I'm renting an apartment in Manhattan, New York. The landlord has lied to me just about every time we've interacted since I signed the lease, and I learned very quickly to do everything over email so that there's a written record of what we've discussed. I intend to move out when my lease is up. However, I've already paid him my last month's rent, and 2 months of security deposit (I know, these should have been red flags, but this is the first apartment I've rented in Manhattan, and I didn't know what was normal here), and am now concerned that he might not return the security deposit. What can I do now to prepare for any problems that might arise when I move out? Is this something I should get a lawyer for? If so, what sort of lawyer should I get and when is an appropriate time to do so?
I suspect he won't return the security deposit because although I've taken reasonable care of the apartment, he has several reviews on Yelp (who knew Yelp reviewed landlords? I sure didn't before signing the lease) from former tenants complaining of the same problems I've experienced and then ending with the guy refusing to return their deposits. Thanks in advance for the advice!
Things I have been lied to about:
- The apartment was gut renovated before I moved in: brand new floors, kitchen appliances, cabinets, bathroom, etc. Landlord wanted to start the lease on June 1, I talked him into starting June 15. With an extra 2 weeks before the lease started, I expected all renovations to be done by the time the lease started. When I picked up the keys on June 15, the landlord's assistant told me that it was nearly ready and would be finished by the end of the day. I asked if I could get a small discount on my rent because the apartment wasn't ready, and she said no. I went to the apartment the next day, and it was still missing a refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, microwave, kitchen drain, bathroom faucet, living room radiator, and bedroom radiator, and the apartment was full of busy construction workers. I have pictures of this. I wrote to the landlord, who replied that everything would be finished that day. That evening, I was still missing the 'fridge, stove, and bathroom faucet, and wrote to the landlord about it again. He said everything would be finished by the next day. By the evening of the next day, all I was missing was the stove. I wrote to him again, and he assured me that it would be installed before I moved in on June 25.
- By the evening of June 24, the stove was not installed. I lost my temper and wrote an angrier email than was prudent, saying I'd lost confidence that it would be installed by the next morning, and asking when it would actually be installed and whether I could get a discount on the rent (this was the second time I had broached the rent topic, and the first time since I'd picked up the keys). The landlord replied that we had discussed the stove, he had offered me a temporary one, and I had declined because I didn't need it until I moved in, and it would be in by then. He also wrote "I find this email offensive both in its tone and the request for a reduced rent. If this is the way it's going to be, I suggest you not move in and come by the office and I will gladly refund every dollar you paid and rent the apartment to someone else but I will not entertain this nonsense any further." I replied that I had neither recollection nor record of that stove conversation, pointed out that everything we had done since I picked up the keys was over email so I had records of it all, and that to the best of my knowledge this conversation had not taken place. I consulted with some friends, whose consensus was that the offer of returning my money if I don't move in was probably another lie, and I should not accept it. I would gladly have accepted it and moved elsewhere if I thought the offer was genuine.
- I moved in on June 25. A temporary stove was installed that day, and a permanent one was installed June 26. On June 27 I fixed the gas leak, but that's another story.
- I have asked several times over several months to have my name listed on the building intercom. Every time, he has replied that he'll do it soon. It has now been over 8 months, and I've given up trying to get my name on the intercom.
- According to page 9 of the New York Tenants' Rights Guide, "Landlords of buildings with six or more apartments [my building has approximately 20 units] must put all security deposits in New York bank accounts earning interest at the prevailing rate. Each tenant must be informed in writing of the bank’s name and address and the amount of the deposit." After two months, I had not received this information, so I wrote to the landlord asking for it. He did not reply. A week later, I emailed him again, and he claimed he replied to my previous email and asked for details of what I wanted. I pointed out that I had neither record nor recollection of his reply. I showed him the PDF I linked here, and he emailed me the address of the bank and wrote "You will receive a year end statement in January showing the balance of your security deposit."
- I did not receive a year end statement in January. In mid-February, I emailed back asking where it was, and got no response. A week later, I emailed again about it, and have gotten no response again. I visited the bank, but they refused to let me see an account statement because I was not the account holder (which is probably the right response on their part).
Not sure if relevant:
- In the lobby of the building is paperwork describing the fire equipment for the building, but it is clearly paperwork for a different building. This is north of 100th street, and the paperwork claims that the fire escape exits onto a street south of 90th. It also claims that there is a fire sprinkler system in the building but not in the common areas, but no apartment in the building (that I've seen) has a sprinkler in it.
- My apartment did not come with a smoke detector in it, even though page 21 of the Tenants' Rights Guide says they are supposed to. The guide also says the landlord can charge me $50 to install one, so I didn't bother mentioning this to him and bought my own for $10.
- There is a laundry room in the basement of the building. It has 2 washers and 2 dryers. When I moved in, one of the dryers was broken and had a sign on it asking people not to plug it in again until it was actually fixed this time. I know the super was aware of this problem, and I believe he had informed the landlord (though I did not speak to the landlord about this myself). It took 6 months for the dryer to be plugged in, though I have not tried it out for fear of wasting my time and money on a dryer that is still broken.
- The apartment is not rent controlled nor rent stabilized.
- This is a pre-war building with something like 18 or 20 apartments in it.
- I have heard that it is not uncommon in Manhattan for people to get their security deposit "back" by not paying their last month of rent. However, I have already paid my last month of rent, and the security deposit was 2 months of rent, so it's a pretty sizable amount.
- In my opinion, I'm a model tenant. I've rented apartments for the past decade, in California, North Carolina, Queens, and now Manhattan. I've never had a noise complaint, and I've always gotten my security deposit back in full. In the past 5 years, I've never paid my rent late, and although I paid rent late twice before that, I quickly paid the late fee as well as the rent (and my excuse is very lame: I could afford the rent no problem, and just lost track of what day it was).
- My lease requires that I inform the landlord of my intention to move out 2 months ahead of time. Given his propensity to make up conversations we haven't had, I'm unsure whether to do this via email, handing him a letter in person, or using certified mail.
- I quickly became paranoid of interactions with the landlord, so I have pictures of every rent check I sent him, every envelope I mailed the checks in, and usually a picture of me at the mailbox with the letter. but this has not been an issue so far.
(thanks for letting me vent)
Submitted March 01, 2016 at 08:54AM by legadvthrowaway http://ift.tt/21y969l legaladvice
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