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 comfortable for them? Are you within your rights to do so? Probably not. The law requires most New York landlords to make and pay for reasonable accommodations that someone with a disability requests to make living there easier. Unless that is, you have an entirely different and valid reason for refusing to rent them the place, such as they have a record of trashing previous apartments or refusing to pay rent. What is a reasonable accommodation for a disabled renter? This is where it gets tricky. You probably cannot afford to spend half a million dollars making changes to one apartment for one client, and no one would expect you to do so. Yet how much is too much? First, you should ensure you comply with anything required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, whether you have a tenant asking for it or not. Then you should look at what any potential tenant with a disability asks for on a case-by-case basis. You probably need to make the accommodation if it merely requires you to modify your policy for them. If it requires you to alter the building, you need to consider the cost and how it affects the overall structure. If you are unsure, seek legal help to assess your obligations as a landlord. It is easier than getting involved in a legal dispute because you refused to make modifications that a court would consider reasonable.

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 take legal action if you do not do things by the book. Here are the three situations: Criminal activity The crime needs to take place on the premises. You cannot just evict someone because you discover they picked up a criminal record. If you believe your tenant is using the place for something illegal, you might want to inform the police. If they collect evidence and charge the tenant with a crime, it reduces the chance the tenant can tell the court you are making it up and have no reason to evict them. A failure to pay on time You must wait until five days past the rent due date. You then need to send a letter by certified mail followed by a 14-day notice to pay. If the client has not rectified the situation by the time 14 days are up, you can continue with the eviction process. A breach of the lease agreement Typical breaches include keeping pets, smoking on the premises when the contract does not allow it or damaging the property. First, give the tenant a 10-day notice to comply. That could mean removing the animal, stopping smoking, or repairing the damage. If they do not do so by the time 10 days are up, you can issue a 30-day notice to leave. If they don’t,  you can seek the court eviction order. Getting legal help to ensure you comply with eviction laws increases the chance you succeed.

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 damages off as normal wear and tear or say they were already there when they moved in. A court dispute is not ideal for either of you, so here are some things you can do to reduce the chance that your disagreement reaches that stage: Take photos Photographic records are much harder to dispute than verbal evidence. If you have a dated photo showing that the floor was in perfect condition on the day your tenant moved in, it is harder for them to claim the cigarette burns and scratches were already there. Be realistic No tenant will ever be perfect. If yours has generally been easy to deal with, consider if you really want to sour your relationship at the last minute over something minor. Understanding what is reasonable wear and tear is crucial because that’s expected. No client can hand back your apartment in the exact same state as you gave it to them. Making a realistic assessment of how much something will cost to fix versus how much time and money you will spend disputing something is crucial. That is not to say you should let tenants off with everything. If you believe you have good reason to hold a tenant accountable, seek legal help to examine your options.

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 premises you rent are livable. What is the warranty of habitability? This set’s out New York City tenants’ rights to a “livable, safe and sanitary apartment.” It is not something you can get around by adding clauses to your lease contract, either. A court would rule your contract invalid if it contains clauses that go against the city’s warranty of habitability. What if my client caused the damage themselves? Let’s say your client no longer has hot water in the shower because they smashed the pipe during a drunken party or while trying to install a bigger shower head. Is it your responsibility to repair it? No, it is not. If you can show the client caused the issue, then they are responsible for getting it repaired. That does not mean they might not try to force you to do it, which is why legal help will be crucial. Landlord-tenant disputes can easily escalate, especially when you are unsure of your rights and obligations. Getting legal help to understand where you stand enables you to deal with disputes more quickly. Knowing when to stand firm and when to pay the costs of maintenance or repair work costs reduces the chance things end up in court.

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 impression that you do not want the person knocking at the door as a tenant. Does that mean you can turn them down? Be extremely careful before rejecting a prospective tenant The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate against people based on things such as gender, race, religion, nationality, disability, the color of their skin or their family status. While it might never occur to you to do that, a tenant you reject could claim that was the true reason you refused them. That does not mean you have to accept every application Here are two of the reasons that are acceptable: The tenant has a poor rental history: If the tenant has damaged previous rental properties or failed to pay rent on time, it may give you a reason to turn them down. Make sure your sources are accurate. You don’t take pets: If you wish to use this, be sure you do not have existing tenants with pets. It cannot be one rule for one and another for another. Note that service animals are an exception, and you generally need to accept them. Getting legal help to understand your rights and obligations as a landlord reduces the chance you end up in a dispute.

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 the lifestyle it once did. Or maybe you see others with similar properties charging much more. It’s your property, so you can charge what you want, right? Not necessarily. Is your property subject to rent stabilization? Many New York properties fall under the protection of rent stabilization, limiting your right to raise rents as you see fit. If this does not apply, then there are still rules to abide by: You must warn your tenant if you wish to raise the rent by more than 5%. How long in advance depends on how long they have lived there and how long the lease is for: If the lease is less than 12 months and the tenant has lived in the particular apartment for less than a year, you need only give them 30 days’ notice. If the lease is between one and two years, or the tenant has lived there between one and two years, you must give them 60 days’ notice. If the lease is at least two years or the tenant has lived there for two years or more, you must give them 90 days’ notice. Understanding the rules you must abide by as a landlord can be challenging. Getting legal help to find out more reduces the chance you have legal problems with your tenants.

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 cannot retain deposits. Understanding this can help reduce the chance you find yourself in a court case because a tenant claims you illegally retained their deposit. Here are the only reasons for deposit retention.Landlords can only justify keeping a rental deposit when: The tenant still owes rent: The landlord should only recover the correct amount. The tenant still owes the landlord for utility charges: These must be charges agreed to in the original lease contract. Damage to the property beyond wear and tear: This could cause a great deal of debate as each side may have a different definition of what constitutes reasonable wear and tear. The landlord had to pay to store or move the tenant’s belongings: This might happen if the tenant cannot do it themselves because they are away when the landlord needs them out. The landlord must break down any amounts retained If you need to pay for a new shower head because the tenant broke the existing one or deep clean the sofa because the tenant spilled wine on it, show a copy of the receipt as evidence. You cannot just say I am withholding all your deposit or this much of it without itemizing each cost. Getting legal help can make things simpler as a landlord. It can help you create watertight contracts and ensure you do not make mistakes when dealing with tenants that could prove costly.

When you set up your rental property’s contract, you decided that you did not want your tenants to have pets. You gave them 24 hours of notice to enter after hearing from another neighbor that they’d had a small animal they were playing with outside. When inside, you found a cage and some small toys assumedly for some kind of rodent. While you appreciate that this isn’t a cat or a dog, your leasing agreement was clear. What should you do? You could have the option of evicting your tenants It’s possible that you could evict your tenants for violating the “no pets” policy in your leasing agreement. Most people do assume that the rules only apply to cats and dogs, but it’s reasonable for you to give them a notice of being in violation of the contract and to take steps to have them removed if they have other pets inside the home. Many landlords start with a warning, because losing a tenant is costly. So, you may opt to meet with the tenant to talk about the pet and the restrictions in your contract, for example. Doing this may help you get the pet removed and have the tenant remain for at least the rest of their contract. Other landlords might decide that the battle isn’t worth it and allow the small pet to stay as long as it isn’t a dog or cat. You might contact the renter and say they’re in violation of the contract but that you’ll add a pet fee to allow the pet to stay, for instance. If you really don’t want to have pets in the apartment, you could ask the tenant to get rid of it by a certain date. If you return and see the animal is still in the home, then you could pursue other options to terminate your leasing agreement. There are different ways to resolve a no-pets violation Usually, if you can be reasonable, most people will understand that they’ve violated the contract. Some may not even realize they’ve done so, so it is worth having a conversation before taking legal action.

If you have a tenant who you don’t really want to have living in your property anymore, one of the things you might do is ask them to leave or offer to buy out a portion of the contract to give them time to move. Sometimes, they won’t want to move, and you will be bound by your contract. You might think about getting around this by selling the property to someone in your family, because if you sell the property to someone new, they should be kicked out, right? The truth is that they won’t have to move right away, and that could hold up the sale of the property in some cases. Your tenants have rights Your tenants do have rights, so you have to be cautious about what you do when you sell a property. New ownership doesn’t necessarily mean that the tenants will be out as soon as the sale goes through. If your tenant is not on a month-to-month lease, they may have the right to stay until that lease ends even if the property sells before that. Remember that a lease is tied to the property and not to the individual, so a new owner will likely need to allow the lease to continue. If your tenants are on a month-to-month lease, then you may be able to get them out sooner by giving them the notice to vacate required by law. If you don’t give them the right amount of notice, they’ll be able to stay until that time has passed. Using a lease termination due to sale clause could help in the future For landlords looking to protect the right to sell a property without maintaining the tenants, the lease termination due to sale clause may be a good option for future leases. This clause may help you minimize the time you have to give a tenant when asking them to move out, so you can sell a property with no one living in it. Tenant rights are strong, but there are options to protect you, too. If you have questions, it’s smart to look into the laws carefully before proceeding with asking your tenant to move out.

Millions of Americans live in rented premises. Despite the mutually beneficial relationship between landlords and their tenants, disagreements arise for all kinds of reasons. It is not uncommon for landlord-tenant disagreements to result in legal tussles. If they do, it is important to understand the legal implications of such disputes as well as your limits. Here are common causes of landlord-tenant disputes. Late or Non-payment of rent Late or delayed rent is one of the major causes of landlord-tenant disputes. Pretty much every rental contract comes with provisions on the rent amount, when it should be paid, how it should be paid and what happens if the tenant does not follow through with their rent payment. When this happens, the landlord may have sufficient grounds for eviction. And this can potentially result in a dispute, especially if the two parties cannot agree on a payment plan. Issues with the security deposit Disputes relating to security deposits are quite common. Most often, the landlord may decide to debit the security deposit for damages incurred while the tenant was occupying the property, and the tenant can vigorously protest this. To avoid these disputes, landlords should provide the tenant with a checklist of the condition of the property at the onset of the tenancy. Property maintenance Heaters fail, wall paint fades too. Due to wear and tear, damages are bound to happen. When they do, it is important to understand the damages that are the responsibility of the landlord and those that are the responsibility of the tenant. Damages occasioned by wear and tear should be addressed by the landlord whereas those that are the result of the tenant’s misuse of the property should be taken care of by the tenant. Disputes involving landlords and tenants are inevitable. If you are caught up in a tenancy dispute, it is important that you understand your responsibilities and legal options.

Even if you have a reason why you’d want a tenant to vacate your premises, you need to follow the law. You cannot just evict them haphazardly. Otherwise, you may find yourself facing a wrongful eviction suit. Remember, you cannot evict a tenant to move in a new one paying higher rent or for invalid reasons. Here is what you need to do under New York law. You must inform the tenant beforehand You need to make your tenant aware of your intention to evict them. The eviction notice you serve them should contain the reasons and conditions of the eviction. For instance, if they are late on rent, you could issue the tenant a 14-day notice to pay up or vacate the premises. Filing an eviction lawsuit This officially begins the eviction process. You should prepare the petition which explains the legality of your eviction actions. The tenant also needs to know that the case has been filed to respond. Once you serve the tenant the legal document and attend the hearing, both sides will present their case. The court will then provide a judgment. If the ruling is in your favor, you can request a warrant for eviction. The actual eviction With a warrant of eviction, you can proceed to execute it through the sheriff’s office. The sheriff will ensure that the tenant vacates the premises even if it means physically removing them. If you turn off utilities or change locks at this stage, it is not against the law. Do not leave anything to chance It is crucial to follow the correct legal procedure to the letter, even if some of the steps may seem trivial. It may protect you from any legal disputes later with an evicted tenant.

Most landlord-tenant relationships bring benefits to all parties. The tenant has a safe and clean place to stay and the landlord receives a regular source of income. Unfortunately, there are occasions where disputes may arise. These can cause significant stress for everyone involved, especially if they last for an extended period. Thankfully, there are some methods to either prevent such disputes or resolve them in a timely fashion. Stay on top of the law New York housing law is constantly changing, and it is beneficial for landlords to stay on top of that. By ensuring that legal agreements are watertight from the offset, you might be able to prevent disputes further down the line. While landlords are subject to certain legal obligations, tenants are expected to hold up their side of the bargain too. If everyone knows where they stand in the beginning, there may be less room for disputes later in the tenancy. Try an amicable approach If rent is being withheld or you suspect your property has been damaged, this can be infuriating. Your first reaction might be to fly off the handle. Nonetheless, it is important to try to your your personal feelings under control and treat the lease like the business transaction it is. Sometimes, things go wrong and there might not be any foul play involved. By remaining on civil terms with the tenant, issues can often be settled without the need for legal proceedings. You have legal rights as a landlord If all of your approaches have been rejected, then you can fall back on your legal protections as a landlord. It is advisable to keep detailed records of any outstanding issues and previous correspondence. The court will need to have a full picture when settling any disagreements. Landlord-tenant disputes can be frustrating, but they can be resolved. Knowing your legal rights in New York will ensure that you get the protection to which you’re entitled.