rgfalvella
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York - - Ok, so here’s my situation. At the beginning of last year, I was homeless. In March, I was linked to an organization that helps homeless individuals with moderate to severe mental illnesses obtain housing. Because I have been diagnosed with PTSD and Autism, and because I was living on the street, I was eligible for the program. They put me in a hotel for a few days while they looked for an apartment for me. Because of my situation, I was eager to take the first thing that was available. I was taken to look at an apartment and told them I wanted it. I then moved in a few days after. The company that helped me get the apartment subsidizes my rent. Shortly after moving in, I began hearing excessive noise and music coming from the people that lived above me. The excessive noise was all throughout the day. I complained several times to the landlord about the noise, but he did absolutely nothing about it. In June of last year around 3AM on a weeknight, it sounded like they were playing musical chairs right above my head, which is what woke me up. I got up, got dressed and got ready to go. On my way out, the girl that lived upstairs stuck her head out the window and asked if there was a problem. I told her about the noise, I reminded her of the day and time and told her I was going to inform the landlord. She flew downstairs ready to fight me over her own inconsideration, but by the time she got downstairs, I was a block away. The rest of that night, as with several other nights, I slept at a city park because it was more peaceful than living in my apartment. When I got back home that night, I noticed that my door was beaten in and my mailbox was removed from the wall. I called the police and informed them of what happened and filed a report to protect myself. The ceiling also leaks a lot, right over a light fixture. I have told the landlord and the maintenance people several times, but they refuse to do anything about it. My landlord also has not given me a copy of my lease as I have asked for it numerous times. There is also a major bedbug problem throughout the house (four units). The people above me complained last January and after two months of complaining (I saw the texts and emails), they decided to stop paying rent. In August, the people across from me stopped paying their rent for the same thing. In September, I said something to the landlord about the bedbugs. Also in September, I learned that my landlord has a business relationship with the company that subsidizes my rent. When I told my landlord that I was going to inform my worker that nothing was being done about the bedbugs, that was when my landlord decided to call an exterminator. My door was not replaced until January 24th of this year and that was after months of both myself and my worker asking for it to be fixed, over seven months. I was also told by multiple people (that don’t know each other) that the landlord is letting the place go. Another person told me that the landlord doesn’t care about this property. Everything that I have been through validates that. Since moving in, I have been stressed to the max. I also know the basics of the waiver of habitability and I know that if I did not have a subsidy, I would be able to sue him for a rent reduction or something like that. My counselor also told me that she would be willing to write a letter for court because she sees the physical stress that my landlord is causing and recommended that I sue him for stress and suffering. I told my worker and his boss that I wanted to take legal action against my landlord and they told me that if I take any actions at all, I will lose my subsidy because it will be a conflict of interest. At this point, I have no idea what my legal options are. I can’t go and talk to a lawyer or I’ll be homeless again and the company that subsidizes my rent aren’t doing anything about this either. Please tell me that I am not stuck in this situation forever. What can or should I do?
