Before you can sue to evict a tenant for not paying the rent, you must send the tenant a legal notice known as a “rent demand.” In it, you ask the tenant to pay the rent owed and give him a chance to pay before starting a nonpayment proceeding. Although this seems simple enough, improperly prepared rent demands can jeopardize your nonpayment cases.

Like other real estate businesses, you may be using ChatGPT, Bard, Bing, and other generative AI products, a.k.a. chatbots, for marketing purposes, such as developing advertising strategies, analyzing housing markets, and generating property listings, ads, social media posts, and other marketing content. Just recognize that for all their potential benefits, chatbots contain flaws that make them risky to use for marketing and advertising.

If you have rent-stabilized tenants in your building and you’re considering switching from a key- or fob-based entry system to a biometric fingerprint system, you may want to reconsider.

Each year, tenants file heat and hot water complaints with the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR)—most of them at this time of year. City codes require owners to keep their buildings reasonably heated—68 degrees during the day and 55 degrees at night—from Oct. 1 to May 31 if the air temperature falls within certain parameters.

If you discover that there are rent overcharges to your tenants, promptly refund the overages so that you can avoid having to pay DHCR-ordered triple damages. In recent decisions, the DHCR denied or revoked triple damages tenants sought for rent overcharges because owners gave tenants rent credits or refunds, plus interest, while the tenants’ complaints were pending.

When you make improvements, such as installing a new refrigerator or replacing flooring, to your rent-regulated apartments, you’re allowed an “Individual Apartment Improvement Rent Increase.” This increase is in addition to vacancy increases allowed by law or the regular annual Rent Guidelines Board adjustments for rent-stabilized apartments, and biennial adjustments to Maximum Base Rents for rent-controlled apartments.

According to New York City Sanitation Rules and Regulations, residential units may place receptacles out for collection on the sidewalk, right by the curb, no earlier than 5 p.m. the day before their scheduled collection, and no earlier than 4 p.m. from Oct. 1 to April 1. Residential units must remove receptacles from their collection place by 9 p.m. on their collection day. If collection occurs after 9 p.m., receptacles must be removed by 9 a.m. the next day [RCNY...

A lease clause that prohibits a tenant from keeping a dog, cat, or other pet in an apartment without the owner’s permission imposes a substantial obligation on the tenancy. And a tenant who harbors a pet in violation of a “no-pets” clause in the lease can be terminated.

Be sure to follow the correct procedures to trigger a “no-access inspection.” By law, you're required to send two letters by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least eight days in advance of a proposed access date, before seeking a no-access inspection.

The Environmental Control Board (ECB) recently ruled that an owner could be fined for failing to maintain a water meter in a readily accessible area. Furthermore, the rules don't require the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to give an owner prior notice that a water meter will be read.