Posted by Annonymous Tenant on September 06, 1996 at 14:49:06:
In Reply to: Re: Landlord Misrepresentation? and realtor harrassment posted by TenantNet on August 30, 1996 at 19:40:37:
:...Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my post. It's nice to
know that I will probably be able to stay for the duration of my lease and
maybe even somewhat peacefully. Your help is appreciated!!!
: I recently signed a one year lease for a NYC apartment. I agreed to do
: : all the painting and spent over 60 hours and a good amount of money
: : working on it. Only afterwards did I discover that the brownstone was for
: : sale. I learned this when a real estate agent (a different one than rented
: : me the apartment) came to the door, demanding to show the apartment. When I
: : asked her if our lease would be honored if the building was bought,
: : she avoided my question. Since, she has begun to call freqently demanding
: : to show the apartment and becoming ruder by the day. I feel that the landlord
: : should have informed us that the building was for sale but do not know if
: : he is required to do so. Now, I wonder if our lease will be honored by a
: : new buyer and to what extent I must give this realty agent access to my
: : apartment. Her calls every other day and frequent showing are rapidly
: : becoming an infringment on my privacy. If anyone has delt with a
: : similar situation or has comments, referrals, information or the like, I
: : would really appreciate it.
: You raise three issues:
: 1. You agreed to work and painting. I assume this was in exchange for a
: lower rent for a defined period or some other consideration. If this is true,
: then you have gotten your compensation.
: 2. Will your lease be honored? The nnew owner assumes the obligations of
: the former owner including existing leases. It's a complicated subject and
: there are some exceptions [i.e., if the nnew owner wants to live there],
: even so they can not just throw you out; they would have to go to court
: annd that might take some time -- possibly enough time until your existing
: lease had expired. If your unit is rent stabilized [generally more than 6
: units in a building built before 1974 and not a coop] then they must even
: offer you a new lease [again, with a few exceptions]. You won't be on the
: street soon.
: 3. Access. Generally owners do have the right of access -- with advance
: notice and for specific legitimate reasons. [repairs, etc.] Only in an
: emergency can they just barge in without advance notice or if you are not
: there. Showing a building is a legitimate reason, but it must be with
: advance notice [at least 24 hours and in some situations, longer],
: during reasonable hours [business hours if you wannt to be sticky but that
: might work against you if you work and would need to take time off from work,
: and [this is important] they can not use it to harass you. You are not
: expected to agree to show the unit every single day. The request for
: access must also be in writing and must state the reason for the
: requested access and the time. You should be reasonable but don't let
: them walk all over you. If you feel they are abusing you, you can get
: pretty sticky about things [Gee, did I get that letter requesting access?]
: But be aware that you will have to let them in eventually -- just not every
: five minutes on their terms.
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