Housing Law
GET YOUR APARTMENT REPAIRED
Getting your landlord to fix your apartment can be difficult sometimes. If you find yourself unable to get your landlord to make repairs, you can follow these steps to ensure they get done. First, you need to understand the landlord’s legal obligations.
Warranty of Habitability
The landlord’s duty to maintain an apartment in good repair is referred to by the legal term warranty of habitability. This law, Real Property Law Section 235-b(1), provides that
In every written or oral lease or agreement for residential premises the landlord or lessor shall be deemed to covenant and warrant that the premises so leased or rented and all areas used in connection therewith in common with other tenants or residents are fit for human habitation and for the uses reasonably intended by the parties and that the occupants of such premises shall not be subjected to such conditions which would be dangerous, hazardous or detrimental to their life, health or safety. When any such condition has been caused by the misconduct of the tenant or lessee or persons under his direction or control, it shall not constitute a breach or such covenants and warranties.
This law represents the landlord’s obligation to the tenant to make sure the apartment is fit for people to live in and not unhealthy or dangerous. The landlord has this obligation to keep the apartment in good condition regardless of whether or not the tenant has a written lease.
Notice
A tenant is obligated to notify the landlord when there is a condition in
need of repair. In most circumstances this is done orally to the superintendent or the building manager. All standard leases, however, contain a clause that provides that all notices should be sent to the landlord in writing. This notice usually should be sent by by certified mail. If a tenant has not had any success getting her landlord to make a repair after notifying the landlord, agent or superintendent orally, she should always send the landlord a letter specifying what repairs are necessary. This written notice formally advises the landlord of the condition needing repair, and can also serve as important evidence if there is litigation concerning the repair in the future.
Code of Enforcement
If the tenant fails to get any response from the landlord after providing written notice, she can call the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Office of Code Enforcement (Call 311 or www.nyc.gov/html/hpd ) enforces the Housing Maintenance Code, which is the primary law governing conditions in residential buildings. Code Enforcement will register the tenant’s complaint and send a notice to both the landlord and tenant advising them that the complaint has been registered. Code enforcement should then send a building inspector to the tenant’s apartment to inspect the condition. If the inspector finds that the condition is a violation of the Housing Maintenance Code, he will enter a violation. Once a violation is entered, the landlord must repair it and certify to Code Enforcement that the repair has been completed. There are three lasses of violations that can be entered. These are:
Class C - Immediately Hazardous - must be repaired within 72 hours;
Class B - Hazardous - must be repaired within 30 days; and
Class A - Nonhazardous - must be repaired within 90 days.
A landlord is potentially liable for serious fines if the repairs are not completed in the required time period.
HP Actions
An HP action is a proceeding a tenant can initiate in Housing Court
to compel the landlord to make repairs. In an HP Action the Court will order Code Enforcement to inspect the tenant’s apartment, and if the inspection finds Housing Maintenance Code violations, enter an order directing the landlord to repair them. A full explanation of the procedure in HP actions can be found at www.tenant.net . | 
