New York, NY asked in Consumer Law, Contracts, Real Estate Law and Landlord - Tenant for New York

Q: After signing a lease, discovered apt was misrepresented (size, health and safety issues). Is this basis to break lease?

We just signed a 22 month lease for an apartment through a 3rd party broker, but after moving into the apartment we discovered 1) the apartment is smaller than what the broker said (650 sq ft vs ~ 900 sq ft); 2) does not have the building door security that was claimed; 3) and the bedrooms and bathroom smell of stale cigarette smoke (which was not evident during initial apt viewing). We immediately notified the building owners and brokers of these issues, and our desire to terminate the least (within 1 day of lease start date). If the management company which the lease was signed with does not allow us to break the lease, what are our options? If the broker misrepresented the apartment, do they have any obligations to help us cancel the lease or find replacement tenants?

2 Lawyer Answers
Michael David Siegel
Michael David Siegel
Answered
  • New York, NY
  • Licensed in New York

A: Negotiate the best deal you can. You have little legal ground to stand on. You can only be liable for the time the apartment is unrented.

Barry E. Janay
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Answered
  • Livingston, NJ
  • Licensed in New York

A: The other attorney is for the most part correct, however I would add that if the misrepresentations were big enough to be deemed "material" and the habitability of the unit is in question you may have grounds to break the lease without penalty.

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