Q: What recourse is there against landlord who non-renews for retaliation?
We received the notice over 90-days prior to renewal (June 1), that our lease will not be renewing. We have lived in this apartment building (with over 190 units) in Rochester New York for four years now. We have always paid our rent in full and on time, have not violated any lease terms/community guidelines, and do not have any complaints from other tenants - verified with our leasing office on a recorded call. Their only response was “ We don’t need to tell you.”
Some background -while living here, our only interactions with our leasing/management team has been to resolve legitimate, basic issues (like appliance repair/package theft/etc).
*Our building has slowly transitioned to mostly international college students as residents - who they NEVER ask them to fix anything (likely since they leave their apartments in squalor)
To us, it’s obvious retaliation - we’re the few that ask for anything
What compensation/recourse is there?
*They are not renovating / our apt is spotless
A:
Dear Rochester Tenant:
In New York State housing law, retaliatory eviction is among the recognized statutory defenses a tenant has available when the landlord terminates the rental agreement, and the tenant contests the end of the tenancy as a defense of the landlord's holdover proceeding.
"...3. A landlord shall be subject to a civil action for damages,
attorney's fees and costs and other appropriate relief, including
injunctive and other equitable remedies, as may be determined by a court
of competent jurisdiction in any case in which the landlord has violated
the provisions of this section..." [https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/223-B].
Properly asserting this defense will force the landlord to prove a non-retaliatory ground to deny the new lease.
"...The effect of the presumption shall be to require the landlord to
establish a non-retaliatory motive for his acts by a preponderance of
the evidence..."
Tim Akpinar and Jack Mevorach agree with this answer
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