Recently in the news is a story about a couple who purchased a house in Queens after foreclosure.  After they completed their purchase, they discovered a “squatter” living in the house.  This story raises the question of who is legally defined as a squatter, and how can such a person be evicted? First, let it be said that this is by no means an unusual course of events in New York.  New York State laws, as well as many Judges in the landlord-tenant Courts, are notoriously “pro-tenant,” making it difficult to evict anyone, even squatters.  Changes in New York Real Property A ..read more

A recent case was filed in Supreme Court, Queens County by a group of corporations under the umbrella of the LeFrak Organization – one of the largest landlords in Queens.  The lawsuit was brought as an Article 78 proceeding.  An Article 78 proceeding is a lawsuit brought against a New York State official, or New York administrative agency, in which the plaintiff seeks to overturn a decision made by the official or agency on the grounds that it violated New York law. The plaintiffs in this action seek reform of the handling of housing court cases in Queens County, in which long delays ..read more

We have represented both landlords and tenants with respect to commercial leases.  This post will examine the particulars to be considered when a doctor or medical practice is the tenant. When evaluating a potential location, the proposed tenant should first determine whether the space is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).  For instance, if the building has steps to its front entrance, is a ramp also installed to allow for wheelchair access?  Is there an elevator and if so, is it also suitable to be used by patients with wheelchairs.  Do the restro ..read more

A recent article in the New York Post reports on the tragic story of a New York City landlord who claimed he was “under pressure” and had “a lot of issues” with his tenants, namely, that they were late paying rent.  Unfortunately, the landlord responded to the situation by murdering his tenants, for which he has now been arrested and is in police custody. Obviously, this is the wrong way for a landlord to handle tenants who have not paid their rent.  What should the landlord have done instead?  This blog post will discuss the proper manner in which non-paying tenants should be d ..read more

We have observed that the current inventory of houses available to purchase in the area serviced by our attorneys is low.  In addition, many houses are rented.  When the tenant and landlord have a good relationship, it is not unusual for the parties to agree that the tenant will buy the house from the owner.  This post will address the legal issues involved in such a transaction whereby the tenant becomes the buyer and the landlord becomes the seller. The first action that both parties should take is to engage the services of an experienced real estate attorney.  Such a tr ..read more

As the moratorium on eviction cases in New York State due to the COVID-19 pandemic fades into memory, our firm has resumed regular operations regarding landlord-tenant law.  In general, this means eviction cases when a tenant may have stayed past the expiration of his lease (known as holdover actions), and those when a tenant is in violation of his lease, usually due to failure to pay rent (non-payment actions). The question this blog post will address is what happens at the end of an eviction action that allows a tenant to be removed from the premises.  In order to evict any tenant ..read more

Recently in the news are proposals by the Biden administration regarding policies to allegedly protect rental tenants.  According to the stories, multiple federal agencies are strongly considering taking actions that are designed to strengthen tenant protections and encourage rental affordability.  Of course, experience has shown that well-intentioned government actions often do not have the intended results, and often worsen situations that they are designed to ameliorate. Due to the extreme reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is currently a shortage of residential housing, esp ..read more

As the COVID-19 pandemic fades, some legal cases that were temporarily postponed by the Courts, such as commercial evictions , are resuming and going forward in litigation.  A recent case in the news involved the popular family restaurant Applebee’s, and its location in the heart of New York City,   in Times Square. The case involved the non-payment of rent totaling over seven million dollars by Applebee’s during the pandemic.  The company argued that it had cash flow problems worsened by the pandemic, had to completely close its Times Square location in March, 2020, and could n ..read more

Our firm often fields inquiries from clients regarding successor rights in New York residential rental apartments.  First, experienced counsel should determine whether the premises are subject to rent regulation.  Rent regulation in New York State applies to many, but not all, residential units.  It is more prevalent in New York City than in its surrounding suburbs.  However, it does also cover some rental units in Westchester and Nassau Counties. Assuming that rent regulation does apply to the premises, then the current occupants may be allowed successor rights once the or ..read more

With the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York, along with many other states, adopted a law temporarily halting evictions.  In addition, there was an additional moratorium that prevented foreclosure cases from going forward in Court. This blog post will focus on the eviction moratorium, its effects, and its expiration as of January 15, 2022.  The original moratorium went into effect in March of 2020.  The statute initially provided that if a landlord sought eviction against a tenant, the tenant could complete a form which stated that they were suffering from a COVID-19 re ..read more