Landlord moved sales agent into bld to harrass tenants

true rent regulated tenants...contact org. called Tenants & Neighboors

I salute your landlord for pushing out rent regulated tenants. Rent regulation should end.

How is she harassing you? If she is doing anything illegal, get a record of it (e.g. videotape, recording device of some kind) and take action. If she gives you dirty looks, or comments that you are breaking some building rules, that's not actionable. Unfortunately, many of NY's rent regulated apartments are occupied by unqualified people and the landlord has the right to find out, without acting in an illegal manner of course, if that is the case.

are rent-controlled tenants required to be in their apt all the time? My neighbor is paying $200 a month for a 1BR and only comes into his apt for a few hours.

I purchased several peephole cameras today to document agent banging on walls in hallways at all hours, stomping, abusive language, and threatening verbal and physical behavior. Dirty looks we could live with! Funny, building goes up for sale, then landlord moves in sales agent to a vacant apartment (will not name large prestigous real estate firm). We are goimg to file a complaint with NYS dept of state against sales agent and go to police, da, ag with documentation of harassing behavior..POLICE ARE NO HELP, all they say is we should move.

I moved into bld 5 years ago after rent controlled tenant and rent was increased up to market rate. all the rent regulated (controlled 85 yr olds and stabilized youngins are living here - no subterfuge). Damn what people will do for a few $$$!!!

As far as I know, rent regulated tenants must keep their apt. as primary residence i.e. being there at least 6 months out of a year. There are no requirements abount hours per day spent in their residence. They can leave to work, maybe even take a vacation, stay in a hospital witout losing their place. Would it make you happier if your neighbor were there 10 hours a day? 12 hours per day? Paying $1,300? How much do you pay? How much time do you spend in your apartment?

If this person is indeed a real estate agent, can't you report him/her to the real estate board? That certainly isn't professional behaviour. Find out where they work & report this activity to the agency. Talk to a lawyer & see what their ideas are. As awful as this is, you want to be sure that you don't break any laws as you retaliate because that is probably one of the things these people are hoping for. Have a meeting of all of the tenants - 2 heads are better than one! What about local government? The mayor? Social services agencies? Particularly the elderly residents may have access to this. Everybody get together - there is strength in numbers. GOOD LUCK & let us know how it goes.

What building are you referring too? What is the address? Inquiring minds want to know

This from NYC.gov:

What should I do if my building owner is harassing me?
Building owners are prohibited by law from harassing tenants to force them out of their apartments. Examples of harassment include verbal or physical abuse, consistent withholding of services, or persistent physical or mental intimidation.

Tenants in rent regulated apartments who believe they are being harassed by their building owner may contact the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). Call 311 for information or visit DHCR's website.

Tenants who live in buildings that are not rent regulated who believe they are being harassed may have grounds to initiate legal action in Housing Court against their building owners. Tenants may want to consult with and secure the services of an attorney before initiating any lawsuit. Tenants who cannot afford legal representation may be eligible for free or inexpensive assistance from the Legal Aid Society, which may be reached at (212) 577-3300. Tenants may also seek legal assistance from HPD's Fair Housing Counselors who offer advice and Housing Court Mediation services. Assistance is also available at information tables set up in Housing Court.

How is this going? Please let us know. Good luck!

Certainly, if you are stating the actions of your landlord is abusive in nature, you have every right to pursue both the landlord and the sales agent. You should contact a local real estate attorney with litigation experience to expose such nonsense. The most drastic option would be to embarrass both the landlord and the agent with the use of media investigative resources (NBC, ABC, CBS). The police is incorrect as you could file for disorderly conduct and disturbance of peace (i.e. noise) due to the agent's malicious actions. You must document every action in order to win a case of malice and oppression. Your argument should be you were oppressed by the malicious actions of the landlord and his/her agent such as ....

You also have the opportunity to prove that the landlord may have a verbal contract to remove you in order to obtain higher bidders for the complex. My suggestion would be to act innocent and not to react to their behavior. Any reactions - verbal or physical - may result in your negligence.

Again, you have every right to pursue this matter in court. You will need to hire an experienced real estate and litigation law firm to file proper paperwork. You may also want the courts to pursue the matter by requesting official financial documentations from the real estate broker to prove that he/she is paying rent. An appraiser will also be useful to determine the fair market value of the property. The agent must show that he/she is making 40x the amount of rent as his/her annual salary. The agent must also show how payment is processed to the landlord for his/her rent. THerefore, a request for his/her financial statements are useful. Your attorney may also request documentations of previous occupation of apartments by the broker and his/her monthly rental dues. THe landlord must also provide documentations of a contract between the him/herself and the broker.

If you believe your civil rights were also denied due to the landlord's negligence, you may contact the NY Civil Liberties Union for advisory. However, I believe most large real estate law firms will take up your case on a contingency basis - no payment now; however, they will charge you a fee if you win. And trust me... they will take your case in a heartbeat if they know the landlord has $$$

to post 7, the rent-controlled tenant appears in his apt maybe once a month for a couple hours and then leaves until next month. He pays $200 while I pay $1600 for the same space.

to #13. Do you think your rent would decrease if your neighbor were to move? If neighbor were to move, you and new neighbor would pay $1600 each. Landlord gets $1400 more. How does this help you? Are you in a co-op and jealous of a legacy tenant with rent regulation?Also, are you CERTAIN its only a couple of hours per month, maybe neighbor is always there when you are not. At least the tenant is not profiterring by renting rooms or such.

rent regulation is evil and hurts the working class by artificially protecting a select few; it ends up in people gaming the system (like you landlord and neighbor) and creating issues across the board. this will never end until rent regulation is abolished.

as a middle income tenant, i personally wouldn't be able to afford living in manhattan without rent stabilization. i'm hard working and definitely not evil. the evil lies in the inflated rents charged by some buildings to such an extent to be absolutely unaffordable for the workers that make this city really work - think teachers, cops, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, restaurant workers, etc

you're not getting it #16. your rent is already artificially inflated due to the supply/demand issues created by rent regulation. it ha been proven time and again by every leading economist that rent control ends up keeping average rents higher than a free market system. unfortunately this is an emotional issue, not one where logic is applied, and therefore instead of discussion we get street protests and someone inevitably trots out some little old lady in front of the news cameras who will be homeless if rent regulation goes away. see:http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/_nysun-study_rent_controls.htm and http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-274.html

End all rent regulation.

#17 and 18 -- rent regulation was only put into effect in cities that already had housing shortages (extremely low vacancy rates) under the free-market system. All of those northern cities that had rent regs survived and recovered from the policies that gutted cities in the post-war period -- NYC, Boston, SF, Santa Monica, etc. All of those northern cities that long ago removed their regs are beyond revival (Detroit, Baltimore, Philly, etc. etc.) or have had much slower recoveries (as in Chicago). The regs kept the middle-class in the city, while owners sold and moved "in advance of" deterioration -- thus actually creating plummeting values and neglect. If you (and those ideologically-driven economists) were right about supply and demand, and rent regs caused high prices, the resulting high rents would spur the development of new (unregulated) rental construction, thus ending the shortage. Why hasn't that happened? Because in an entirely different (regulated) building a tenant is paying less than market? Of course not. If I bought my apartment ten years ago and have mortgage payments of x, and you just bought the twin apartment next door, would you grouse about how "unfair" it is that your mortgage is 4x?

Would like to hear from the original poster which building this is.

Not a good idea for the original poster to divulge this info. Why tip off the enemy. Keep your mouth shut, your head down, document, document, document & get in touch with the authorities. Pronto.

#19 -- price regulation of any kind is always exploited and in the end favors only those who have connections. It doesn't allow for normal economic migrations of resources and stifles growth. During wartime and crises they may be a necessary evil, but not anymore. Take a good walk through Stuy town sometime and ask anyone under the age of 30 who live there how they got their "rent regulated" apartments. Most of the time an "uncle" got them in on a lease that has been "in the family" for years. Why are they forced to play the system 1)because you can 2) because false controls have escalated the cost of remaining inventory.

Face it. Rent control should go the way of unions. Both were appropriate dysfunctions at one time, but that time is over.

#22 -- you seemed to have dodged the effect of rent regs that I mentioned -- those northern, real cities with it have prospered, while those without it have suffered. You're letting ideology block acceptance of real-world results. Similarly, you're harping on a vague sense of "unfairness"--in reality, uncle relationships don't constitute immediate family and MetLife isn't so stupid that they'd convey a lease under that game.

Detroit has "normal economic migrations of resources" -- take a good long walk through that city (or what remains of it).

You also haven't told me why I, as a developer, should build rental housing that's NOT going to bring me massive windfalls because of an escalated cost of remaining inventory. Yet you are aware that new construction since 1974 has been free of regs, right?

Unions, are among the only explanations for why construction costs -- not including land cost differences -- in Manhattan are twice those in Jersey City.

first off #23 - do you think anyone in Stuy town living on a "family lease" has the lease trasferred? My ex-girlfriend lived there for years on the "family lease" paying $1,100 for a huge 1BR

secondly, it is an extremely simplistic view that says "rent regulation is what saved NYC". Why then was it in the shitter through the '70s and '80s, the same way those other dregs of cities were? Only until more centrist mayors came into play that created a business freindly (and developer friendly) environment did the city rebound. Rent regulation has absolutely nothing to do with it as the people living on rent reg were not the new blood that re-invigorated the dying economy.

Finally your argument about developers makes no sense. Sure I'll take a falsely inflated market to build in, but any developer would prefer an open system in which the rules of the game are clear.

At least you got the union thing right. They continue to destroy any market's competitiveness.