Hello, everyone,
I've lived in New York apartments for over a decade without ever needing a lawyer. But now, I'm in a situation where I think the law is my best option, and I'm hoping someone here can recommend a good attorney or firm for my situation.
I'll try not to get into too much detail, but here's the basic story: We rented an apartment through a broker. We liked the apartment, but it had mold concerns. We signed the lease on the condition of mold abatement being done.
Since moving in on July 15, we've had 5 major leaks, and mold is everywhere. We found out that all the building has a slew of unresolved DHP complaints. And the broker turns out to be working directly for the landlord; all discussion of the repairs is being routed through the broker.
The landlord insists that all of our the problems are being caused by construction happening next door (an assertion we find dubious, since it's the opposite side of the building that's having trouble). What repairs the landlord has done have been done very badly.
We're fed up with trying to get the landlord to fix the problems, since it's clear they'll never fix the place properly. We just want out.
Our feeling is that whether the problems are caused by the construction next door or not, the apartment is too moldy to be habitable. We further contend that the broker knew about the problems and deliberately hid them from us.
We want to have the lease dissolved. We want to make sure we get our full security deposit back. We want the broker's fee refunded. We'd like some rent back for the months we paid for an uninhabitable apartment. And we'd love to get enough in damages to cover the cost of moving twice (and maybe a prosecution against the broker for pretty obvious dual-agency).
I think we're going to need a lawyer. Can anyone recommend a good one for our situation?
Much thanks!