Mold, Leaks - Lease /LL / Agent Questions, Advice?

>broke a finger
>lose a nail
>ceiling has 'rained" on us aroud 5 times
>big puddles on the floor, on our bed, and so on.
>smell that moldy, musty funk
>the health symptoms
>tons of rust, dirt, dust, debris that can be mesured in inches and pounds.
>the stink
>bronchitis
>another sinus infection
>Eyes burn and so on

>Do you think I could/should ask for some rent compensation?

Yes, see if you can get $50-$100 off of February. Just put a few words in the memo line on the check, and everything should be ok. Including your health. That will come back too. Maybe not just for $50, but for the $100, you should have your health back.

Get OUT. Tell the landlord you are leaving, the place is uninhabitable. YOu are leaving as soon as you find a place. Which should be soon. Go find a place. Then bring all your documented complaints to your small claims courts and get $5000 back. Do not pay for February. Stop being an idiot - the whole inconvenience is ridiculous, but you are also claiming that the apartment has caused you direct health problems. Get out now.

Wow. Thanks for the iron bars my spine surely needs!
Do I need a lawyer for small clams court?
Would doing this blacklist me rom other rental situations?

Thanks!

>Do I need a lawyer for small clams court?

No, but you can't be sloppy either. Bring clear evidence. An abundant amount. Well organized.

>Would doing this blacklist me rom other rental situations?

No. It isn't housing court. And it's just a condo owner, not a rental company. Don't worry about that nonsense anyway. It's industry bullshit to scare people to conform.

I don't know why we have been such wussies about this.

BrooklynNewbie:
huntersburg has given you good advice.
Hope that you have e-mails, photos and video to bring to Small Claims Court.

Document each and every problem.

Good luck and now you will know better, for your next rental.

The silly thing is that we have never, ever had a problematic rental like this - in NYC, or anywhere else.
In fact, we have always been called "favourite tenants" more thn once.
We have also owned a co-op and 3 different houses, so we aren't kids.
I think it is, in part, because it is so surprising to have such a lazy and unresponsive LL.
Then there's the fact that we just plain fell for this place and went a bit out of our rental budget and were a bit nervous about encouraging a rent increase next time around.
But yeah, it is nuts and time to say goodbye here unless LL offers some major concessions and cleanup/repairs.

Thank you all.

BrooklynNewbie:
Live and learn, no matter what your age and former co-op ownership experiences.

Now you know what to do, so do it and go on with your life living/renting under better, well-informed circumstances.

All the best to you and yours.

Thanks, Truth.
But ugh - having to look again. fcuk.

That's life, BrooklynNewbie.
We get better at the "looking", through our past experiences.
The "finding" makes it all worth the aggravation.
Life is a journey of discovery.

>But yeah, it is nuts and time to say goodbye here unless LL offers some major concessions and cleanup/repairs.

Sounds good, if they give you 25% off, what's a little bronchitis, broken fingers, loose nails, puddles in the apartment, bad stink, sinus infection, burning eyes, funk, rust, wet ceilings, mold, debris ... this is New Fuckin Yawk City, this isn't a town where they spell the word "favourite" and stick our pinkies out when drinking afternoon tea with our cucumber sandwiches and Tim Hortons donuts. Toughen up, it all comes down to money, you aren't kids.

Yes,
please forget about hoping that your Landlord "offers some major concessions and cleanup/repairs."
You have a bad landlord.

Time to move on. That's the best thing about renting.

One, no, two more questions :

1. Our LL isn't a bad guy, just cheap and lazy so I would prefer to attempt settling on something w/o suing But what to ask for? Some rent rebate, deposit and maybe some moving+agent fee dough?

2. What do you think of having a conversation with that agent regarding them finding us a new place but waiving the fee (in exchange for my NOT posting bad rviews on yelp)?

Thank you all again.

If you are worried about the potential health impacts, then it may be wise to retain an environmental firm to come in and test. With these results you'll be in a much better position to negotiate with your landlord and determine whether you need to pursue legal action.

A potentially serious risk to your health isn't worth saving a small amount of rent each month.

Oh, I am definitely going to move and have started to look. But I'm weighing whether to ask LL for some money , to go to SC court or just GTFO ASAP.

BrooklynNewbie,
In my experience, an actual lawsuit doesn't have to come to fruition. MOST of the time, especially with individuals (and not larger organizations with easier access to big legal teams), just the mention of a lawsuit is all that's needed. I am NOT saying to give empty threats -- be prepared to follow through with whatever you say. However, many times the idea of going to court is NOT what many people, especially landlords -- especially YOUR landlord, it sounds like, want to do. Chances are, a lawsuit is the LAST thing your LL wants to deal with. If you get everything in order (and it sounds like you have the potential for lots of "ammunition"), things may be more effective if you mention legal action. Again, don't lie and be prepared. But your LL might be more willing to make concessions and/or get off his lazy butt (as you mention) if you do.

Best to just "GTFO ASAP".

The cost for an environmental firm to come in and test would be approx. $1,000.

If so, contact: "MicroEcologies".

Are you the type who can get invested in a conflict and see it through?