/T 89591 All Rights Reserved. Vanie Mangal in the home her mother owns . At some point, though, Luis said he heard a water sound that wasnt coming from the television. The police appear more likely to issue an arrest when additional crimes are alleged, case files suggest. You can report a residential space used as a business. Undocumented immigrant couple Norma and Luis say they were illegally evicted from their Queens apartment after it was flooded in Hurricane Ida. 2022 NY Slip Op 51210(U) [77 Misc 3d 1214(A)] Decided on September 9, 2022 Civil Court Of The City Of New York, Queens County Sanchez, J. Estimates indicate that tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers live in illegal basement or cellar units, which are unregulated and potentially unsafe. If a tenant is defending against a case like this, the best option would be to review the court papers for language seeking a money judgment and, if such language is in the court papers, file a motion to dismiss the case. Its very hard.. Housing Court later found Mifsud had failed to provide heat, hot water and electricity for weeks on end. It also carries hefty civil penalties, too. I was only picking them up outside. Even as a pandemic eviction moratorium shields many New Yorkers, the city's housing agency has ejected scores of tenants from basement apartments and other unauthorized dwellings, records show. They point to the 11 New Yorkers who died last week when . DOB also posts Tips for Renters to help identify when an apartment is illegal. That meant she had to stay away from Mifsud except when entering or leaving the building. An estimated 830,000-plus households in New York State are behind on rent, the majority in New York City . 0000001370 00000 n If your apartment is indeed illegal, the landlord cannot collect rent on it in the first place, as he's breaking the law. THE CITY contacted every borough district attorney for information on all cases since January 2020 that include the charge of unlawful eviction. Between April and October 2021, HPD sued Mifsud five times in Housing Court, seeking building access for HPD repair crews and court orders directing Mifsud to provide heat, hot water and electricity, as well as civil penalties, according to petitions. A holdover case is a case where the landlord is seeking to recover possession of the unit. Now comes the interesting part. If you are the renter [] On May 25, Housing Court Judge John S. Lansden found Holness quite credible and said there is no doubt that [she] was a tenant for the last three years and was removed from the subject premises without due process of law Holness won her case, and was granted an order to get into her apartment. Lawmakers say basement tenants were reluctant to report unsafe and dangerous conditions because they lived in unauthorized housing. Because his case was pending in criminal court, Stewart lost a high paying job offer as an appliance mechanic, according to him and an email reviewed by THE CITY. However, renting an illegal apartment comes with its own risks, including that your landlord won't have to comply with local laws relating to renting places to . SRO dwellings are specific types of dwellings that rent out single rooms. About 47% of criminal . 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. Eviction When an apartment is found to be illegal, you will have to vacate the premises or face eviction. /TrimBox [0 0 612 792] Members and sponsors make THE CITY possible. On May 4, Holness sued Mifsud again in Housing Court on the basis of the missing locks. Advocacy groups that had been pressing for such an effort for more than a decade celebrated the program, hoping that it would expand to other boroughs and provide thousands of additional apartments across the city. City of New York. /MediaBox [0 0 612 792] >> 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. Now Im in a bind here, said the Queens resident, a freelance writing consultant who wished to remain anonymous. But an eviction moratorium keeps them from being kicked out. The financial plan released Thursday sets up a monthslong process of negotiation and hearings within the City Council. The unregulated nature of these basement apartments waswidely blamed for the deaths of 11 residentsin Septemberduring Hurricane Ida. 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. Most of the buildings also have numerous vacant apartments, part of a longtime pattern of warehousing, tenants said. You can report past conversion or alteration of amanufacturing building altered now being used as residential or commercial space. Eviction cases are not handled by the small claims court system. If it wasnt obvious basements needed a pathway to legalization before, now were seeing that having no legal protections makes you exponentially more vulnerable during a pandemic like this, said Will Spisak, of Chhaya Community Development Corporation. That is not a reasonable solution for a city with a housing crisis.. The judgment amounted to $30,250. /Filter [/FlateDecode ] Paying Rent Rent Reduction for NYCHA and Section 8 Rent Freeze for Seniors and People with Disabilities Landlord-Tenant Mediation Project Eviction 0000000790 00000 n Following a car accident in May 2019, she was hospitalized. HPD did not respond to requests for comment. New York State laws make it illegal for landlords to engage in any action that is intended to force tenants to leave their homes or otherwise give up their rights under law. Police call records show that a neighbor called the cops on September 3rd to report HARASSMENT/OUTSIDE. But the police did not help their neighbor, according to Norma. 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 . Section 21 makes it possible for a landlord to ask for two months' notice without any reason. Meanwhile, city attorneys began taking legal action against Mifsud. Im not getting no help from the cops she added. She also reported that her mailbox was broken and that there was a mice infestation. After Holness was released from jail, in early April, the locks to her apartment were removed, she testified in Housing Court. Unlawful eviction is a Class A misdemeanor, putting it on par with other misdemeanors like sexual misconduct or petit larceny. The thing is, state law constrains what they can do to make them legal.. And it hurt us very much to leave our home, said Norma. Officers never believe our clients and our clients end up having to sue, when they should be immediately back in and the landlord should sue if they think they have a reason to evict somebody, said Nori. You don't have permissions to view these records. 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. left the program with just $91,000 for the year, LISTEN: A State of the State for an Unsettled State, How These NYC Public Housing Residents Became Models for Tenant Rights Activism, In State of the State Speech, Hochul Backs Adams Housing Agenda, Northwest Bronx Leads City in Heat Complaints, No Heat in Your NYC Apartment? She then resided in a rehab facility for nearly a year. But ultimately, they did not file a housing court case. 0000063195 00000 n The landlord has brought a holdover case to evict the second floor tenant. Basements and cellars differ in their amount of height above curb level. Basements and cellars in residential properties of all sizes can NEVER be lawfully rented or occupied unless the conditions meet the minimum requirements for light, air, sanitation and egress, and have received approval by the Department of Buildings (DOB). If youre concerned about health or climate and considering ditching the gas in your kitchen, we explain the options, whether you rent or own. Holness eventually had to move on to an apartment elsewhere in Queens. Renters face immediate eviction, and landlords can receive up to $25,000 in fines. The flooding of last September proved just how important it is that basement units be safe, regulated homes, Manhattan Assemblywoman Yuh-line Niou said. Thus, renting a basement designated for storage or accessory use creates an illegal occupancy in the building. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service. Report past illegal conversion of a manufacturing space. Report a commercial space used as a residence. A cellar is an enclosed space having more than one-half of its height below curb level. Learn if an apartment or room is illegal or unsafe. Nine days later, a judge ordered Mifsud to fix the most immediately hazardous code violations within 24 hours. 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. With the housing justice movement advancing across the U.S., residents in one New York public housing project hope to serve as a model. These income limits differ by county and household size. The carve-outs would make it easier to regulate the apartments and declare them legal without being fully compliant, Kavanagh said. The Corona apartment where Norma and Luis lived, the night of Hurricane Ida. To report a residential rental less than 30 days, go to theHousing Used for Short-Term Rental (Vacation Rentals or Illegal Home-Sharing)page. The walls, as high as ground level, must be damp- and water-proofed if HPD determines that subsoil conditions on the lot require it. Kavanagh estimates 50,000 households with at least 100,000 people are living in illegal basement apartments across the five boroughs. The landlord was arrested and charged, though his criminal case was dismissed. As New York City Cleans Up From Ida Landlords Won T Be Fined For Illegal Basement Apartments Abc7. NYC Landlords Almost Never Get Arrested for Illegal DIY Evictions While thousands of tenants have filed cases claiming their landlords locked them out to defy the eviction moratorium, just a handful have been charged for the crime. Criminal summonses, meanwhile, are adjudicated by the citys Law Department. Of the 11 defendants cases provided to THE CITY by the Manhattan, Brooklyn and Bronx DAs, six list unlawful eviction below charges like criminal trespassing, assault, burglary, menacing and criminal mischief. Those arrests and summonses, however, represent a tiny fraction of times tenants allege they are locked out or intentionally left without heat or hot water. Tenants-rights advocates have spent years urging the city to legalize basement apartments. Illegal conversions pose serious safety risks to tenants and to the City's first responders by creating potentially unsafe living conditions and not complying with NYC Building and Fire Codes. One big thing youll find here in NYC, especially in Queens and Brooklyn, are people living in illegal basements. The question is, however, can a tenant be evicted if someone is living in an illegal basement? x.kluH(&,uijV/Ppq1!=m~RdJFl;:8*^#M)ARE+!F.&$0 8yAB`]J Copyright 2023 MH Sub I, LLC dba Nolo Self-help services may not be permitted in all states. By law, landlords who try to evict tenants by harassment, intentionally cutting utilities or changing the locks can be arrested, issued a summons, and even go to jail for up to a year. For whatever reason, the tenant was served with a thirty day notice to vacate the premises. This system is really rotten, you know, said Holness. . 2022 All Rights Reserved, NYC is a trademark and service mark of the City of New York. 23 0 obj The judge directed Mifsud to provide keys. endobj These represent extreme circumstance and are issued at the urgency of the households safety and well-being, he said. The bill would grant theDepartment of Buildingsthe authority to create exceptions and new building codes. 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