Ripped up Roof Deck
Came home from work to see that my landlord had removed our deck (that he installed) because of water damage in the unit below. He stated that it won’t be replaced. This was a major selling point when we moved in and we’re sad to see it go. Do I have any rights here as…
Came home from work to see that my landlord had removed our deck (that he installed) because of water damage in the unit below. He stated that it won’t be replaced.
This was a major selling point when we moved in and we’re sad to see it go.
Do I have any rights here as a tenant?
rh, might be a daft question, but why can’t you have a plastic chair on the tar roof? I have a lounge chair on mine, but will remove it if I’m doing damage to my room.
Ta.
I would weigh whether or not you want to stay there without outdoor space.
Then, find out if the landlord will let you up there at all. If there isn’t any kind of protection on the roof, he probably won’t. In that case I would approach the landlord and request a reduction. If the landlord wants you to stay, they might consider it.
If you threaten any sort of legal action, the landlord could simply not renew your lease when it is up.
From a landlord point of view, the headaches and liability of renting an apartment with a roof deck just isn’t worth it. I would rather charge less rent. Or find another tenant.
But since the apartment was advertised with outdoor space, it isn’t unreasonable to ask for a rent reduction.
You can’t get it back legally, that is.
If the landlord put it in, and it is illegal, he may very well have known that when he put it in, and did so anyway, either because he was living there and wanted to use it, or wanted to use it to get more rent from tenants.
If he’s the type who doesn’t care whether it is legal or not (and my guess is that he is – I’d never build an illegal deck), when faced a negotiation for a potential rent reduction, he may prefer to rebuild it, legal or not.
I doubt the lease mentions the deck at all.
Of course, IF the deck is an illegal one (though I would not assume that from a picture), you can’t get it back. But that doesn’t mean you can’t negotiate a rent reduction.
Boy oh boy, what a can of worms. It seems as though everyone here brought up the issues in play. To me it seems no win for you, the tenant, at least insofar as getting back the deck.
People are right to suggest examining the lease for any language that states you have access to/ are renting the space with a deck. And what are the remedies if the deck is removed/ or is there language stating that the deck can be removed with no effect on the rent? Anything is possible, I would read it carefully.
The deck appears to be one that is not code, and therefore was not approved to be there, and an inspection or a complaint could have led to its removal. Again, does the lease provide a remedy to the tenant in such an event?
The gas grill in the picture – hard to tell, but if that’s a grill with a propane tank, it is definitely not permitted on that roof or roof deck.
So my take is that there are the issues of whether the deck is/was allowed to be there in the form it was in, what kind of deck would be allowed there and what would be required to accomplish that, what rights you have to a rent adjustment due to diminished services – even though they might not have been legally provided, what your best options are.
And, all you “check your lease” folks should know…there are many items in standard NY rental leases that are totally unenforceable under the law.
And all laws that apply in landlord/tenant cases are not covered in leases – there’s a whole body of laws and cases that apply – they aren’t all in your lease.
I wasn’t suggesting suggesting starting a legal battle, going to court, or pumping anyone up – but merely finding out from someone actually knowledgeable what one’s rights are (tenants do have some rights, even in non-stabilized apartments). That’s always good advice. As well as is finding out what options (negotiating strategies, etc.) are possible. That’s worth a few bucks to find out from someone who actually knows.
And, I’ve known many people who lived in rent stabilized apartments that didn’t know it at first – many landlords charge a market rent, and the tenant only later finds out the apartment is actually stabilized, and has a legal regulated rent lower than what is currently being charged. Which would also mean other regulations applicable to stabilized apartments would apply.
fsrq pretty much lays it out. You need to be practical. See what you can get in rent reduction. You will not win in court; you will just make yourself miserable. It’s too bad though. And of course, if a deck means a lot, see what you can find elsewhere and work something out on the lease with the landlord. Stay away from court, really.
I’m more concerned about the people next door, with their plastic blow-away chairs sitting directly on that tar roof.