basement rental. 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. No defendant arrested in 2020 or 2021 has been convicted of unlawfully evicting a tenant when that charge was the top charge listed, according to the court data. 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. In a July 2021 sworn affidavit in Housing Court, Holness said Mifsud had thrown her TV in the trash and that she was still missing a dining room set, three bed sets and an entertainment center. Im not getting no help from the cops she added. 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. After spending a night in jail, she was issued a temporary order of protection by a judge. But, according to the report, Attempts to contact landlord unsuccessful. Listing Total Wanted: 1, the police did not arrest Mifsud. She left the rehab facility this past May, during the pandemic, and was homeless. And it hurt us very much to leave our home, said Norma. While fines and penalties have become much more serious for landlords, it does not change the fact that tenants must vacate an illegal property unless the landlord can remedy the illegal issue(s). These represent extreme circumstance and are issued at the urgency of the households safety and well-being, he said. 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. Sign up and get the latest stories from THE CITY delivered to your inbox each morning, NYC Landlords Almost Never Get Arrested for Illegal DIY Evictions. Many of these are currently illegal under city building and housing codes because of features like low ceiling heights, limited ventilation and tricky exits. Report past illegal conversion of a residential space. Since May, Holness hasnt been able to return to her apartment. Eventually, her landlord changed the locks on her door. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service. stream Copyright 2023 Law Office of Richard Kistnen. 0000074030 00000 n Mifsud did not respond to multiple requests for comment from THE CITY. Please call 311 for more information on compliance. 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. Because it was possible that they wouldnt help us, they would say we were renting illegally so we cant do anything, thats why I said we are not going to call, said Luis. In Far Rockaway, Carol Holness called the police dozens of times last year as her home lost its heat and power. If it was somebody white calling, I believe this would be a different case, said Holness. Additionally, these houses are generally not subject to the rent stabilization laws, which adds much more complexity than can be covered in this article. Or, perhaps the building is not registered with the city as an apartment or rental unit. Perhaps it is a 3 unit that is only approved to be a 2 unit building. /ProcSet [/PDF /ImageC /Text] The most important was our underwear and our uniforms, because we were supposed to be working, said Norma. Most browsers include functionality to let you increase or decrease the text on a web page. stream Report past illegal conversion of a manufacturing space. 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. Deenihan, the Legal Aid lawyer, noted his office had seen a dramatic increase in landlords alleging assaults when tenants called the police. /Root 21 0 R There are several reasons that a property could be illegal to rent. /CropBox [0 0 612 792] Sign up and get the latest stories from THE CITY delivered to your inbox each morning. << The City intends to use the data collected from this survey to generally add and improve City services. Three days after HPD issued the violations which the agency posted on its website Holness called the police to report her utilities had been sporadically shut off from February 25, a police complaint report shows. Unless the lease states otherwise, rent is due . Holness called the police, and they tried and failed to open the building door, she testified, backed up with a photo of the cops trying unsuccessfully to get in. She then resided in a rehab facility for nearly a year. It was their home for 7 years, they said, but they also called it a deadly trap, because their only window had security bars. 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. Now what are we going to do? asked Norma. 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. We cant ignore the fact that these illegal apartments exist, Epstein said. 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 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. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. 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. This is a change from the previous minimum of 8 feet, thanks to the recent revision of the city's building codes. apartment in the basement was illegal. If you would like to know more about landlord-tenant issues, or need help with a case, contact the Law Office of Richard Kistnen, (718) 738-2324, or email [emailprotected]. Recently we renovated the storage area in the basement put in a stove, fridge etc. Report past illegal Conversion of a primary tenant, either with or without his knowledge can evict a when! Collected from this survey to generally add and improve City services use the collected... Check the Certificate of Occupancy on the DOB website to see if the basement you wish to rent legal. Hot water states otherwise, rent is legal supposed to be a 2 unit building City health Commissioner.! 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