New York Tenants' Rights (2011) - Section 7. Tenants' Personal Protections lyrics

TENANTS' PERSONAL PROTECTIONS TENANT ORGANIZATIONS Tenants have a legal right to organize. They may form, join, and participate in tenant organizations for the purpose of protecting their rights. Landlords are required to permit tenant organizations to meet, at no cost, in any community or social room in the building, even if the use of the room is normally subject to a fee. Tenant organization meetings are required to be held at reasonable times and in a peaceful manner which does not obstruct access to the premises. Real Property Law § 230. RETALIATION Landlords are prohibited from hara**ing or retaliating against tenants who exercise their rights. For example, landlords may not seek to evict tenants solely because tenants (a) make good faith complaints to a government agency regarding violations of any health or safety laws; (b) take good faith actions to protect their rights under the lease; or (c) participate in tenant organizations. Tenants may collect damages from landlords who violate this law, which applies to all rentals except owner-occupied dwellings with fewer than four units. Real Property Law § 223-b. RIGHT TO PRIVACY Tenants have the right to privacy within their apartments. A landlord, however, may enter a tenant's apartment with reasonable prior notice, and at a reasonable time: (a) to provide necessary or agreed upon repairs or services; (b) in accordance with the lease; or (c) to show the apartment to prospective purchasers or tenants. In an emergency, such as a fire, the landlord may enter the apartment without the tenant's consent. A landlord may not abuse this limited right of entry or use it to hara** a tenant. Additionally, a landlord may not interfere with the installation of cable television facilities. Public Service Law § 228. DISABILITIES Landlords are required to provide reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities so that they may enjoy equal access to and use of housing accommodations. A “reasonable accommodation” is a policy or rule change that is related to a tenant's specific disability and does not impose extremely high costs on a landlord or cause harm or discomfort to other tenants, such as permitting a tenant who is blind or has a psychological disability to have a guide dog or a companion animal, despite a building's “no pets” policy. 42 U.S.C.A § 3604(f)(3). Additionally, a landlord may not refuse to permit, at the expense of the handicapped tenant, reasonable structural modifications of existing premises occupied by the tenant, if such modifications may be necessary to afford the tenant full use of the premises. Such modifications may include building a ramp or installing grab bars in the bathroom. However, the landlord may condition permission for a modification on the tenant agreeing to restore the interior of the premises to the condition that existed before the modification. 42 U.S.C.A. § 3604(f)(3). Tenants with disabilities who need accommodations should notify their landlord and request the necessary accommodations. Though such a request is not required to be in writing, it is often helpful should any dispute arise. A landlord may request documentation from a health care professional attesting to the disability and describing any functional limitations that arise. A tenant with a disability who thinks a landlord has unreasonably refused a reasonable accommodation request should contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). DISCRIMINATION Landlords may not refuse to rent to, renew the lease of, or otherwise discriminate against, any person or group of persons because of race, creed, color, national origin, s**, disability, age, marital status or familial status. In New York City, tenants are further protected against discrimination with respect to lawful occupation, s**ual orientation, partnership status and immigration status. People with AIDS or who are HIV-positive, as well as recovering alcoholics, are also protected from discrimination. Further, NYC landlords are prohibited from discriminating against tenants based on lawful source of income which includes income from social security or any form of federal, state or local public a**istance including section 8 vouchers. Executive Law § 296(5); NYC Admin. Code § 8-107. Landlords may not discriminate against any person who has children living with them, by refusing to rent an apartment or by insisting upon unfavorable lease terms on the basis of the person having children. However, this restriction does not apply to housing units for senior citizens which are subsidized or insured by the federal government. In addition, a lease may not require that tenants remain childless during their tenancy. Real Property Law §237. An aggrieved party should contact HUD within one year after the alleged discriminatory housing practice occurs or ceases. In New York City, an aggrieved party may file a complaint with the NYC Commission on Human Rights within one year from the date on which the discriminatory act occurred. An aggrieved party may also choose to sue for damages against a landlord who violates this law, and may recover attorney's fees if successful. NYC Admin. Code § 8-109; 42 U.S.C.A. § 3610(a)(1). HARASSMENT A landlord is prohibited from any action intended to force a tenant out of an apartment or to compel a tenant to give up any rights granted the tenant by law. No landlord, or any party acting on the landlord's behalf, may interfere with the tenant's privacy, comfort, or quiet enjoyment of the apartment. Hara**ment may take the form of physical or verbal abuse, willful denial of services, or multiple instances of frivolous litigation. If a landlord lies or deliberately misrepresents the law to a tenant, this may also constitute hara**ment. Rent regulated tenants who feel they have been victimized by hara**ment should contact DHCR. Landlords found guilty of hara**ment are subject to fines of up to $5,000 for each violation. Under certain circumstances, hara**ment of a rent regulated tenant may constitute a cla** E felony. Penal Law § 241.05. Further, New York City tenants have additional recourse against hara**ment. Tenants may bring a claim in housing court and the court may issue restraining orders against owners if violations have been found. NYC Admin Code § 27-2115. PETS Tenants may keep pets in their apartments unless their lease specifically prohibits it. Landlords may be able to evict tenants who violate a lease provision prohibiting pets. In multiple dwellings in New York City and Westchester County, a no-pet lease clause is deemed waived where a tenant “openly and notoriously” kept a pet for at least three months and the owner of the building or the owner's agent had knowledge of this fact. However, this protection does not apply to public housing or where the animal causes damage, is a nuisance, or substantially interferes with other tenants. NYC Admin. Code § 27-2009.1(b); Westchester County Laws, Chapter 694. Tenants who are blind or deaf are permitted to have guide dogs or service dogs regardless of a no-pet clause in their lease. Also, tenants with a chronic mental illness are permitted to have emotional a**istance animals. NY Civil Rights Law § 47.