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Unauthorized co-op lessee faces uninhabitability

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Unauthorized co-op lessee faces uninhabitability

Postby cpwtempresident » Sun Jul 10, 2011 2:40 pm

I, my wife, and my 2yo son are spending the summer (May through August) in a $2000/month unauthorized co-op sublet in a lovely landmark (100yo) ~40-unit building on the UWS. (We're pretty sure that it's unauthorized because our lease is an informal (albeit written) contract and we were instructed to tell neighbors and staff that we are personal friends and "guests" of the landlord).

Our problem is that we were informed by management near the end of June that an extensive 5-month external renovation would be getting under way in July which will produce so much dust that windows will have to be locked and air conditioners shut-off for eight hours per day (during July and August!), and which will produce so much "noise" (vibration) that all hanging artwork/mirrors/photos on the interior of external walls will have to be taken-down and stored. I called the contractor myself, who confirmed that such precautions will be necessary.

We would like to terminate our lease/contract and move to a different building, but we don't want to lose our $2000 security deposit, partly because the available alternative temporary rentals appear to be more expensive.

We have already informed our landlord that we will be withholding our July rent until we see how bad it becomes, but even if we refuse completely to pay for July and August (and move to another rental in August), we will still end up paying more than we would have (assuming the landlord keeps the deposit) had the move not been required.

Finally, it seems pretty clear both that our landlord knew in advance about the renovation and lied to us (in writing/email) about having had this knowledge.

We really don't know what to do next and would very much appreciate some advice.


Thanks.
cpwtempresident
 
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