If you’re a New York City tenant in a rent-stabilized apartment, you could of course be one of the lucky renters who has a property ownership team that is clearly on the ball when it comes to performance regarding landlord-related duties.
Conversely, though, your situation might not be that fortunate. Legions of tenants across the city routinely confront — and too often feel forced to endure — landlord behavior that purposefully seeks to undercut tenants’ legal rights and best interests.
As noted by firm attorney Samuel Himmelstein, some landlords purposefully engage in bad-faith tactics aimed at ousting stabilized tenants from their dwellings in order to jack up rents to market rates.
That is unlawful, of course, and tenants need to guard against it.
In responding to a recent question-answer article in a local real estate publication, Himmelstein focused upon the nefarious mindset of landlords “who don’t cash rent checks.”
That neglect is of course not meant as a magnanimous gesture. Rather, notes Himmelstein, a devious landlord will forgo cashing a rental payment “in the hope that the tenant will spend the rent money, and then they can sue them for eviction.”
The bottom line for a concerned tenant in such a scenario is this: Be persistently diligent about making timely and fully responsive payments, regardless of what a landlord does. Doing so can prove performance in court and defeat an eviction attempt, especially when rent is sent by a certified mailing.
Questions regarding a landlord’s handling of rent or any other housing-related matter can be directed to a proven tenants’ rights attorney.
