Staten Island Family Accuses Landlord of Making Their Home Unlivable
One of the biggest perks of renting a property has to be the fact that you’re usually not responsible for repairs and routine maintenance, since the homeowner generally covers those expenses as part of your lease agreement. And that’s a good thing too, since the costs associated with owning a home can really add up.
However, a family that has been renting a home in Staten Island for the past four years says that their landlord hasn’t exactly been living up to his end of the bargain. Instead, they claim that the landlord they’ve been renting from for the past four years has failed to keep up with repairs and even turned off the home’s utilities at one point.
And that’s not all. The anonymous family told Staten Island Advance that the home has essentially become unlivable due to all of the issues and deferred maintenance. They’ve even reached out to the city for help. According to the daughter who spoke on behalf of her family, the city was able to get their electric turned back on, but it sounds like it’s a case of “too little, too late.”
Now, the family says they are being forced to go find a new place to live as they continue to battle with the landlord over tens of thousands of dollars that the family says they are now owed.
The Family Says Issues Have Been Going on for Years
It’s been four years since the anonymous family moved into their Annadale home, according to Staten Island Advance. Unfortunately, the issues with the property started after that first year, when the family claims that the landlord stopped keeping up with the things that were agreed upon in their rental agreement.
That includes things like keeping the pool clean, cutting the grass, and maintaining the home’s landscaping.
But that’s not all the family says that the landlord—whom Staten Island Advance named as Sheng Yu A Inc., according to city records—was guilty of. They also claim that their utilities were shut off over the winter, leaving the family with no choice but to sleep in coats and shower at the gym.
“Imagine this, these people live there, and they had to go to the gym to bathe every morning because this lady shut the water off on them,” a neighbor who tried to help the family with water and electricity told the outlet.
The Landlord Has Been Hit With Numerous Fines
Things got so bad that the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) had to get involved to turn the electric back on after the landlord failed to follow an order from a judge instructing them to resume paying for the utilities. According to the outlet, HPD paid more than $13,000 to have the lights turned back on.
“We are concerned about the situation, and we have been working to ensure that the property is safe and that tenants have access to vital utility services,” a department spokesperson told Staten Island Advance. “We will continue to use every enforcement tool to make sure landlords meet their obligation to keep their buildings safe and livable.”
The daughter shared that a judge also demanded that the landlord make a civil payment to HPD of $57,600 for some of the other expenses the agency was covering, but the daughter says that no payment has been made to them either, even though the landlord has made some small payments toward the other fines they’ve been issued.
What Can You Do If Your Landlord Violates Your Rental Agreement?
While this definitely sounds like an extreme situation, many people have found themselves dealing with landlords who don’t follow the terms of their lease. According to Flex, a rent payment platform, how you handle these lease violations will depend on what terms were violated (and how often).
But no matter what the situation, Flex says the most important thing you can do is document the infractions as soon as you notice them. That includes writing down details about what wasn’t done, taking photos, and even noting things like the date and time it happened.
Hopefully the Staten Island renters are able to find a new place to live soon. It sounds like after years of issues with this home, they may truly be ready to move on, even if it has been a struggle to find a new place to go over the summer.
