Tenants

The tenant is responsible. But is she sure about the paint? Supposedly it contains synthetic latex, which doesn't affect those with allergies to the real thing. In any case, what does she propose to use -- oil? -- and is she sure that won't cause a problem? They'll have to vacate for at least a week because of the fumes.

I has become a culture based on texting and impersonal internet contact characterized by a loss of any sense of manners or civility. Trust me, most of them are worse in real life, 25 going on 14. You don't want them as tenants.

nytimes.com: Rules That Govern Sharing the Rent Q. I am a tenant in a rent-stabilized two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan and have taken in a roommate. We orally agreed that she would pay 60 percent of the rent and I would sign two-year renewal leases for the apartment. But when the lease was renewed in September with an 8 percent increase, the roommate refused to pay her share of the increase. What can I do? A. Martin Heistein, a Manhattan lawyer who represents property owners, said that under state law, every rent-stabilized tenant has the right, with certain limitations, to have one roommate. The roommate can be charged only his or her proportionate share of the rent. “There is much litigation on what constitutes a ‘proportionate share,’ ” Mr. Heistein said, “but the 60/40 split would probably be upheld.” Regarding the roommate’s refusal to pay the increase, he said, the remedy is for the writer to start an eviction proceeding in the New York City Housing Court, where it will be up to the writer to prove that the roommate agreed to pay increases on subsequent renewals.

Your photo tells us far more about the condition of the apartment with or with out the hole. Can't see the forest for the trees?