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Recommended lawyer?

NYC Housing Court Practice/Procedures

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Recommended lawyer?

Postby ThatFuzzyB » Thu Sep 15, 2011 1:29 am

Hello, everyone,

I've lived in New York apartments for over a decade without ever needing a lawyer. But now, I'm in a situation where I think the law is my best option, and I'm hoping someone here can recommend a good attorney or firm for my situation.

I'll try not to get into too much detail, but here's the basic story: We rented an apartment through a broker. We liked the apartment, but it had mold concerns. We signed the lease on the condition of mold abatement being done.

Since moving in on July 15, we've had 5 major leaks, and mold is everywhere. We found out that all the building has a slew of unresolved DHP complaints. And the broker turns out to be working directly for the landlord; all discussion of the repairs is being routed through the broker.

The landlord insists that all of our the problems are being caused by construction happening next door (an assertion we find dubious, since it's the opposite side of the building that's having trouble). What repairs the landlord has done have been done very badly.

We're fed up with trying to get the landlord to fix the problems, since it's clear they'll never fix the place properly. We just want out.

Our feeling is that whether the problems are caused by the construction next door or not, the apartment is too moldy to be habitable. We further contend that the broker knew about the problems and deliberately hid them from us.

We want to have the lease dissolved. We want to make sure we get our full security deposit back. We want the broker's fee refunded. We'd like some rent back for the months we paid for an uninhabitable apartment. And we'd love to get enough in damages to cover the cost of moving twice (and maybe a prosecution against the broker for pretty obvious dual-agency).

I think we're going to need a lawyer. Can anyone recommend a good one for our situation?

Much thanks!
ThatFuzzyB
 
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Postby TenantNet » Thu Sep 15, 2011 4:28 am

A number of tenant lawyers advertise on this site. Seems you want someone who can threaten rather than engage in litigation. But I'd call several and shop around.
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Recommended lawyer

Postby ThatFuzzyB » Thu Sep 15, 2011 8:18 am

I suspect you're right about threatening, but it'd be comforting to know I had someone who *could* litigate if that proves necessary. I suspect that getting out of the lease will be easy (the landlord is already making noises about that, furthering my suspicion that the landlord and broker are running a scam together), but getting our money back will be hard.

I did see some ads on the site, but a lot of them seem to be just AdWords matches. Any personal recommendations would be very much appreciated, as I know having the right lawyer can make a big difference!

Does anyone have thoughts, or a recommendation?
ThatFuzzyB
 
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Postby TenantNet » Thu Sep 15, 2011 9:32 am

Other than the Adwords, see the home page plus the top of each of the forum pages. Those are not Adwords and we know all of those advertisers; some we've even used. But since they're all our customers we won't pick one over the other. That's why you should shop around. One recommendation, don't pick someone who promises all you want.
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Information from TenantNet is from experienced non-attorney tenant
activists and is not considered legal advice.

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Kicking - Similar Situation

Postby eekahil » Tue Jan 15, 2013 8:08 pm

Hi Folks,

I just found this board via Brownstoner and am kicking this thread because my situation is so very similar.
OP, if you are still out there, I'd love to know what you wound up doing.

Thanks!

eekahil
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