Brooklyn, NY Legal Blog

Check it out : http://www.aeanyc.org/site/c.dhJJJTOzFoH/b.6239717/k.DEE6/Con_Edison_MultiFamily_Energy_Efficiency_Program.htm

Will rents like a $55-a-month become illegal?

A landlord on the Upper West Side wants to take the question before the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that rent control and stabilization violates his constitutional rights.

James and Jeanne Harmon own a five-story brownstone on West 76th Street near Central Park. Of the six units in the building, three pay 59 percent below market rate, according to the complaint.

The tenant pays $951 a month and owns a second home in the Hamptons.

read more: http://www.supremecourtrentcontrol.blogspot.com/2012/03/upper-west-side-landlord-hoping-to-take.html#more

Read the blog: http://www.supremecourtrentcontrol.blogspot.com/

The Law Offices of Effie Soter, P.C. is very pleased to announce that we are expanding our practice areas to include personal injury, including bodily injury, motor vehicle accidents and premises liability, as well as elder law.

With these additional practice areas, it is our sincere hope that we can better serve our clients' needs.

Effie

Recently, a client who is a landlord in a rent stabilized building in New York City asked me whether he is required to provide access to cable companies to install equipment for cable television, and wether he is entitled to any compensation from the tenants or the cable companies.  There are several Federal and State laws applicable to the installation of cable, internet and other telecommunication equipment which warrant a brief update. In the blogs below, I have put together the most recent updates for the Federal and State Laws applicable to satellite dishes, cable and internet.

While the PSL only applies to cable television, the Federal Communicaitons Commission (FCC) regulation prohibit owners from interfering with access to a broad range of telecommunication and services including cable television, broadband and internet carriers, and telephone and cellular telephone carriers. Upon termination, the FCC regulations also require telecommunications companies to remove equipment or sell it to the building owner at a "mutually agreed price."

In 2008, the FCC adopted rules prohibiting exclusivity agreements between owners and cable and telephone companies, and at the end of 2010 the FCC adopted an order which expanded this rule to encompass the regulation of internet providers.  The 2010 order prohibits owners from interfering with access to internet service.  Although the State has not enacted legislation covering internet and broadband carriers, property owners are bound by the Federal regulations.  

The practical effect of the Federal and State law is that property owners must allow telecommunication carriers to install equipment without obtaining compensation from the tenants or telecommunication carriers unless there is extraordinary damage to their property. 

The Telecommunications Act of 1996, A Federal law, provides that property owners must permit tenants to install satellite dishes inside apartments and outside apartments "wherever they rent space outside of a building, such as balcony railings, patios, yards, gardens  or any other similar area." Most non-regulated and regulated residential leases contain a provision which makes it a breach of the lease to install unauthorized fixtures in the apartment. Under the 1996 Act, the installation of a satellite dish  in the apartment and any outside space included in the lease, is not a breach of the lease.  Owners of rent regulated apartments may not charge for the installation of a satellite dish without being subject to a rent overcharge. 

In the 1980s New York enacted statutory provisions empowering the State regulatory commission to set compensation for installation of cable equipment.  In 1982, the validity of the regulations was upheld by the United States Supreme Court, in a case known as Loretto v. Teleprompter.  On remand from the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals ruled that while the installaiton of cable equipment is a constitutional "taking" of property, the State can set compensation at $1 because access to cable television is an important excercise of State police power. 

In 1995, the State enacted Public Service Law (PSL) Sec. 228 in order to guarantee tenants access to cable television.  PSL Sec. 228 requires building owners to permit access to "any franchised cable providers" to install cable television equipment.  This means that City property owners must allow Verizon, Time Warner and any other franchised City cable operator to install cable  equipment in their buildings.  The PSL only applies to cable television, and requires cable companies to disclose the manner in which the cable equipment will be installed and to disclose that owners may commence a proceeding for compensation if they can prove that their property will be damaged as a result of the installation. 

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) maintained that it had made substantial progress in cleaning up backlogs and getting its new Section 8 computer management system operational recently. The NYCHA has been clarifying communications breakdowns and identify processing backlogs which have left many lease renewals pending since at least January.

NYCHA now says that it has scanned all pending documents into its computer system and that lease renewals have returned to normal backlog. They also indicated that no Section 8 terminations have been issued since January as a result of the processing problems.

NYCHA officials pointed out numerous changes in Section 8 processing of which owners need to be aware of. Some highlights are posted on the NYCHA website. For example, owners should know that Housing Quality Standards Inspections (HQS) can now include problems in public areas, NYCHA forms are now bar-coded and must be submitted as originals, there are new addresses for the submission of leases, fees have been eliminated for the direct deposit of NYCHA payments, property managers are encouraged to sign on to NYCHA’s extranet to view Section 8 status and receive Email alerts and owners can now reach NYCHA through a special telephone number instead of 311.

NYCHA expressed its commitment to cure outstanding problems.  

1. If the apartment or public space area fails inspection, please make repairs immediately and fax your certification with BOTH landlord and tenant signatures (where required) before 30 days to avoid suspension.
2. Landlord leases should be sent to: NYCHA, P.O. Box 19197, Long Island City, New York 11101-9197.
3. Fax NE-1 certification letters with bar codes ONLY to the dedicated eFAX number listed on the certification, 718-824-0546. Do not send other correspondence to this fax number, it clogs up the NE-1 fax and keeps staff from getting to your certifications by having to sort through other correspondence. NYCHA will not respond to other correspondence sent to this dedicated fax, other correspondence must be sent to thecorrespondence unit at: NYCHA, P.O. Box 19201-9201, Long Island City, New York 11101-9201
4. DO NOT replicate or copy any NYCHA forms! NYCHA forms have 2 distinct barcodes, one that identifies the form and one that is unique to the voucher holder. If you copy or try to replicate the form and/or the barcodes, the form will not be read by the scanners and the form will not attach to the voucher holders case and therefore it will not appear and will be tantamount to never sending it in.
5. Some landlords assist their tenants in filling out the annual recertification package. This is fine as long as you remember once again, DO NOT replicate or copy the annual review forms. A copy of the form will not allow the 2D barcode to be scanned properly. Whether you or your tenant is filling out the form, remember to not cross out on the form, do not use white out, or write NA or strike a line across the form. Do: write clearly, fill out only the areas that pertain to the tenant (do not put NA, just leave blank). And most importantly, make certain that the tenant and all adult family members sign the Affidavit of Income (AOI) and related forms in the package. These are required forms by HUD and failure to sign them creates serious delay in processing. Also, encourage tenants to send in all required documentation at the time they submit their AOI package. If they are employed, send in paystubs, if they receive Social Security benefits; please send the current year’s award letter, etc. This method also applies to any tenant interim changes in income or family composition. Sending in as much documentation as possible with the request for a change allows for more expeditious processing.
6. Your building may lose subsidy due to a public space violation. NYCHA is required by HUD regulations to inspect the public space areas for the safety and well- being of the tenants. Examples of public space violations that will result in a building wide suspension if not repaired in 30 days are: Broken hallway locks, Missing/Rotten Stairs, Infestation, Loose bricks, Debris on or near door, Elevator out of order, Elevator over the ground floor, Elevator not level with floor-severe, Elevator out of order- over the 5th FL.
7. Lease Renewals must be submitted to the new P.O. Box 19197, Long Island City, NY 11101-9197. Lease Renewals must be submitted 60 days prior to the lease effective date. You may request a cover sheet for submission of your lease renewal by calling the Customer Contact Center at 718-707-7771.
8. NYCHA strongly encourages Landlords to register on our Landlord extranet by logging on to www.nyc.gov/nycha “click on Section 8 assistance”. You may review NE-1 failed unit and public space violations and register for direct deposit. If you experience technical difficulties, please contact Ms. Kantor at 212-306-4122.
9. Communication begins with the Customer Contact Center (CCC), if you have questions. If you feel that you are not getting the responses you need, please note the day and time of your call and the person you spoke with. 
10.You must contact the Leased Housing Eviction Review Unit if you wish to commence legal action against your Section 8 tenant. The Eviction Hotline is 212-306-8500.

In James S. Joseph v. Apartment Management Association, LLC, the tenant sued in small claims court for property damage (not for a rent ababtement). The case proceeded to trial and a civil court judge awarded the tenant over $3000 in damages. 

The decision was appealed by the managing agent.  The Appellate Term, in a decision issued on January 19, reversed the lower court's decision and dissmissed the case.

The Appellate Court agreed with the managing agent and ruled that there was insufficient proof to establish that the agent had failed to act with reasonable diligence upon being advised by the tenant of the bedbug infestation in his apartment.  As a result, the Court ruled that the owner could not be held liable for any damage to the tenant's property resulting from the bedbug condition.  

To read the case, see: http://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/appellate-term-second-department/2011/2011-50303.html