BMBB represents tenants in a broad range of matters, including housing discrimination, summary holdover and nonpayment proceedings, constructive and actual eviction actions, overcharges, rent stabilization and rent control proceedings and premises liability actions. We also represent condominium and co-op owners in litigation against their condominium or coop, as well as commercial tenants. In addition, the firm represents purchasers and sellers of real property, including single and two-family homes, multiple dwellings, cooperatives and condominiums.
Housing Discrimination
Federal, state and local civil-rights laws provide rights and remedies to victims of discrimination in the purchase, leasing or occupancy of residential properties. The firm has successfully represented plaintiffs in cases under these statutes and had achieved favorable settlements for our clients. In 2007, we achieved a significant settlement against a landlord who, in the wake of September 11, had discriminated and retaliated against an Arab-American tenant.
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Summary Holdover and Nonpayment Proceedings
Nonpayment Proceedings: In a nonpayment proceeding, the landlord seeks to evict the tenant because the tenant is delinquent in his or her rent. Tenants may assert many defenses to the proceeding, including the landlord’s breach of the warranty of habitability the landlord’s charging of an unlawful rent for a regulated apartment, constructive or actual eviction based on uninhabitability, or a landlord’s breach of the lease. We have been successful in obtaining abatements of rent and damages for rent overcharges on behalf of hundreds of tenants in these cases, and represent tenant groups in litigation over these issues. In 2006 the firm obtained a jury verdict awarding a tenant the largest punitive damages award in New York State against a landlord for breaching the warranty of habitability. Holdover Proceedings: A landlord may sue to evict a tenant on grounds such as an expired lease, the non-primary residence of the tenant, the landlord’s need for the apartment for the landlord or the landlord’s family to use, nuisance or other breach of the lease. In cases where the landlord is using these grounds as an excuse to unlawfully evict a tenant, BMBB has aggressively defended the tenant’s rights to remain in the apartment or be paid just compensation to vacate. BMBB has also successfully represented occupants of apartments in establishing tenancy rights based on family succession. You need not have been married or been registered as a domestic partner to the departing tenant or related by blood to establish family succession tenancy rights.
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Rent Stabilization and Rent Control Rights
BMBB has extensive knowledge of New York’s rent regulation laws and can help you to determine and protect your rights in this area. Rent regulation issues often faced by tenants include: Rent Overcharges: Tenants may unknowingly be paying rent in excess of the legal regulated rent. In 2005, Mark H. Bierman won a landmark case, Mohassel v. Fenwick, in which New York State’s highest court upheld a tenant’s award for rent overcharges plus treble damages and interest, totaling over $125,000. In another case in 2005, the Court upheld our client’s right to an overcharge award, including treble damages, in excess of $250,000. See Waverly Associates v. NYS Div. Of Housing and Community Renewal. Recently, the firm won a major ruling relating to the rights of tenants in lofts to become rent stabilized. Major Capital Improvement ("MCI") Applications: Landlords in rent regulated properties may seek to obtain rent increases based on work performed in the building. These applications can be defeated or the amount of the increase limited. Demolition or Substantial Rehabilitation: Landlords are now seeking to remove entire buildings from rent regulation by applying to demolish the building, based on extensive renovations. BMBB has been in the forefront of the legal battle to defeat these applications.
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Rights of Cooperative and Condominium Owners
BMBB represents condominium and cooperative owners, both individuals and groups, to protect their homes. This representation ranges from negotiating with condominium and cooperative boards to representing clients in litigation against their condominium or coop.
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Premises Liability
BMBB represents persons who have suffered injuries as a result of a building owner’s failure to maintain its property in a safe condition. A tenant may also sue for injuries caused by the premises’ lead based paint. In 2006, BMBB recovered a verdict from a federal court jury for a family exposed to lead paint.
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Commercial Leasing
BMBB represents commercial tenants in a variety of areas. These include lease negotiations, defense of actions and proceedings, and pro-active litigation to protect tenancy rights, including actions for injunctive relief and "Yellowstone" actions to stop the running of notices to cure or terminate.
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Purchases and Sales of Real Property
BMBB represents purchasers and sellers of real property, including
single and two-family homes, multiple dwellings, cooperatives and
condominiums.
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