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When the tenant of a rent-controlled or rent-stabilized apartment dies or moves out, there's often someone still living in the apartment who claims to have “pass-on” or succession rights to it because he or she is the tenant's relative or has a family-type relationship with the tenant. If the claim is true, the relative of a rent-controlled tenant can stay on in the apartment as a rent-controlled tenant in his or her own right. The relative of a rent...

By John M. Fredericks

With the new school year approaching, more college-age students will be searching for housing in the New York City area. Campus housing is scarce in the city, and owners who provide housing for students are often rewarded with a steady stream of quality referrals. But when renting to students, you must be aware of the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) and how it applies to students.

On June 24, 2011, New York State legislators passed new rent regulations codified in Chapter 97 of the Laws of 2011 (S-5856). Amid a push by Assembly Democrats and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to expand the law, the new laws call for a four-year extension of the existing regulations as well as changes that make it more difficult for owners to deregulate the city's one-million rent-stabilized apartments.

If you're planning a major capital improvement (MCI) in your building this summer, you may need access to a tenant's apartment to get the job done. For example, you may be installing new windows in the building, and to finish this project you'll need access to each apartment so that your contractor can remove the old windows and install the new ones.

At some point, you may find yourself suing a tenant in housing court to collect overdue rent and to evict the tenant if he or she doesn't pay. During the course of the case, the tenant may bring up any and all excuses to delay eviction. The tenant may claim that there are conditions in the apartment that need to be repaired or services that you haven't provided. Or the tenant may want more time to get an attorney or documents, and the tenant may ask the judge to...

After the beating your building probably took this winter, you may notice cracks beginning to form in your façade or at other points in your building. Some cracks might not need attention, while others could have serious structural consequences. But how can you tell the difference? Much of the time you can't, and expert advice is required.

One way tenants may steal electricity is by stealing from the building supply. Tenants may tamper with wiring and hook up directly to your building's metered electricity supply. A tenant who does this taps into power that you're paying for. Another way to steal electricity is directly from other tenants. In this case, a tenant may tap into a neighboring tenant's metered electricity supply. While this type of tampering may not happen often at your building, i...

In the past few years, we have seen an incredible rise in bedbug infestations in New York City. While reports of infestations might have ticked down this past winter, experts say that bedbugs will be present in record numbers in a few months, says Jeffrey White, a research entomologist for Bedbugcentral.com. This is because bedbugs peak in the heat of summer. In the winter, they typically slow down and hibernate....

This winter New York City has experienced record-breaking snowfall. With the latest snowstorm at the end of January, the city received about 19 inches of snow in what has become the snowiest January in more than a century of record keeping. The average winter in New York City brings 21 inches of snow; this winter there has been more than 50 inches. The abundance of snow has already caused the city to go over-budget on snow removal with nearly a month of winter yet to go.

If you make improvements to a rent-regulated apartment or you make a building-wide major capital improvement (MCI) to a property, you may be entitled to a rent increase. The amount of an “individual apartment improvement” rent increase is equal to 1/40th of an improvement's cost.