Do you have a question about New York's complex and sometimes terrifying housing laws? Native New Yorker columnist Jake Dobkin has been receiving a lot of these questions lately, and he's decided to kick some of them over to his dad, longtime NYC tenants' lawyer and housing activist Steve Dobkin. If you have a question, email us and we will pick the most interesting ones to pass along to him.

This question comes from a Greenpoint resident who is worried about losing her stabilized apartment.

Dear Counselor Dobkin,

We live in a rent-stabilized walkup (3rd floor) in Greenpoint. Our landlords live on the bottom floor. They are elderly and will someday pass and their grown sons have have no interest in taking over the building when that happens. We are the only rent-stabilized unit and all of the others are rent-controlled.

We want to stay here as long as possible. We're transplants from 12 years ago, but now lifers. Whenever this building changes hands, how feasible is it that all of the current tenants would be safe from getting thrown out? What can we do to protect our rights to stay? I have unfounded fears of wealthy investment-bots finding all kinds of loopholes to get tenants out of buildings. This landgrab is just too much.

Thank you,

Stumbly-on-the-Stairs in Greenpooint

Dear Stumbly-on-the-Stairs in Greenpoint,

As the tenant of a rent stabilized apartment, your status will not be affected by the mere sale of the building. However, there are potential scenarios that a new purchaser may employ which could lead to eviction proceedings. First there is the “owner use” gambit, in which the new owner transfers title to the building to himself, rather than the usual limited liability company (“LLC”), and claims that he or she intends to use your apartment for his own primary residence or that of family members. If you are correct that all of the other tenants are protected by rent control, a system which makes it practically impossible to evict tenants on these grounds, you may be a sitting duck for an “owner use” proceeding. You’ll need a lawyer.

A possible basis for the owner to seek the eviction of all of the rent regulated tenants would be a “demolition” of the building. Under the Rent Stabilization Code, an owner need not prove that it intends to knock down the building—only that it has obtained approved plans and the necessary funds to gut the interior of the building, with the exception of structural supports for the exterior walls, so that someone could stand in the cellar and look up to the sky.

The presence of rent controlled tenants subjects the building to the Sound Housing Act, making a demolition case much tougher and time consuming. The owner would also have to prove that he or she can’t make a profit on the building and intends to create additional units.

More likely, the new owner will resort to garden variety harassment, including, but not limited to: short term rentals of neighboring apartments to crazed young stoners; replacement of the central heating system with short circuiting electrical units; demolition of vacated apartments designed to generate the ultimate noise, dust and debris, as well as higher rents; frequent interruptions of essential services; un-kept appointments for repairs; veiled threats by building personnel; offers of bupkis to move out quickly; and not depositing rent payments, and then commencing a frivolous nonpayment proceeding when management knows the tenant will be out of town.

Unfortunately, the Housing Court and the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (“DHCR”), which both have jurisdiction over tenant initiated harassment proceedings, and the correction of violations, lack the resources, and, too frequently, the inclination, to impose serious penalties on owners, and they often get away with murder.

The bottom line is that it’s an uphill struggle to protect and defend your rights as a tenant. But it can be done, and it’s being done in buildings around the city. Success requires group action though a tenants’ association, and affiliation with larger groups, such as the Met Council on Housing. Elected officials can sometimes be helpful in pressuring agencies such as DHCR, the Department of Buildings (“DOB”) and the Department of Housing Preservation & Development (“DHPD”) to step up enforcement measures. Demonstrations and press coverage also play a role. It takes a lot of work and coordination to fight the greedy hoards of Gen-X land grabbers. Don’t sit and cry—Organize!

If you've got a housing question you'd like answered, just drop us a line here.

The opinion herein does not constitute legal advice, which may only be given in the context of a lawyer-client relationship.