Our rental property has been severely neglected for years and the landlord has not addressed any serious maintenance issues. Do we as tenants have legal options to take over the management or ownership of the building and ensure that it is properly maintained?
If you have submitted your complaints about the condition of the building to the landlord in writing, called the 311 hotline and even withheld rent without success, it is possible that tenants will take over the building. “You can bring a special procedure before the housing court where a third of the tenants of a building ask the court to appoint a manager who will step in and take the place of the owner,” says Altagracia Pierre-Outerbridge, lawyer and founder of Outerbridge Law. represents residential tenants, condo owners and landlords.
This is known as a Article 7-A procedure and if successful, the landlord would be removed and replaced by a manager controlled by Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). If the city forecloses on the building due to unpaid taxes, it could also be turned over to HPD.
The building will then be included in one of the agency’s affordable housing or tenant ownership programs. To obtain tenant ownership, you will need to take steps to convert the building into a Co-operative Housing Organization (HDFC). These are low-income cooperatives that benefit from reduced property taxes in exchange for imposing income and resale restrictions. Converting an Article 7-A or foreclosed building into an HDFC is complex and accomplished through a separate ownership transfer process.
Putting tenants first
Currently, there is a New York State bill known as TOPA, or Tenant opportunity to purchase, Consideration is being given to facilitating this transfer process by ensuring that tenants are the first to be offered the building when it comes up for sale. This would also help protect buildings from aggressive buyouts by investors focused on profit rather than preserving affordable housing.
The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA (Intro 902), is a City Council bill that would give nonprofits, including community land trusts, the first opportunity to purchase multifamily buildings when they are put up for sale – with the goal of creating and preserving permanently affordable housing.
The legislation has 34 sponsors in the City Council, giving it veto power. Recently, more than thirty community development companies and developers sent a letter calling on City Council President Adrienne Adams and the City Council to pass the bill.
Being organized is key
Working with other tenants in your building gives you the best chance of getting rid of a negligent landlord and potentially converting your building to an HDFC. You have the legal right to form a tenants’ association. This means that you can divide the legal costs among the group members if necessary.
Having a lawyer is also important. “It’s a complicated process,” said Pierre-Outerbridge, who is working with tenants of 25 MacDonough St. as they try to improve conditions in their 19-unit rental building in Bed-Stuy. “We started with violations and now HPD has taken over the building,” she explained.
HPD control can come about after a legal battle with the landlord. Filing an HP action is often the first step; This is a case brought in housing court to address unsafe conditions. An HPD attorney will be a party to the action and will attend these legal proceedings. This puts the building on HPD’s radar and ensures the agency is aware of the neglect.
We move on to HPD control
As the legal battle progresses, HPD will decide whether they want to have responsibility for the property. “The larger the fines, the more likely it is to be a building that HPD is interested in,” Pierre-Outerbridge said. During this time, tenant meetings typically take place in the lobby and tenants are given the opportunity to ask questions.
Once under HPD’s control, tenants can form a corporation and purchase the building through an affordable housing initiative. “This is a clear legal and administrative process that follows the 7-A or execution phase,” Pierre-Outerbridge said. It involves educating about how buildings are managed, organizing a tenant ballot and advocating for HDFC conversion where tenants can buy their apartments. “Typically each apartment costs $2,500,” says Pierre-Outerbridge. The amount reflects the nominal buy-in required to keep conversions feasible for tenants.
If the tenants choose not to purchase the building, it can be sold to a private developer and if the building’s rent is stabilized, that status will remain.
Understand your rights
When HPD takes over a building, they must first determine who lives there, what renovation work is needed and what bills need to be paid. Nonprofits like the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) are likely to get involved.
“We encourage tenants to retain their own attorney at this time,” Pierre-Outerbridge said. “Sometimes there will be attempts to cut a three-bedroom apartment in half,” she added. You need someone to advocate for you to ensure that well-intentioned goals to increase the number of affordable housing units do not negatively impact your living space.
You must prove that you are a bona fide tenant of the building. This means showing your previous leases, Pierre-Outerbridge said. You will also need to identify unsafe conditions in your apartment and there will usually be a push for rent payments.
According to Pierre-Outerbridge, conditions in the apartments are often so poor that you will likely have to move for repairs. “You are entitled to a comparable apartment and before you move, you must have a relocation agreement,” she added. In these situations, agreements are often one-sided and do not protect the tenant. So it is important to have an attorney review the documents.
Becoming an HDFC cooperative
The process of transitioning to a new landlord or to a tenant-owned cooperative structure can take many years. In some cases, the original landlord tries to get the building back. “There are still many battles to be fought,” Pierre-Outerbridge said.
The choice to convert the building into an HDFC usually takes place once the move is over. A lawyer can ensure that the elections run smoothly and that a quorum is reached. “Officers have to be installed, then there’s a period of training, and once you complete that program, you and your neighbors own your building,” she says.
Altagracia Pierre-Outerbridge, Esq. is the owner of Outerbridge Law PC, which focuses primarily on tenant representation. The firm represents all parties in landlord-tenant disputes and transactional matters, such as monthly overages, nuisance cases, licensee cases, harassment claims, repair cases, tenant buyouts, inheritance claims, DHCR overcharges and rent reductions and more. Pierre-Outerbridge has 15 years of litigation experience before Supreme, DHCR and Housing Court. To submit a question for this column, click here. To contact Outerbridge Law PC directly, call 212-364-5612 or 877-OUTERBRIDGE, or schedule a meeting today.
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