Alanna Schubach
Contributing writer
Contributing editor Alanna Schubach has over a decade of experience as a New York City-based freelance journalist. She has written about real estate for Brick Underground, Mansion Global, and Barron's. She has also contributed features, essays, and op-eds to The Nation, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and The Village Voice. She won a National Association of Real Estate Editors’ silver award in 2018 for her Ask an Expert column for Brick Underground. She is also a fiction writer and a creative writing teacher, and currently lives in Brooklyn.
Posts by Alanna Schubach:
Ask Sam: Can my landlord collect rent while he’s trying to evict me?
December 21, 2022 - 12:30 PM
“As a rule, once the case is in court, the landlord can accept rent ‘without prejudice,'” tenant-rights attorney Sam Himmelstein says. “That means the acceptance of rent doesn’t confer or take away anyone's rights. It’s being done to maintain the status quo.”
Read More
Ask Sam: A leak from the unit upstairs flooded my apartment, but the landlord is blaming me. How can I keep my security deposit?
December 7, 2022 - 12:30 PM
A leak is always the landlord’s responsibility unless the tenant damages the plumbing somehow, says tenant attorney Sam Himmelstein. “You can withhold your rent to pursue the abatement and bring an HP proceeding against the landlord to force them to repair the leak and any resulting damages.”
Read More
Ask Sam: I checked my apartment's rent history and I think it was illegally de-stabilized. What do I do?
November 30, 2022 - 14:30 PM
If you believe that vacancy increases and improvements would not have been sufficient for your landlord to deregulate the apartment, your first step should be to write him a letter asking him to show documentation in support of how he deregulated the apartment
Read More
Ask Sam: Can I get my landlord to pay me to downsize to a smaller apartment?
November 9, 2022 - 13:30 PM
In most cases, it’s unlikely a landlord would offer tenants any payment to downsize, because they have no financial incentive to do so, says Sam Himmelstein, a lawyer at Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben & Joseph. But there are some exceptions.
Read More
Ask Sam: Our landlord wants to use a small room in our apartment as a separate rental. Is this legal?
October 26, 2022 - 13:30 PM
Under New York’s Multiple Dwelling Law, landlords cannot rent out individual rooms to tenants in an apartment if the building is not classified as a single-room occupancy (SRO) or hotel.
Read More
My landlord is demolishing our building. Is he allowed to evict me, and can I get a buyout?
October 12, 2022 - 12:30 PM
Your landlord is within their rights to sell or demolish the building and give you the boot, but if your apartment is rent regulated, you should be entitled to a hefty buyout, says tenant attorney Sam Himmelstein.
Read More
