Q: I can no longer live in my rent-stabilized apartment in Crown Heights, Brooklyn because of a bed bug infestation. The homeowner hired an exterminator who came three times and the bed bugs are still there. Exterminators say they may be resistant to chemical sprays. My rental contract runs until September, and I have a roommate, but I would like to cancel my contract. Landlords are refusing unless they can get someone to take over the lease, and they can’t do that while the outbreak is still going strong. The experience was emotionally and financially debilitating. Is there a way to cancel the rental contract?
answer: You may decide to move out and break the tenancy agreement, but in that case the landlord will be legally obligated to re-rent the apartment. But Manhattan real estate attorney David A. Kaminski says, “Unless the housing court determines that the prevalence is intolerable enough to terminate the contract without penalty, you will be responsible for any unpaid rent during that time.” It will happen,” he said.
If you move out and your roommate is included in the rental agreement, your landlord may sue you and your roommate to recover their funds. If your roommate pays, they’ll sue you for those funds, says Ami Shah, deputy director of citywide housing operations at Legal Services New York City, which provides legal services to low-income New Yorkers. He said it was possible.
Rather than breaking the rental agreement, it may be a good idea to try to negotiate an early exit. If successful, get the contract in writing to have proof that the landlord has approved it. If you move out without consent and your landlord files a lawsuit, you can use the bed bug problem as a defense. Be sure to keep evidence of the break-in, such as photos or videos, as well as receipts for any related expenses.
But rent-stabilized apartments are valuable, so you may want to reconsider your desire to move out. Since you are no longer able to live in this apartment, you can continue to negotiate a reduction in rent with your landlord. If the landlord refuses, Shah said, he will file a lawsuit in housing court seeking repairs, known as an HP lawsuit. The court can order the landlord to improve conditions, and a reduction in rent may be part of the settlement agreement.
Your landlord will be cooperative in your efforts to rid your apartment of bed bugs, so you may want to try other treatments.
“It’s hard to know which strains of bed bugs are resistant to which chemicals,” says Luis Balseca, owner of All Out Bed Bug Exterminator in New York City. For this reason, Balseca uses a fungal treatment called Aprehendo, which has been found to be more effective than chemical sprays against all types of bed bugs.
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