Landlord added legal fees to rent bill

[susan25]

Landlord took me to court at 111 centre street in HOLDOVER EVICTION proceeding claiming that I refused apartment access. In March it was resolved in MEDIATION court with a stipulation. I agreed to give access and they got it. To protect myself I added the following paragraph to the stipulation "LEGAL FEES AND COURT COSTS WAIVED BY BOTH PARTIES". They agreed and stipulation was signed by managing agent and the landlords attorney. Now 2 months have passed and I get my rent bill which also has over 3 grand "legal fees" added on .They signed a stipulation stating I dont have to pay thir and now they have added it to my rent bill. This agreement is also signed by housing court judge . My QUESTIONS #1 Are they in defualt of the stipulation ?
#2 Is it legal for a landlord to ask a tenant for legal fees by adding it to the rent bill? #3 Do I take THEM to civil court to get this removed from the rent bill? I have no idea what to do.PLEASE HELP ANY ADVICE APPRECIATED..

[Lilly]

It's my understanding that once a stipulation is signed by the parties and the judge, that's it. LL would have to go back into court on that issue and its my understanding that stipulations are rarely vacated or not enforced - I do not believe your LL is entitled to the legal fees atall and moreover if you are rent stabilized you can file an overcharge complaint as the LL is attempting to collect monies in excess of the (your) legal rent. YOu might also send him a copy of the stip with your next rent check.

[Cranky Tenant]

The LL isn't entitled to any legal fees unless theres a clause in your lease, or the fees are awarded in court,. Legal fees are treated differently from rent - the LL can't bring a non-payment suit based on the fact that you didn't pay them.

How you should respond to this probably depends on whether or not your landlord has your social security number and can report this to a credit bureau. In that case you probably should send him a copy of the stipulation and ask him to remove the fees.

If the LL doesn't have your social security number, you can probably just ignore it.

[susan25]

Re; BOILERPLATE reply...someone asked if I added a paragraph AFTER stipulation was signed..NO I DID NOT..the stipulation had 6 paragraphs that were numbered . Out of my request the landlords attorney agreed that paragraph number 4 state "LEGAL FEES AND COURT COSTS WAIVED BY BOTH PARTIES" . This attorney and the buildings managing agent signed the stipulation with this paragraph included. Nothing was added after it was signed by myself, the attorney, the agent and the judge. I am appalled that you would even assume it, All parties involved get a copy and there is also a copy on file in the court house.

[TenantNet]

Clearing up a few things. LLs may SEEK legal fees in housing court ONLY if there's a clause in the lease allowing this. Most clauses are written that only LLs may seek legal fees, but it works both ways if the tenant wins. Here there was no court decision, i.e., it didn't go to trial. There was mediation and a stip. LL is not entitled to any legal fees. Cranky is imprecise. A clause in the lease does not, by itself, give the LL the right for fees. It must be awarded by a judge. But if a judge had awarded fees, the LL could probably go back to housing court seeking a contempt order. Or file and collect a judgment. Lilly is also a tad wrong. Overcharges with DHCR are only if you actually paid the overcharge (the legal fees). We never really advise tenants to take or not take actions on the credit bureau argument. That's buying into intimidation and they could get you whether or not they have your SS#. Me Again is just pushing his LL bias - so ignore him. There really aren't 'boilerplate' stips, and he read something into the question that wasn't there - as he often does. But his final advice is probably correct. Ignore it. It's intimidation. If you want to make a fuss, then haul the LL down to DHCR for harassment. DHCR won't do anything, but it forces him to waste half a day. Unless you fight back (when appropriate), they will continue the intimidation.

[NYHawk]

or, bring an order to show cause to hold the l/l in contempt of court for violating the stip. once the stip. is signed by a judge it becomes not only a contract but also a court order, the violation of which is punishable by contempt.

[susan25]

For starters, I wanna thank all those who took the time out to post replies and give advice. It is a great help and has stopped my anxiety over this. To quickly update..I dug up the original pre-historic lease agreement (circa 1969) and discovered a bizarre paragraph that included this
"....reasonable counsel fees shall be deemed to be additional rent to be paid by tenant to landlord on the first day of the month following such payment or expenditures"..
I think the weasel landlord is using this lease statement against me in trying to add legal fees to my monthly rent bill. Is that part of the lease still legal in the year 2003?
. I did consider filing a harrassment complaint with the DHCR..but I had a really bad experience with the DHCR in the past, they can be real landlord-kissing 2 face phonies !!!! I once contacted their ofices because management was verbally harrassing my family. I told them not to contact anyone with my info because I just wanted advice.As soon as I hung up the phone, that back stabbing weasel called up the landlords office and told him everyting I said, It infuriated management. Sure enough 2 months later, landlord came up with some crap excuse for a holdover eviction in retaliation. Contacting the DHCR was a mistake..they love landlords..it is an imbalance of power for tenants. DHCR is corrupt. Sorry to offend anyone, but I do not trust the DHCR !! The housing court judge did more for me then anyone in the DHCR !!
Hey NY Hawk..I like that idea..thanks
P.S. Can a landlord misuse my "rent payment" for his personal fluffed up legal fees ??

[Lilly]

Nope-just be sure to note on the memo portion of your rent check that its for ____ month, '03

[Cranky Tenant]

I dug up the original pre-historic lease agreement (circa 1969) ??[/QB]

IF your original lease is from 1969 you should check to make sure you apartment isn't rent controlled. The Rent Stabilizatin Law was enacted in 1969 so it sounds like you moved in during the transition.

http://www.tenant.net/Rent_Laws/RSL/rsltoc.html

Either way, even if your lease says legal fees can be treated as rent Housing Court doesn't see it that way. Landlords do have a tendancy to take rent and apply it to any previous balance first, so take Lilly's advice and specify exactly what your rent payment is for.

[TenantNet]

I think the point is being missed. There ARE no legal fees here -- no fees were ordered by any judge. The issue of collection of any legal fees is irrelevant.

[mbrenner]

How about SENDING this month's rent (maybe certified mail) with a letter and a copy of the stip --

Any comments?

[jot0n0]

Iris' suggestion is a sound one. This may all be an oversight in the management billing department. The person sending out the bill may not be aware of the stipulation voiding legal fees and sending them your normal month rent with letter of explanation and copy of stipulation may clear everything up.