I don't normally come here for serious life questions but I find myself in a bit of an unfortunate quandary and curious if any attorney can give me perspective.
My wife and I have been renting in a Midtown West building for the last 13 years. It is a large-ish one bedroom, 2-bathroom with a sizeable 14th floor terrace space.
The rent, of course, has creeped up through the years, and just before the pandemic I had feared a precipitous rise in my lease that would have made it hard to stay. And in fact the lease set to renew in May '20 was a 20% increase. Then the pandemic hit and I was happy to get a renewal at the same rent for 2 years.
In the intervening two years the building has been a challenge to live in with loads of additional work happening. It has been noisy due to construction, pests due to construction, dust, elevators out of service and long waits for elevators, etc. I feel we have overpaid these last two years, with all the problems, and I found out many renters received reductions. My bad, I guess, for not asking for a reduction. I felt we could afford the rent and was happy to be there, though we might have saved $8 to $12K
Long story short, for the final months of this lease they are now requiring me to give up my outdoor space, which is approx. one quarter to one fifth of the overall unit and as compensation they are offering a 10% (approx.) credit in my rent. That isn't really satisfactory, especially with the need to move my outdoor furniture and odds and ends. They have offered to store these items in an unsecure location. The items don't add up to much so that's not the rub. And the outdoor space is more than even one quarter of the reason we moved there. It is the entire reason, to be honest.
I did think with all the construction going on, making it uncomfortable, and uniquely affecting my unit, I might be able to negotiate a favorable lease renewal for this May '22.
After talking to the agent in charge of renewal it is clear they intend to offer a renewal somewhere in the range of 48% to 58% higher than I am presently paying. I'll certainly have to move given that eventuality.
Meanwhile, the unpleasant conditions persist and they insist we must give complete access to our terrace to their construction teams, for a 10% credit on our remaining months.
I get that we don't have much leverage in this fight. I am realistic that they won't budge enough on the lease when they offer it in late March (or whenever).
And I know our only option might be to speak to an atty, maybe take advantage of NYC's free legal services for tenants, stop paying rent, and placing the money in escrow, I imagine, in the hopes of getting a fairer credit.
Trying to keep a level head here as I don't look forward to a big move. But I want to be smart and look after my own interests as aggressively as legally possible.
Thanks for any insight you might offer.
I guess they think it sounds less shitty than "free legal advice."
~ Unfortunately for tenants, there is no limit to how much your landlord can raise your rent, assuming they have given you enough notice and that you are not in a rent stabilized apartment.
~ Giving you a rent credit for the loss of use of your space is actually not super common. I am assuming they're doing work to the exterior of the building (Local Law 11?) - if so, this is required by NYC and is unfortunately something all buildings over 6 stories need to go thru
~ I always encourage my Tenants to negotiate, and you should certainly submit a counter proposal. There are expenses that the LL will incur by you leaving, so generally it is better for the LL to renew with an existing tenant.
With that being said, rents in NYC have been going crazy the last few months and landlords are trying to make up for losses in 2020 and 2021.
~ Use StreetEasy often to take a look as to what other units in the same building or nearby are offering. You can use that as leverage in your negotiations, or it seems like you may need to look at other options.
Thank you, Anando.
The construction is ongoing, and my lease is up at the end of May. So.. it is ongoing..
They can deny me access to a portion of my unit, and decide unilaterally what that cost is, as well as any cost in pleasure or comfort?
I guess they think it sounds less shitty than "free legal advice."
Could have stayed in stealth, that opinion is not needed.