As a landlord in Queens, NY, renting to Section 8 tenants can be a great opportunity to secure consistent rental income. Section 8, or the Housing Choice Voucher Program, helps low-income individuals and families afford housing by providing government-subsidized rent payments. If you’re considering becoming a Section 8 landlord, The Law Office of Seth Rosenfeld will explain the important steps and benefits involved, and answer some common legal concerns our clients usually have. more Understanding the Benefits of Renting to Section 8 Tenants Renting to Section 8 tenants comes with a number of benefits for landlords. The biggest advantage is the guaranteed rent payments from the local housing authority. With Section 8, landlords receive a portion of the rent from the government. This reduces the risk of missed payments. Furthermore, Section 8 tenants often have a greater need for safe, affordable housing, and the program helps provide stable living conditions for individuals and families. As a landlord, renting to Section 8 tenants can contribute to the community by offering these tenants secure place to live. How to Rent to Section 8 Tenants in Queens, NY Renting to Section 8 tenants involves a few key steps. First, you must register your property with the local housing authority. Once approved, your property will be listed as eligible for Section 8 tenants, and you can begin the process of finding the right tenants for your property. Our landlord-tenant lawyers can help you with the application and approval. To qualify, the property must meet certain health and safety standards set by the housing authority. After applying and ensuring that your property meets these standards, you will need to sign a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract with the housing authority. The amount of rent you can charge will be determined by the local housing authority, considering factors like the size of your property and its location. However, you can still charge the tenant a portion of the rent, which is typically based on their income. Common Questions Landlords Have When Renting to Section 8 Tenants When renting to Section 8 tenants, it’s important to understand some of the rules that come with the program. For instance, Section 8 tenants typically pay 30% of their income towards rent, while the government pays the rest. This guarantees that landlords will receive a portion of the rent payment, even if the tenant is unable to pay the full amount. Regarding the process of renting to Section 8 tenants, the housing authority will also conduct inspections to ensure that the property meets their standards. This inspection is crucial to getting approval for the tenant to move in. Another common concern is whether a Section 8 lease can be terminated. Section 8 leases can be terminated in situations like non-payment of rent, violating the lease agreement, or damaging the property. However, the process for termination should follow the local laws and the specific terms of the HAP contract. Important Considerations for Section 8 Landlords Becoming a Section 8 landlord also requires understanding your responsibilities as a property owner. Regular maintenance of your property is a must, as the housing authority will schedule annual inspections to ensure everything is up to code. Landlords also need to follow local tenant protection laws to avoid issues with evictions and other disputes. Having a Section 8 lawyer on hand can help ensure that you follow the proper legal processes, especially when it comes to terminations, evictions, and disputes with tenants. Renting to Section 8 Tenants with The Lae Office of Seth Rosenfeld Renting to Section 8 tenants in Queens, NY offers stability and benefits for landlords. By following the proper steps and understanding your rights and responsibilities, you can have a smooth experience while providing affordable housing to tenants in need. If you’re interested in renting to Section 8 tenants or need help navigating the process, consider reaching out to our experienced Section 8 lawyer for advice. Our Section 8 housing attorneys here at The Law Office of Seth Rosenfeld helps landlords throughout New York City including Long Island City, Flushing, and Jamaica, understand the process of renting to Section 8 tenants and addresses common concerns and questions. With this information, landlords can confidently consider whether Section 8 is the right choice for their rental business. Contact us today for a free consultation!

When dealing with a loud tenant, it is important for a landlord to take appropriate action to address the issue promptly and effectively. Whether you have noticed the noise yourself or you have been notified of a problem via a noise complaint, there are certain considerations you’ll want to make as you move forward. Initial communication The first step is to communicate with the tenant and make them aware of the noise issue. Contact the tenant, ideally in writing for record-keeping purposes, explaining the complaints received from other tenants or neighbors regarding the noise. Clearly state the specific noise-related violations or disturbances that have occurred, and emphasize the importance of maintaining a peaceful and quiet living environment for everyone. During this communication, it is important to remain calm and respectful. Give the tenant an opportunity to explain or rectify the situation. Sometimes, tenants may not be aware that their behavior is causing a disturbance, and a polite conversation can help resolve the issue amicably. If the issue persists after the initial warning, you can escalate the response to the next step. Taking legal action If the initial warning and communication fail to resolve the noise issue, you may need to take legal action. Depending on the local laws and regulations, you may need to issue a formal written notice, such as a “Notice to Cure or Quit” or a “Notice to Cease and Desist.” This notice typically specifies the noise violations, sets a deadline for compliance and warns of potential consequences if the noise problem persists. If the tenant continues to be disruptive and fails to comply with the notice, you may need to pursue eviction proceedings. It is wise to follow the proper legal procedures and seek legal guidance, as compliance violations can compromise the strength of your position and violate a tenant’s rights.

As a landlord, it can be very frustrating when you rent a property you own, and your tenant does not pay their rent or is late paying their rent. It can be a delicate situation, especially if you like your tenant and know they care about your property and keep it neat and in good shape. You have several options if your tenant is not paying rent: Discuss the issue with them. Ask them if they are having trouble financially and why they are not paying rent. Suggest ways to get up to date on their rent payments, such as family members or government programs. If the non-payment is because the tenant has a problem with you or the property, they can pay. Still, they will not because of the issue. You can suggest mediation. Mediation is a highly effective form of alternative dispute resolution, and it is often used for landlord/tenant cases. If your tenant is completely unresponsive and not cooperating, the only legal way to evict a tenant who is not paying is through a non-payment eviction process, which takes place in Housing court, a special court for these types of cases. Non-payment evictions If you decide to go to court to evict your non-paying tenant, you must first notify the tenant that the rent is late and what the balance is. You must also let them know that you will evict them if rent is not paid. It would help if you did all of this in writing to keep a record of when and what you said to your tenant. Three days after you give written or oral notice and demand that your tenant pays rent, you can file a non-payment proceeding in Housing court if they still have not paid. After this, you will serve the tenant with papers, and they will have to answer the petition in court. On their court date, the tenant will have an opportunity to explain their case before the judge. Before directing a city marshal to evict the tenant, the landlord must obtain a possession judgment. The tenant may have a defense, but if their defense is unsuccessful, you can evict your tenant legally.

Residential leases serve as a crucial form of protection for landlords and the tenants that lease their properties. The terms outlined in a New York lease can determine when a landlord has the right to evict someone and what amenities a tenant can expect. However, sometimes, there can be illegal terms included in a residential lease that are not actually enforceable in civil court. Landlords may include certain terms in their leases that violate state law in the hopes of confusing their tenants about their rights or may fail to notice such clauses in their documents if they download boilerplate documents to serve as their lease forms. If a landlord includes a clause absolving themselves of liability for any injuries that their tenants or their visitors suffer on the premises, is such a clause enforceable? New York statute holds landlords responsible for negligence State law is quite clear that no provisions in a lease absolve a landlord of the requirement to maintain safe and appropriate facilities for their tenants. If someone gets hurt due to omissions or negligence, which might include failing to maintain the property appropriately, the landlord can still face civil lawsuits and insurance claims despite including a provision intended to absolve them of such responsibility in their lease. Anyone who provides housing to others must meet certain standards regarding the maintenance of the property to ensure the safety of the tenants and visitors. Those hurt due to inadequate maintenance may have grounds for an insurance claim or a civil lawsuit. Learning more about New York real estate laws can help landlords and tenants alike navigate a dispute.

People who rent a residential dwelling usually expect to have limitations on what they can do. Many accept that they can’t make holes in the walls or be incredibly loud. Other limits might also be present. One question that tenants and landlords have a lot is whether the landlord can limit the occupancy in the dwelling. New York law has a hodge-podge of laws regarding these situations, so it’s best to find out how the law applies to a specific situation. Occupancy type matters Many of the laws for rentals in New York are based on a dwelling being the primary residence of the occupant. For example, it states that you can have an additional occupant in a dwelling as long as it’s your primary residence. This effectively prevents a landlord from enacting a ban on overnight guests unless the dwelling is something other than a primary residence. Rent and terms also matter One limit that’s present in the Multiple Dwelling Law is that rentals less than 30 days are prohibited unless the occupant of the dwelling is present. This means that a tenant can’t rent the property as an Airbnb if they’re going out of town for a few weeks. But, they would be allowed to have a friend remain in the home while they’re gone as long as the home is their primary residence. Making sure that you’re in compliance with New York laws is critical when you’re a landlord. Having a tenant take legal action against you can be costly and time-consuming. Working with someone familiar with these laws can help you to avoid issues.

Landlords often have restrictive clauses in their leases limiting what their tenants can do at a property. Frequently, prohibitions on smoking in the unit are part of the lease. Landlords will tell current and prospective tenants that they cannot smoke cigarettes, pipes or cigars in the unit. Unfortunately, with cold New York weather, always going outside to smoke may seem like a hardship for those quite dependent on nicotine. They may use inclement weather as a mental excuse for knowingly violating the lease and smoking inside. Others may think that they have a system that will prevent the landlord from knowing they smoke inside, such as only smoking in the bathroom with the vent fan running. Can a landlord keep the security deposit of a tenant who smokes inside a unit during their lease? Tobacco smoke can cause expensive property damage Tobacco smoke is problematic for multiple reasons, with one of the biggest being how it makes an apartment look dirty. Walls, ceilings and even light fixtures may look dingy and dirty. Deep cleaning, repainting or replacing parts of the unit will likely be necessary to make it look clean again after a smoker has lived there. Perhaps more concerning is the lingering smell of tobacco smoke. Especially in a unit with carpeting, the smell may be so pervasive that a landlord must make drastic interior changes to remove it. The costs of remediating smoke damage could be far more than the security deposit a tenant paid before moving into a unit. There are specific rules for security deposit claims related to damage New York landlords who intend to hold their tenants responsible for smoke damage to their properties will need to carefully comply with state law. Their obligations will include providing written notice to the tenant after they have left the property regarding the damage to the unit and the estimated costs to repair the smoke damage. The landlord must give the tenant an opportunity to respond to their notice and substantiate their claims by providing evidence of damage or invoices from remediation professionals. Particularly in cases where the lease has a clear rule against smoking, a tenant may have a hard time fighting back against security deposit claims related to smoke damage remediation. Learning more about lease violations and how they might affect the security deposit for a unit can help both tenants and landlords dealing with a smoke damage dispute.

As a landlord, you want to do right by your tenant but also need to protect your investment. You pay for the property that your tenant is living in, and you’ve done your due diligence to make sure the tenant is respectful of your space. Did you know that many New Yorkers have the right to sublease their apartments? They should always talk to you first or only do so once you have a clause in your leasing contract to allow it, though. What can you do if you find out that your tenant is subleasing the space without your knowledge? If you find out that your tenant is subleasing the space but didn’t ask you or inform you, then you should consider talking to them and the person subletting the space to determine if you would like to allow it on your terms. Your tenant technically broke the law by not making a request to you in writing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you will benefit from evicting the person who is subleasing the space or evicting your tenant for breaching the leasing contract. Instead, consider seeking the correct documentation and deciding if you would have denied or accepted the sublease had you known about it sooner. It may be that your tenant was confused about roommate laws or requirements and thought that this sublease would be allowed temporarily without informing you. What should you do if you do not want to approve the sublease? You may need to go through the eviction process if you don’t agree with the other party subleasing the space. If damage has been done, your original tenant should be responsible for that damage, or you may want to take it out of their deposit on the home. This can be a tricky area of law, so it is worth talking to your tenant to see if you can come up with a reasonable resolution before turning to other options. If you must pursue an eviction or other legal help, make sure you make an effort to talk to the tenant first and then begin to build your case.

As a New York landlord, you likely have many prospective buyers who’d like to purchase your rental property from you. While a good offer may entice you, you may think that accepting such an offer is out of the question if you have tenants in your unit signed to a long-term contract. Fortunately, you have options even when you have tenants residing in your property. You may want to weigh the options available for dealing with your tenants since each has its series of pros and cons associated with it. Selling your investment property to another landlord or an owner-occupant You might think that another landlord would jump at the idea of buying a rental property that already had a tenant in place. While that may be the case with some landlords, others may prefer your rental to not have any residents at the time of the purchase. Your buyer may prefer to select a tenant and negotiate the lease with them. They may also want the unit to be vacant so that they can initiate immediate repairs. You may find yourself needing to terminate your lease with your tenant to avoid your prospective buyer pulling out of the purchase of your property. What if someone wants to buy the unit and live there? That may also warrant terminating your rental agreement with your current tenant. Terminating a lease may be more challenging than it seems if there’s considerable time left on it. You will want to weigh the prospect of having to pay hefty termination fees versus getting your buyer to sign an agreement to buy the home once the tenant’s lease ends. What to do if a tenants’ residence in your property is affecting your ability to sell it Many landlords don’t enter into a rental agreement intending to sell their property. A change in life circumstances or an irresistible offer may lead you to need or want to sell your rental property, though. An attorney can advise you of your options for doing so, including any benefits or downsides to choosing one option over another.

Landlords often think about what they should do if a tenant doesn’t pay rent. They want to know what steps to take and what options they have. That’s important, certainly, but it’s also wise to think about why someone may fail to pay rent. This can help a landlord come up with a solution, anticipate failed payments and find the type of tenants who will pay on time. Here are a few of the main reasons for a failure to pay: The tenant lost their job. They fully intended to pay and wanted to do so. When they signed the lease, the rent was within their budget. A job loss can absolutely ruin that budget in just a single month, though, and the tenant may not pay until they get a new job. The tenant’s work hours were cut. When pay declines, people have to make choices. The rent is fairly high up on that list, but it may still be unaffordable as the tenant deals with other costs — from grocery bills to child care. The tenant wants repairs to be made. Some tenants skip rent payments intentionally if they’re trying to get a landlord to make repairs or take some other type of action. The easiest way to set this all straight is for both sides to sit down and talk about how they’ll proceed moving forward. The tenant thought they did pay. Maybe a check got lost in the mail. Maybe the tenant was remembering their rent payment the month before and didn’t realize they failed to pay this month. There are plenty of situations where the tenant has no idea anything is wrong. The tenant isn’t planning to pay. There are situations where a tenant may just decide not to pay rent and wait until they are evicted. Often, though, these situations tie into the reasons noted above, such as job loss. Not many people make this decision when they fully have the money to pay. For a landlord, the reason that the tenant skips or misses the rent helps determine what legal steps they can take. They need to make sure they know about all of the options that are available.

There are many issues that tend to arise between landlords and tenants. Making sure that the living space is free of construction defects, having the lease signed, paying rent on time, renewing the contract, having complaints filed and heard on time, all of these issues can arise between the two parties. What happens when a tenant abandons the property without notice? What happens to the abandoned property? It is important for landlords to know what to do in these situations. Abandoned property: There are instances were the landlord is surprised to see that the tenant has simply left the premise without giving notice. In the state of New York, the personal belongings that were left in the apartment by the tenant still belongs to the tenant and the landlord cannot sell it, take possession of it or discard it. In addition, sometimes the landlord has to deal with cleaning up the abandoned space or even repairing damages made by the tenant. Remedy: Unfortunately, the state of New York has no law that regulated forgotten or abandoned property in an apartment. Therefore, the landlord has no right to dispose of the property in any way. However, one of the remedies that are encouraged are for the landlords to update leases and include a clause that mentions abandoned property. Landlords should include what exactly will happen to the property that was left behind by the tenants. One of the most common things used by landlords is that they will sell the abandoned property. It is also encouraged for landlords to look up common practices in New York and how others have dealt with similar situations of abandoned property.

If you are buying a home, you know that this is a huge investment. As such, you want to make sure that the home is safe to live in, that there are no expensive repairs you will need to make in the near future and that there are no existing problems with the home. To accomplish this, you need to employ the skills of a home inspector. This professional will come to the house with a general checklist of things to examine, but you can also ask him or her to look for specific issues. Here are some of the things that will be on an inspector’s list. The wiring Whether the home is old or new, the inspector will be looking for problems with the wiring. Wiring that has been installed by a nonprofessional, or that has been connected with only electrical tape, can present a fire hazard. To make sure that the wiring is in good condition, the inspector will go over every inch of the home, including the garage, outside structures and attic. Plumbing leaks Leaks from home plumbing can manifest in several ways. The inspector may actually find a pipe that water is dripping from or may spot more subtle signs such as: Damp spots on a wall Stains in a ceiling Water around the foundation The presence of mold Moisture stains on windows Leaks from pipes can lead to serious damage in a home. Dry rot is caused by leaks and can lead to the need for expensive repairs. Roof wear and tear Roofs have different life expectancies depending on their material and type. If the roof is made from material like terra cotta or slate, the inspector will probably examine it for any evidence of previous repairs, loosening or even cracking. These types of roofs can last for more than 100 years or only 20. It all depends on the seasonal weather that the roof is exposed to. If the roof is made from shakes or wood shingles, the inspector will look for rotting, damage caused by insects, cupping, curling, sections that are missing or pieces that are lifting away from the home’s surface. Asphalt shingles may show granular loss, blister or cup downwards or upwards. Any signs of this kind of wear can indicate the home is at risk for leaks. If an inspector has found a problem with a home you are hoping to buy, it may be in your best interest to sit down and discuss the issue with an attorney who handles real estate matters. The attorney may be able to help you negotiate with the seller to have repairs done or to lower the asking price to compensate for the cost of fixing the issues yourself.