Apt. Management Issues - What to do?

[jbrick18]

I've had a few issues with management in the last couple of months:

(1) It took management close to a month to fix a second hot water heater in my apartment building, so most mornings that month I was unable to take a hot shower.

(2) My floor boards started to erupt out of my bedroom floor - there was literally a foot mountain cutting across my bedroom floor, where I was constantly tripping (especially at night), stubbing my toes or hurting my feet. Management told me that the floor could get fixed in a day, yet after 5 weeks, contractors are just starting on it, and, in the process have ripped apart my entire bedroom floor and disheveled my entire apartment.

What can I do? Am I able to deduct a certain amount from my rent next month (i.e., the cost of a hotel room, the price of a cleaning service). What about the hot water issue? Can I deduct the price of my gym membership where I had to take my morning showers? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Like most New Yorkers, I'm paying quite a bit for rent each month (more than half of my salary), and I don’t want management to get the best of me.

[joliett]

You should document your problems and send certified letter to landlord. Put complaint in with HPD and if landlord doesnt fix you get rent reduction.

[lappert]

Just to clarify, get documentation: take photos, keep a dairy of everything that happens - and everything that the LL says. Get witnesses. Prove your case that you're being 'constructively evicted.' There are no automatic rent reductions. You could withhold rent and if/when the LL takes you to court, you can counterclaim for an abatement. Although the fact that he's now starting work could mitigate that. DHCR - forget. That takes too much time and they're too landlord-friendly (although so is the court).