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Landlord didn't provide keys until after lease started?

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Landlord didn't provide keys until after lease started?

Postby dpendrick » Tue Mar 28, 2017 1:43 pm

Hi all,

Thank you in advance for any information you can provide.

I signed an apartment lease on 3/13 with a start date of 3/15. The landlord did not provide keys (despite repeated requests) until 3/19 and is refusing to refund for the days that we did not have access to the apartment. Broker is of no help at all.

I've combed through the Tenant's Rights Guide as well as other tenants rights/laws/protections official documents but cannot find anything that outright addresses my situation. Surely this is illegal?

Many thanks
dpendrick
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2017 1:33 pm

Re: Landlord didn't provide keys until after lease started?

Postby TenantNet » Tue Mar 28, 2017 1:53 pm

First check the small print of the lease that you signed (and that the LL returned to you). See what it says. Assuming this is not an Act of God (i.e., tornado), but simply the LL refusing to give you possession. Understand that what he did is fail to give you possession. That's a breach of the lease in our opinion.

Then send the LL a certified letter informing him that he would not give access to the unit until 3/19. Explain the difficulty it caused (be concise and don't get emotional), and indicate any other expenses you might have had, i.e., storage costs, additional moving costs, hotels, meals, etc. Total all that up.

Of course the LL will ignore all that, so don't get upset. You're just putting him on notice. State you want to be compensated or you will "consider your options." Never threaten specifics until you intend to go through with it.

Ask for a rent history from DHCR and start investigating whether or not your unit should be rent stabilized. LL will say it isn't. Doesn't matter. This is all normal and happens to many tenants. Talk to neighbors to see how things work with the LL. See if others are rent stab.

After all that, see where you are.
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Re: Landlord didn't provide keys until after lease started?

Postby dpendrick » Tue Mar 28, 2017 2:32 pm

Thanks so much for the quick response!

I've requested a rental history already. The landlord has offered a partial refund, claiming that the snowstorm last week caused him to not receive the signed lease as scheduled (complete bs given that the lease started after the storm).

Does the broker have any responsibility in this situation? They've washed their hands of this without much communication with the landlord. Is that grounds to file a formal complaint?
dpendrick
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2017 1:33 pm

Re: Landlord didn't provide keys until after lease started?

Postby TenantNet » Tue Mar 28, 2017 2:39 pm

Don't know the answer to that, but brokers are supposed to be licensed. I would check here: https://goo.gl/S3lUHF
The Tenant Network(tm) for Residential Tenants
Information from TenantNet is from experienced non-attorney tenant
activists and is not considered legal advice.

Subscribe to our Twitter Feed @TenantNet
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Re: Landlord didn't provide keys until after lease started?

Postby dpendrick » Tue Mar 28, 2017 2:51 pm

Thanks a million!
dpendrick
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2017 1:33 pm


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