As a landlord, you may occasionally want to enter the apartments you lease out. While you might own the place, you cannot just enter when you feel like it. Tenants have the right to a certain amount of privacy. This can create conflicts for you, as a landlord....
landlord-tenant disputes
Do you have to allow a tenant to keep an emotional support cat?
You get a new tenant. They never mention they are a pet owner, and you made it clear you do not accept pets. Yet, within a week, you hear meowing from their apartment. When you knock on their door and ask if they have a cat, they say that the cat is their emotional...
Can your tenants decide to sublet?
When you rented out the apartment that you own in New York, you found tenants that you thought would be respectful to the space and able to pay the rent. You wanted to make sure that you had someone who would take care of the building and who wouldn't cause a lot of...
Do you have to accept a renter with a disability?
As a landlord, you certainly cannot turn prospective renters away because they have a disability. If you do, they could take you to court for discrimination. Yet what if you are not turning them away out of malice but because you think your apartment will not be...
The 3 reasons to evict a tenant
New York laws specify three circumstances in which a landlord may evict a tenant early. Even if the situation meets one of them, landlords must take great care to proceed with the removal correctly. Tenants typically do not like being thrown out, so they may seek to...
What if a departing tenant has damaged your apartment?
As a landlord, it is likely that at some point, you will end up having a dispute with a tenant who is moving out. If you spot damages when your tenant is ready to hand the apartment back, you might feel the tenant should pay to repair them. They may try to pass the...
What are your maintenance obligations as a landlord?
One of the challenges of being a landlord is keeping on top of all repairs that can crop up. A lot of things can go wrong, especially if your building is a few decades old. They probably are not your fault, yet you must meet your contractual obligations to ensure the...
Can you turn down a tenant you do not like the look of?
It is sometimes essential to make quick judgments about what we see in front of us. For example, a lone woman might never have met the stocky male entering the passageway behind her, but instinct tells her he could spell trouble. As a landlord, you may get a quick...
Can I raise the rent?
If you are a New York landlord, there will come a time when you wish to raise the rent. Maybe it’s because you realize you set it too low initially and are struggling to pay your loan and bills. Perhaps due to inflation, the return you make no longer provides you with...
When can landlords keep a tenant’s deposit in New York?
Deposits are one of the most common reasons for landlord-tenant disputes. There is a considerable amount of money at stake, especially with New York prices, so it is understandable that neither side want to lose out. New York law makes clear when landlords can and...