Can I take legal action against my landlord for failing to provide heat as required by law (New York City)?
I woke up with a sore throat this morning after enduring a night of no heat in my apartment. I have checked the weather history and have verified that there was an outside temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit last night. It is 9am, 40.5 degrees, and there is still no heat. I am upset because I am now sick and, as a result, have cancelled an important job interview for this morning. I am worried that my sore throat is only a prelude to a sickness that may severely impose upon my activity for the upcoming week or weeks.
This is what I know: The New York City Housing Maintenance Code requires that between Oct. 1 and May 31, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., a landlord must provide sufficient heat to maintain apartments at a temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit when the outside temperature falls below 40 degrees. Between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., heat must be maintained at 68 degrees when the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees.
Given the above facts, my landlord has violated the code, and continues to do so, in both day and night time frames. As a result, I am sick, cold, and uncomfortable in my own home. What legal recourse do I have? I am not satisfied with the heat just being turned on. The landlord should be imposed with sufficient fines and/or damages for this violation to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. I am not 100% certain, but I believe the entire building is integrated and heated from the same source. So if I am not receiving heat, then others in my building aren’t either. I would also like to seek health and personal damages, rent abatement, and whatever else form of restitution I am entitled to. What is my case and what are my options? In your answer please be as thorough and informative as possible. Please be precise in your legal language as well. Thank you.
Additional information: Heat has been provided before, the last time being two days ago, so I am reasonably assured that the building’s heating system does indeed function. The building supervisor can not be reached at the moment as he is on vacation with his phone turned off and his voice mailbox full. The building owner is the landlord, I assume. The lease is not in my name; I pay my rent to the lease holder of the apartment. The lease holder resides in the building but not in the apartment. I live in Manhattan.
You can get the heat turned on. You might want to check those dates though, they sound off.
You can not impose any fines on your landlord.
Don’t they sell portable heaters in NY? I am pretty sure they have Walgreens, or CVS or something like that. Pick yourself up a little heater and make the place as hot as you want.
You answered this in your question before typing your short story. If it is required by law, and he doesn’t provide it, then yes. That’s why there are laws.
Dude, your question is too long. I think you should delete it & ask the question again. You won’t get responses that you are looking for!
Talk to him first, that’s what I would do, tell him to turn up the heat, I pay to live here, and I want to be warm.
There is a component of law JUST for tenants and one of those
is for landlords who fail to provide water connection pipes,
sewage pipes, heat, and safety issues. When any of those
components is not obvious, the unit is not
rentable and you have what is called A CONSTRUCTIVE EVICTION.
YOU should inform the LL that you are leaving immediately because
of CE and be prepared to prove your case in court in case the
LL fails to return your deposits and unearned rent.
I’m not sure I understand this. Are you saying that you had heat two days ago but now have none? What would be the point of turning the heat off? It sounds like something has malfunctioned in the system. If the building supervisor is on vacation, who would be turning the heat on and off? Your landlord is the person you are paying the rent to, not the building owner. Your gripe is with him, so go to him. As for damages, the weather has not gotten cold enough for you to have suffered any ‘ damages’. You may have been uncomfortable, but that does not constitute punitive damages. Being cold does not give you a cold. A virus does that. So unless you have had no contact with anyone from the outside world for at least a week, you have no grounds to attribute this to the landlord. And you want rent abatement for two days? Get real. Since you have done nothing to attempt to correct this situation yourself, such as contact the fellow you are renting from, you have no grounds for anything. If you spent as much time trying to correct this situation as you do trying to get something for nothing, then your life would be much better all way round.
NYC…call 311. They will point you in the right direction.