Landlord didn't clean between tenants

[Juletta]

My cousin just leased an apartment. At the time of the lease signing, the apartment was filthy--dog hair, etc.--and had peeling paint and a crack in the bathroom wall. The agent told them in writing, via email, that the place would be cleaned, repainted, and the crack repaired prior to move-in, and that part of the $1000 fee they paid her would go towards that.

Today they went to move in, and the place is exactly the same as before--right down to the dirty band-aid on the bathroom floor. They cannot reach the agent, who is on vacation, and they don't have any contact for the actual owner.

The place isn't livable. What can they legally do?

[Cranky Tenant]

My cousin just leased an apartment. At the time of the lease signing, the apartment was filthy--dog hair, etc.--and had peeling paint and a crack in the bathroom wall. The agent told them in writing, via email, that the place would be cleaned, repainted, and the crack repaired prior to move-in, and that part of the $1000 fee they paid her would go towards that.

Today they went to move in, and the place is exactly the same as before--right down to the dirty band-aid on the bathroom floor. They cannot reach the agent, who is on vacation, and they don't have any contact for the actual owner.

The place isn't livable. What can they legally do?

What legitimate real estate agent would give over part of their fee to pay for painting and plastering? That's the landlord's responsibility. If your friend believes the apartment is uninhabitable she can refuse to take possession of the apartment in that condition but I would try to get photos to back up those claims.

[Emeraldstar]

Hi All
You can look on Acris NYC. gov for the owner. Type in the bld address & look at the records.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/jump/acris.shtml

[TenantNet]

The owner and his/her/its contact info would be on the lease. If not, it's possible it's not a valid lease.

[ronin]

You could sue the broker in small claims for a refund of part of the fee paid to her. Even though it is usually the LL's responsibility, in this case the broker told you that part of her fee was going towards the clean up.

[queensborough]

When we took possession of our apartment many years ago, it was in the most horrendous condition, unpainted, filthy, cat hair in the refrigerator, just unbelievable. But we had no choice, we had to move in. After many calls to the owner, we finally arranged to have them paint, but we were left with all of the cleaning. I would go after the LL on this. It would be his job to prepare the apartment for a new tenant, not the broker. Why would the broker pay for painting and cleaning of an apartment? Keep calling the LL and make them do what they were supposed to do.

[ronin]

As you have the agent claiming to take responsibility for the cleaning in writing, he is on the hook. The LL is probably going to say something like "we had an agreement for the tenant or agent to take care of it in return for a lower rent."

One way or another, even if you decide to sue the LL, you need to sue the agent for fraud in any case.

[Emeraldstar]

Hi All
Take lots of photos/ video of the conditions (including the band aid, yuck)
I would hire a cleaning service (not an individual) & get a total itemized contract. It won't help the need of spackel/ a paint job but at least it would be clean. Sue for the cost of the service as well. Or another idea just struck me, consult with an atty & see if a letter stating a stay at a hotel for x amt. of time at the broker's / LL's expense to prep the apt. as it should have been on move in is worth your time?