Small-Building Law for Tall-Building Lawyers: Landlord-Tenant
[Ed. note: This post is by ALEX, one of the finalists in ATL Idol, the “reality blogging” competition that will determine ATL’s next editor. It is marked with Alex’s avatar (at right).]
Biglaw lawyers:
Every single one of your non-lawyer friends and family members think that you know “the law” because you’re lawyers. You don’t. You work in biglaw. Don’t worry, ATL will give you some small-building law to use when the inevitable email arrives or you need some lawyerly advice yourself.
Today’s topic: landlord-tenant law.
August is almost upon us. Lots of people are moving. Summers, law-school grads, Cadwalader attorneys. Maybe there’s still time to knock some dollars off of your last rent check. I spoke to an attorney who handles landlord-tenant issues in New York. He works in a really small building and likes to golf on Thursday afternoons.
Nutshell after the jump.
New York, like other states, has a statutory floor of habitability that apartments must meet or exceed. We’re talking the Warranty of Habitability, codified at Section 235-b of New York’s Real Property Law. It can’t be waived; it can’t be reasoned with.
Courts have determined that a whole slew of common complaints are covered by the Warranty, including problems with elevators, HVAC, hot water, odors, plumbing, and vermin.
Damages are measured by the difference between the rental value with and without the services at issue. According to case law, minor breaches of the Warranty, like an elevator that doesn’t work, might get you a rent abatement in the 5-20% range. Moderate and serious breaches (picturing lots of rats, here) will get you around 30% and 50%, respectively. My source was uncertain on the proper rent abatement for the presence of a loft of ill repute in your building.
Your landlord needs notice of the condition and an opportunity to cure, so make a paper trail. Take some pictures, too.
If your landlord can’t get it together, write a letter explaining that you’ll be withholding a justifiable sum of money from your next check and that you’re really disappointed in him. Mention some of that legal stuff above. Your landlord might sue you in some TTT court, but you’ve got a paper trail, the law, and a kick-ass diploma.
If your place is a real dump, you can break your lease. Constructive eviction is a defense to lease break. The standard is something like, “the landlord’s wrongful acts substantially and materially deprive the tenant of the beneficial use and enjoyment of the premises.” Again, you’ll want a paper trail.
Got a question for a small-building lawyer?
(Photo credit: Gothamist.)
(61) 
Comments
Hey Lat and Kash -
http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2008/07/autoadmit
I wonder which associates and summer associates' heads are going to explode in the next few hours?
Alex: you didn't use IRAC properly. FAIL!
First to say that NY L-T law is IRRELEVANT outside of NY. No one outside of that jurisdiction cares. A nutshell comprises general principles. If you're going to cite 1 jurisdiction, go on Westlaw and search for the other 52 states (as Obama would say). Better yet, hire a Cadwalader reject to do the work for you.
TTT comments suck.
TTT court was funny though.
Okay concept for a post but very boooooring
No offense, but having read Althouse's bio, I'm (frankly) shocked that she's a published law professor and a judge of this contest. Her writing is clunky and inartful. There must be an interesting back story explaining her success in academia. Please tell!
Great post. It was topical - actually talked about the law- and it was funny.
Of special note, it was funny because of the writing style and not because he used some recycled "wood" joke.
Ugh, I did not need that picture of roaches right after lunch
Yeah, thanks Alex but I already graduated from law school... I come to ATL to get a break from work. This isn't really fit for a 'legal tabloid'
3 is TTT
Almost every state has the implied warranty of habitability as common law, and most cities have some version of it codified as well.
Baltimore, otoh, is famously TTT.
8 - If the roaches disgust you, don't look at the next post, it has a picture of Michael Jackson.
well written, good idea, and i'm pulling for you alex - but YAWN
Horrible
Well written, and nothing wrong with it as far as it goes, but I dont really see the point of having the contestants post "serious" stories. ATL typically doesn't do nutshell outlines of L-T law, and I dont see why the contestants should. It would be a more realistic competition to just give them funny topics to deal with.
And the head to head posts are a better format - have all 5 of them tackle the same story.
Good idea, well written. Moderately funny. Overall, it smacks most of the competition silly.
1 - I saw that article too. Seems like they're a little late to the party. I think Lat should write about it anyway, so we can rehash the past.
Is there a news story here that I'm missing? What is the point of this lesson in landlord tenant law?
How is this relevant or interesting?
Couldn't make it past the jump.
Terrible.
Huh? Seriously? A summary of NY landlord-tenant law? Do you think we fucking care? I do not come to ATL to read real estate treatises; that's what the damn law library is for. Alex, you sucked before, but this is the last nail in your coffin.
I like you...though I don't want to read serious legal stories on ATL. That is what real work is for.
I agree with all the commenters that say this story really doesn't have a place on ATL, very dry and too much of a lesson
"Got a question for a small-building lawyer?"
Yeah, I have a few:
1) Why don't you get a real attorney job like M&A at a V10 firm like me.
2) How does it make you feel that my maid makes more money than you?
3) Does it depress you that you have to research landlord-tenant law in order to get repairs done on your roach infested long island apartment?
10:
You don't need a nutshell on contracts to know that you need bargained-for consideration either. Your post is simplistic.
Well-written, but horrible topic.
14: He wasn't assigned this topic. It's one of his "freestyle" posts.
Alex, you're trying WAY too hard ("It can't be waived; it can't be reasoned with."?)
23, you're awesome. i bet you have a lot of friends with a swell attitude like that.
alex, great idea, well executed, and amusing to boot.
well done.
I like the concept...
26 is right Alex got to pick this topic.... just goes to show you he has no idea of what will play well on ATL
YAWN: except for comment number 1!!
Good luck renting another apartment in NYC again after you sue your LL. Even if it's justified, litigation with a former LL would most likely be placed on your renter's report, and you'll be avoided like the plague by potential future LL's. You might as well be a convicted child molester or a member of Al Qaeda.
I already took Property in my 1L year
B-
The head-to-head posts are good to compare the contestants' writing, but freestyle posts are essential because they'll need to do their own research, too. If this is the best Alex can find (and as his namesake, this is hard for me to type), he's really, really not good enough.
Style and substance need to strike a balance in this competition. ATL should be both educational AND entertaining...Alex seems to be the best fit.
Looks like we can thank the rules for subject matter not being quite as humorous as is preferred. (Thought: put all this stuff in one place instead of making us search around)
[In the first week of competition, the aspiring ATL Idols will write three posts ...Two are what we're calling "freestyle" posts, but they're not completely free. One must be a humorous, "___ of the Day" post -- e.g., Lawyer, Lawsuit, or Judge of the Day -- and one must be more serious or substantive.]
I think Alex has a clever writing style and at least put some effort into this one. I definitely prefer this over Marin’s talent for the obvious joke.
Style and substance need to strike a balance in this competition. ATL should be both educational AND entertaining...Alex seems to be the best fit.
The head-to-head posts are good to compare the contestants' writing, but freestyle posts are essential because they'll need to do their own research, too. If this is the best Alex can find (and as his namesake, this is hard for me to type), he's really, really not good enough.
I'm going to rely on the legal advice provided in this thread to cease paying on my lease. If I get evicted, I'm going for malpractice.
36-- are you for real? educational? No thanks, I have my JD already. I come to ATL for gossip or a funny take on a story
Reading that reminded me of barbri and brought upon flashbacks of yesterday's MBE; thus, I hated it.
35-- but a post can still be substantive without being 3 paragraphs on black letter law.... Here's hoping one of the remaining contestants can get it right
Pretty sure the reason I have an entire department full of real estate lawyers is so I don't have to know stuff like this.
good link #1. Interesting article. Thanks.
Seriously, who thinks this is well-written? If it made you yawn or skim the page (as I did), its not well written. Good writers can turn boring subject matter into interesting reading. This stunk.
No.
Irrelevant and sleep inducing.
By the way, Alex writes, "New York...has a statutory floor of habitability that apartments must meet or exceed."
Really, so that's what a floor is? Thanks for the sloppy redundancy, Alex. And thanks for the memories...bye, bye.
alex you pretty much have my vote this week but one more pic of a cockroach and i am marin all the way.
Can someone find precedent for reality show contests that have scrapped the entire group of original contestants and started the search over? Or maybe we should start a sister blog called www.ATLdeathwatch.com.
What's in number 1's link? I can't open it for obvious reasons.
There's nothing in # 1's link to a Wired story that anyone who followed the AtutoAdmit melodrama several months ago doesn't already know. I can't understand why Wired posted it. The story says, for those who don't want to open it, that Lemley an Rosen have identified AK-47 and some of the other AutoAdmit posters, that they have asked for more time to identify the others, and that Ciolli has been dismissed from the lawsuit and sued Lemley and Rosen in response. There is no new motion, ruling, or event in the case reported on. Everything in the story was public knowledge months ago. In fact, it is relatively easy to learn AK-47's name and location (which the Wired story does not report), online if one really wants to.
TTT court! Huzzah!
TTT jokes are so TTT
This is easily the worst post by any contestant so far. My law school case books were more engaging than this.
Cravath has bedbugs and Alex falsely impugns the Ansonia with an old photo and a weak cockroach overlay? Yes, there are rats in the basement, but still.... Poorly done.
All you need for NY L-T is Rasch's treatise. See Comment 3.
Hey 23: I love that you are so insecure that you have to post mean comments to make yourself feel better. Have fun never seeing the light of day doing M&A at your V10 firm. Notice that the attorney mentioned in this post GOLFS on Thursday afternoons? Oh and, while LLT law is the red-headed stepchild of the law, there are a lot of people who need the service this guy offers. You know, not just big corporations need lawyers.
23 = bitter, fat and gross. Either that, or just an a-hole trying to get a rise out of people
wtf was this? can somebody say boooooooooooooooring... i stopped at "warranty of habitability"
and what is up with the nasty roach picture?
this post was so boring, i didn't even bother to read the comments.
alex, you were at the bottom of my list before and now you're not even on it. just quit the competition please.
This post is boring. What would be interesting is the day in the life of a landlord tenant attorney. What do they do all day? How much do they work? How much money do they make?
Decent idea, but poor execution. Not very interesting, and not very witty. I vote against.
I can't believe no one has commented about the typo in the first sentence; should have been "thinks" and not "think."
I only bring this up because stuffwhitepeoplelike.com says I'm supposed to notice and comment on this sort of thing.
Too serious for something that should make me smile on my break