New York made some changes to its landlord/tenant laws recently, which will greatly affect landlords. These laws cover everything from application fees to evictions. If you are a landlord in the state, it is essential that you understand the rules and updates.
According to The New York Times, the changes in the rental laws allowed the state to offer more protections to renters. At the same time, this creates more difficulties for landlords in certain situations.
Evictions
The law now says that to evict a tenant, the judge in the case has to consider various factors about how such an eviction would affect the renter and his or her family. Things such as children in school and health conditions will now factor into whether the judge awards a stay, which also changed from six months to one year.
In addition, if a tenant breaks a lease and leaves, you now must try to rent the unit right away. This would prevent you from trying to collect rent for the remainder of the broken lease.
Fees and deposits
The new laws limit the amount you can charge to $20 for an application fee, including any background checks. When it comes to security deposits, you cannot charge more than one month’s rent.
In addition, if you want to raise the rent, you will have to know the new notice rules that vary based on how long the renter has lived in the unit or for how long his or her lease is. If you have a renter who has lived in the unit for more than two years or has a lease that is two years long, then you have to give a 90-day notice of a rent increase that is 5% or more. For renters who have not lived in the unit for two years or have a shorter lease, then the notice time is shorter.
