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Too hot in apartment (No window to open)

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Too hot in apartment (No window to open)

Postby chowyunfattie » Tue Mar 08, 2016 7:54 pm

I rented an apartment a few months ago. There is no window in the apt, but a there is a door that leads to a semi-private outdoor area (shared with 3 other apartments). The bedroom is lofted. In the winter time, the heat (which we do not control) makes the loft area--where we sleep--unbearably hot. The only way to make it bearable is to open the door to the outside and keep it opened during the nights, which is not so safe. In the summertime there won't be a way to cool down the lofted area at all. Our neighbors' lease is expiring and are moving out because of this reason. We have a 2 year lease. Is there any kind of breach of warranty of habitability if the apartment gets too hot? Does it matter that the landlord never mentioned this when we rented the apartment, even though he was aware of it?
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Re: Too hot in apartment (No window to open)

Postby Cranky Tenant » Thu Mar 10, 2016 12:59 am

Is this in a basement? I can't imagine an apartment without windows could be legal.
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Re: Too hot in apartment (No window to open)

Postby BubbaJoe123 » Thu Mar 10, 2016 10:46 am

Agreed, I would be very surprised if this were a legal apartment. In which case, the lease wouldn't be valid.
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Re: Too hot in apartment (No window to open)

Postby chowyunfattie » Thu Mar 10, 2016 12:33 pm

The door to the courtyard is a glass door so I believe it meets the requirements for light and air. However, the lofted area does not have any access to light or air. I'm looking at the NYC building code and it seems that the lofted area also needs access to light and air, but I'm not sure if I"m missing something.
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Re: Too hot in apartment (No window to open)

Postby Cranky Tenant » Thu Mar 10, 2016 1:51 pm

I believe the applicable law is the Multiple Dwelling Law though I could be mistaken. If so, I hope someone will correct me.

If there's a sleeping loft, with three walls, that opens to the main living area it may not be required to have windows, but the apartments itself is required to have windows. Is the building fireproof? If not, it's required to have two means of egress. You can read the Multiple Dwelling Law from the menu at the top right hand corner of this screen. You should also check the Certificate of Occupancy to see if the building conforms to its CO.
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Re: Too hot in apartment (No window to open)

Postby BubbaJoe123 » Thu Mar 10, 2016 5:24 pm

I would definitely check the CO, to see if the number of apartments in the building matches. This certainly sounds like an illegal subdivision of some sort.
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Re: Too hot in apartment (No window to open)

Postby chowyunfattie » Fri Mar 11, 2016 5:15 pm

They rented us 2 floors. The cellar and 1st floor. CO says cellar can be used as a recreation room, however, it lists 0 habitable rooms in cellar.
Also, I've been trying to find out the requirements/prohibitions for a recreation room, but have been having a hard time. If anyone has the law that governs recreation rooms, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks
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Re: Too hot in apartment (No window to open)

Postby Cranky Tenant » Sat Mar 12, 2016 3:36 pm

I don't remember ever seeing a recreational room listed on a Certificate of Occupancy. Did you get this from the Department of Buildings?

I'm confused about the layout of this apartment without windows. Are you saying there are no windows on either level or that you sleep in a loft in the cellar where there are no windows? How old is the building?
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Re: Too hot in apartment (No window to open)

Postby TenantNet » Sun Mar 13, 2016 8:48 pm

Light/Air should be in the Mult. Dwelling Law and the Housing Maintenance Code. Windows are required in all rooms except bathrooms and entrance halls.

There are a few cases regarding the temp. being too hot, but most are for the temp. being too cold. You might also have legal egress issues.

I would get a HPD inspector there ASAP. Follow-up with a DOB inspector.
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Re: Too hot in apartment (No window to open)

Postby chowyunfattie » Mon Mar 14, 2016 2:11 pm

It's a 2 floor apartment. The bottom floor is in the cellar. There are no windows, but there is a glass door to a semi-public courtyard, but no window. The Certificate of Occupancy from the DoB's website lists the permitted use of the cellar as "recreation room", but lists 0 habitable rooms for the cellar. Building is not that old. Built in 1980.
There aren't any windows on the second floor either, but there is another glass door also to a semi-public area. There is a lofted area (our bedroom) which doesn't get any light and gets very hot because the air doesn't get there.
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