Ask an Expert

Ask an Expert: Can my landlord kick me out temporarily?

Teri Rogers Headshot - Floral
By Teri Karush Rogers  |
October 4, 2011 - 1:45PM
image

Q. I rent a top-floor apartment in a three-family home, and my landlord is going to replace the roof. He says I will have to vacate the apartment and take all of my belongings while the roof is being replaced.

What are my rights?  Who pays for the cost of moving and storing my stuff and the much more expensive rent I'll probably have to pay while the roof is being fixed? 

A.  Your landlord does not have the right to force you to pack up and leave unless your lease allows it, explains real estate lawyer Steven Wagner of Wagner Berkow, so the first thing to do is to check your lease.

If your lease does not require you to temporarily vacate, then your landlord should cover your relocation costs.

"Discuss with the landlord exactly what is being done in your apartment and how long it will take," says Wagner.  "You should get a written commitment that the landlord will pay your moving and housing expenses and restore you to the possession of the apartment when the work has been completed."

If the landlord won't agree, you can always play hardball and stay put.  You wil be entitled to an abatement of rent under the Warranty of Habitability--a law which prevents landlords from substantially interfering with use and enjoyment of your apartment--if your landlord turns your apartment into a construction zone, says Wagner.

"If conditions become so bad that you have to vacate the apartment, you will have a claim for constructive eviction," says Wagner.  "Damages for constructive eviction could include moving expenses, the difference between your rent and the fair market value of your apartment, possibly legal fees and if the landlord is fount to have ousted you, possibly treble damages."

Note that if you are renting on a verbal month-to-month basis instead of under a lease, your damages would be "extremely limited--a maximum of one month of loss or expense, which would be difficult to prove in a court of law," says real estate lawyer Dean M. Roberts.  Therefore, if you like your apartment and your rent, you should "simply grin and bear the roof repair and make alternative housing arrangements, as normally it is only a few days of work."


Trouble at home? Get your NYC apartment-dweller questions answered by an expert! Send us your questions. 

 

Teri Rogers Headshot - Floral

Teri Karush Rogers

Founder & Publisher

Founder and publisher Teri Karush Rogers launched Brick Underground in 2009. As a freelance journalist, she had previously covered New York City real estate for The New York Times. Teri has been featured as an expert on New York City residential real estate by The New York Times, New York Daily News, amNew York, NBC Nightly News, The Real Deal, Business Insider, the Huffington Post, and NY1 News, among others. Teri earned a BA in journalism and a law degree from New York University.

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

topics: