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Q: I stay in a lease-stabilized apartment in a medium-measurement, prewar developing in Brooklyn. A few of months in the past, the ceiling in my shower started out leaking. Then, a chunk of the ceiling over the leak collapsed. The super protected the gap with cardboard but in no way in fact set the leak or ceiling. I have called numerous occasions, and he normally suggests “tomorrow” but never ever fixes it. I have also referred to as management twice and sent photographs. The wall looks to be getting moldy. The cardboard is commencing to tumble aside. What must I do?
A: There is pretty a ton you can do. Start by contacting 311 to request an inspection from the Section of Housing Preservation and Improvement. An inspector would most possible challenge a violation, which might not resolve your trouble right away but would build a paper path of proof.
“In general, acquiring violations placed does not do considerably,” said Samuel J. Himmelstein, a Manhattan law firm who represents tenants. “Landlords will not often answer.”
At the identical time, file what is known as an HP proceeding in housing court docket. It is essentially a lawsuit submitted from the landlord, whereby you ask the court docket to order the repairs. “This is the quickest way to get it done,” Mr. Himmelstein stated. These cases have a tendency to go quickly, and the landlord normally settles and agrees to the repairs.
This course of action must definitely get your ceiling fastened. Resolving the mildew might be additional intricate. Mould remediation is not cheap and can sometimes be substantial. You would require to establish that you have mildew, and your images alone will not be adequate. You would also have to employ your own expert to determine the extent of the dilemma and make recommendations for remediation, Mr. Himmelstein reported. Mould can pose really serious wellbeing risks, so, if you are concerned about it, you may want to acquire this further phase.
You should also be entitled to a hire abatement for this time period of time. Get started by inquiring the landlord for a single. If your request is rebuffed — as it most likely will be — you can withhold hire solely. If the landlord took you to housing courtroom for nonpayment, your protection would be that the problems violated your guarantee of habitability, a state rule. You would in the end have to shell out back again some of the lease for that period of time, but not all of it.
Nevertheless, the moment your ceiling is repaired, you could possibly choose that the rent abatement is not value the headache of another working day in court docket.
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