Q: My landlord insulted and cursed at me in public and he also offended me about my "nationality", what can I do about it?
My landlord lives downstairs (in the basement of a 2 family house). We are the tenants at first floor. We're 4 people. Couple with a son and a daughter (both age 20+). We pay rent regularly and we're a normal quiet family.
Last night my landlord was sitting outside in his backyard and he started yelling and cursing (which is not the first time, but before we didn't know it was against us, then last night we realized that).. He said the worst words but the most offensive thing was about our "nationality"... He was discriminating us.
His voice was full of anger and hate.
We never said anything bad to him before. We always respected him and we've never done wrong to him.
We called the police to report what happened and to also tell them we felt threatened because there's a door in our apartment connected to his apartment (and he never gave us the key since we got the apartment...) they said we can put a locker on the door and about the offenses they couldn't help... So what can we do?
A: First, put a lock on the door as the police suggested. You are entitled to undisturbed possession except in case of an emergency. As far as the yelling and cursing, that makes him an obnoxious loudmouth. If he insults our nationality, he is also a bigot. But as far as I know, that does not make him unique, and I do not think there is anyone in jail on those grounds alone. If he is disturbing your quiet enjoyment, you are entitled to break your lease and move out, which seems to me the sensible thing to do. Keep records and recordings before you do in case he sues you for back rent.
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A: You can file a complaint with the NYC Div. of Human Rights, more information can be found here: http://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/law/in-housing.page
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