Being a landlord can be a profitable and personally rewarding line of work but it can also be a challenging one. Your tenants can give you some of your most enjoyable moments, but they can also give you some of the most difficult. You’ll have rules in place that you expect your tenants to abide by, but sometimes they will break them. Here are some things to consider when deciding how to handle it: Is there an easy solution? Some mistakes are understandable. Some errors can be corrected. Others can’t, at least not so easily. There is little point in making a big deal out of something that has a ..read more

Tenants in New York have a legal right to safe living spaces provided by landlords. If a tenant finds an issue with an apartment that would make the space uninhabitable, it may be the responsibility of the landlord to make repairs.  Here are a few common issues with apartments that may make it unsafe for a tenant to continue living in them: Rodent and insect infestations A common problem with many apartments is rodent and insect infestations. Rodents and insects can not only damage apartments and furniture but also cause health risks for residents. This issue may be more prevalent if an a ..read more

Pets or companion animals are often a point of contention between those who rent the homes where they live and those who own property that they rent to others. People want to have pets, or they may have grown emotionally attached to the pets that they already have. Landlords may enjoy pets themselves while also recognizing that animals can very easily damage their properties. Chewing, scratching and urinating inside a rental home are all potential sources of property damage. Pets can cause physical damage to the facilities and also make the interior spaces unpleasant for future occupants with ..read more

In New York, some apartments are rent-stabilized and others are known as “free market” apartments. With free market apartments, landlords can decide to charge whatever price they want. They can also increase this price if they’d like to do so, and there’s no limit on how much they can increase it. A landlord could theoretically double the rent. If the apartment is considered rent-stabilized, this does not necessarily mean that the rent has been frozen. It can still increase and these apartments can get more expensive. There are simply limits on the percentage of increase based on the length of ..read more

Landlord-tenant disputes are not uncommon. After all, there are bound to be disagreements among property owners and occupiers. Understanding the most common issues between landlords and tenants is helpful and can better ensure that all parties protect their rights and interests. Non-payment of rent One of the most frequent dispute types involves non-payment of rent. Tenants may withhold rent due to uninhabitable living conditions, failure to make repairs or disputes over lease terms. Landlords often seek eviction for non-payment, while tenants may counter with defenses rela ..read more

A dispute between landlord and tenant regarding a rental agreement or broader relationship responsibilities is known as a landlord-tenant conflict. Such conflicts can arise from issues such as rental property, lease terms, living circumstances and many other matters. These conflicts can potentially be resolved through a variety of methods, such as mediation or negotiation. Disagreements between a landlord and a tenant can often be resolved outside of court, meaning that litigation is relatively uncommon in this regard. However, this kind of legal action may become necessary if the parties cann ..read more

Regardless of your feelings about rent controls, both landlords and tenants should understand as much as possible about the different situations when rent can be raised despite rent stabilization. One of the most common situations that comes up is when a landlord wants to make improvements to their property – and raise the rent accordingly. This is when it’s critical to know the difference between individual apartment improvements (IAIs) and major capital improvements (MCIs) IAIs benefit specific tenants IAIs refer to upgrades or renovations made to individual rental units within a building. T ..read more

As a landlord, you will want to know that your tenants will look after your property well. You may have been happy to rent to a young professional couple. You know they can pay the rent and are beyond the age where parties can get out of hand and leave the place a mess. Yet that might change once you discover they are about to have a baby. As charming as babies and young children can be, they are not the best at looking after things. They may see your freshly painted wall as the ideal place for their latest crayon drawing. Or a dining table as the perfect place to carve patterns with a fork. C ..read more

Although a rental relationship can be beneficial for both landlords and tenants, there are also risks involved for everyone. Tenants might be at risk of losing their place to live when the property changes ownership or when they experience financial hardship. Landlords accept the risk that their tenants could fail to pay their rent or could do real damage to the property that they own and lease to others. New York rental laws permit landlords to require security deposits to minimize the risk of losses. Those funds paid by the tenant can help landlords recoup unpaid rent or address property dam ..read more

Imagine that you come home from work and you just want to relax after a long day. But when you get home, your apartment door is open and someone is already inside. It’s your landlord, they entered your apartment unannounced. Or, perhaps you got home and thought it looked as if items had been moved around in your apartment. It just wasn’t quite the same as when you left. You asked your landlord, and they later told you that they needed to do some things in your apartment while you were at work, so they went in without informing you. Either way, it feels like an invasion of your privacy. Can you ..read more