The significance of a lack/lapse of a commercial building registration for a landlord

[andromat]

...in regards to him/her bringing a legal action against a tenant?

Please?

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

 

[andromat]

I am sorry, by commercial I don't mean "industrial" in any way, just a regular apartment building with more than 5 units where the landlord himself does not reside. Hope this clarifies the question.

 

[You Are Guilty]

While I still don't know exactly what you're trying to get at, I would respectfully suggest you find another line of defense for whatever they are suing you for.

 

[andromat]

While I still don't know exactly what you're trying to get at, I would respectfully suggest you find another line of defense for whatever they are suing you for.

That's interesting. I didn't see it as a line of defense but rather a provision (don't know if this is the right word) of the law that requires the building registration to be current in order for the landlord to be able to bring a legal action.

Here:

Property Registration Unit

Buildings with three or more dwelling units must be registered with HPD's Registration Assistance Unit. One- and two-family dwellings where neither the owner nor any family member occupies the dwelling are also required to register with HPD. Owners must renew their building's registration annually (buildings with six or more dwelling units by April 1st and those with five or fewer by October 1st.) In order to initiate a court action or to request a code violation dismissal, the owner must prove that the building registration is current.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/owners/property-reg-unit.shtml

What I am wondering specifically is if the case will be unconditionally thrown out of court if it is proven that the landlord didn't adhere to this requirement. And I want to make sure that my particular case falls under these provisions as well.

 

[You Are Guilty]

Assuming your LL even falls under the HPD regulations (which commercial properties, amongst others, do not), the failure to register is, at most, a non-hazardous HPD violation and a potential civil fine. There is no impact on the landlord's ability to bring a lawsuit, which is why I suggested you find another avenue of defense.

Good luck.

 

[andromat]

Assuming your LL even falls under the HPD regulations (which commercial properties, amongst others, do not), the failure to register is, at most, a non-hazardous HPD violation and a potential civil fine. There is no impact on the landlord's ability to bring a lawsuit, which is why I suggested you find another avenue of defense.

Good luck.

OK, so what's this line is about: In order to initiate a court action or to request a code violation dismissal, the owner must prove that the building registration is current?

I understand that it could be in reference to landlord's ability to take court action against HPD itself, but it's not entirely clear from that context.

And yes, I believe that my LL falls under these regulations, as he both is currently registered with them and was issued HPD violations in the past.

To go in particulars his lawsuit(?) against me is Non-Payment Dwelling in the Housing Court. The apartment has just been inspected by HPD with numerous violations issued. The refusal of LL to fix all and any of these was the reason for my non-payment.

 

[You Are Guilty]

I am trying to figure out what statute that language came from, because removing someone's access to the courts on the basis of an administrative filing strikes me as rather unconstitutional. And so far, I don't see anything in the statutes I've looked at so far (but there are a lot, and I'm not done). In the meantime if you check http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/downloads/pdf/FAQs-property-registration.pdf, the second column of page two suggests otherwise.

Even if there were violations/other issues, you are generally still required to pay rent in NYC. The proper remedy is to bring a HP action against the LL in Housing Court. Absent a "rent impairing" violation, you only get to withhold rent (technically, the LL is legally barred from collecting rent) when there is no CO. From the MDL:

To raise a defense under subparagraph a in any action
to recover rent or in any special proceeding for the
recovery of possession because of non-payment of rent,
the resident must affirmatively plead and prove the
material facts under subparagraph a, and must also
deposit with the clerk of the court in which the action
or proceeding is pending at the time of filing of the
resident's answer the amount of rent sought to be
recovered in the action or upon which the proceeding to
recover possession is based, to be held by the clerk of
the court until final disposition of the action or
proceeding at which time the rent deposited shall be
paid to the owner, if the owner prevails, or be
returned to the resident if the resident prevails. Such
deposit of rent shall vitiate any right on the part of
the owner to terminate the lease or rental agreement of
the resident because of nonpayment of rent.

So, that sort of begs the question - exactly what are all the violations for? No heat/water is a much bigger issue than say, "stove doesn't work".

 

[andromat]

Thank you, You Are Guilty.

Cannot open PDF, will try from the library later on.

The violations issued are as following:

Hzrd B - 27-2026 - replace the broken or defective rusted and coroded wash basin in the bathroom.
Hzrd A - 27-2013 - paint with light colored paint to the satisfaction of this department walls and ceilings in the entire apartment.

A layer of nicotine tar on the bathroom walls and ceiling is what makes this place a toxic stinkhole that I am not willing to put up with. The LL attitude made this issue a sticking point beyond repair from a get go.

I asked the secretary in the Housing Court about the requirement of LL HPD registration in order to bring a court action but she only commented that his registration was all right with them (current) and that I would have to prove it if I thought it was otherwise.

So my question is, considering it's a Non-Payment Dwelling case, what is the date when the court action was initiated by LL? Is it the same date as on the Notice of Petition that I received? Thank you.

 

[You Are Guilty]

I have not seen the petition you received, but the date is likely prior to when you received it. You can find out exactly what it is by looking up your case here:
http://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/housing/

Check the earliest date the court has on file for any filings from the LL.

Good luck.

 

[andromat]

OK, thanks. I don’t know the earliest filing date but I’ll try to find out. So you are saying it may not be the date on the Notice of Petition that I received (different from the date when I received it)? And what if he was current on the date when he initiated his court action and is current now but lapsed at some point in between? And so, can I request my LL’s registration history with HPD and how do I go about that?

 

[You Are Guilty]

The creation date (date something was written), the mailing date, the received date and the court filing date are rarely, if ever, the same. Check when it was filed with the court, as well as any date(s) on the Affidavit of Service for the documents you received via mail.

As far as HPD records, I'd start by calling 311 and seeing where that takes you.

 

[andromat]

... In the meantime if you check http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/downloads/pdf/FAQs-property-registration.pdf, the second column of page two suggests otherwise. ...

I am sorry, You Are Guilty, but you kinda lost me here... Where exactly the second column of page two states anything contrary to the statement in question: In order to initiate a court action or to request a code violation dismissal, the owner must prove that the building registration is current.

And also, unfortunately, the housing link doesn't provide any case dates except for the dates of appearences. (Which I already know, of course.) Will have to go to court for that, I suppose...

But again, what if LL lapses on his HPD registration between the court action initiation date and the dates of the court actions?

 

[You Are Guilty]

Under the "penalties" section.

There is a section in the pre-printed housing petition forms where the HPD numbers are supposed to go, so its not like the courts are unaware of the requirement. The question is more a) what will the court do if the HPD registration is lapsed, and b) how do you prove it.

(B) will require something from HPD, ideally in writing. Your testimony alone might work, but I wouldn't want to rely on it.

(A) is the tricky part. The options range from dismissing the petition, to adjourning it for a week or two (to allow time for renewal), to ignoring it. So, most of the options ultimately don't help you (and even the dismissal only delays things).