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How Can I Find Out if the Apartment I Rented is a Legal Dwelling Unit

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  • 01-30-2011, 11:14 PM
    hugorhxl
    How Can I Find Out if the Apartment I Rented is a Legal Dwelling Unit
    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: NY
    I rented an apartment in a rent controlled unit in August 2010. I signed a lease for one year but I found that the US Postal Service did not have my apartment number listed, I did not have a mail box (now they gave me one) and my apartment does not have a bell at the building entrance like all the other units. My apartment is in the ground floor and it is the only apartment in this floor. It seems to be an old office that was transformed into an apartment, next to the boiler room, laundry room and Super office. I would like to know if I am renting a legal apartment. I was looking in the Dept. of Buildings database, CO and could not find this information.
  • 01-31-2011, 08:54 AM
    SChinFChin
    Re: How Can I Find Out if the Apartment I Rented is a Legal Dwelling Unit
    Quote:

    Quoting hugorhxl
    View Post
    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: NY
    I rented an apartment in a rent controlled unit in August 2010. I signed a lease for one year but I found that the US Postal Service did not have my apartment number listed, I did not have a mail box (now they gave me one) and my apartment does not have a bell at the building entrance like all the other units. My apartment is in the ground floor and it is the only apartment in this floor. It seems to be an old office that was transformed into an apartment, next to the boiler room, laundry room and Super office. I would like to know if I am renting a legal apartment. I was looking in the Dept. of Buildings database, CO and could not find this information.

    If you are in NYC, as rent control seems to suggest, I strongly advise you to get hold of your local "city councilman's" office, as these are the type of constituent services they offer, and it'll be easier for them to have the building department tell them how many legal units are on the building's C/O, i.e. the certificate of occupancy, rather than for you to figure it out yourself.

    As I recall, you can obtain C/O information on line, but for various reasons, it may not be available for every building.

    And if you really have time on your hands, you can show up at the building's department, and request the "building plan" file, and if the file is not out, and found, they ask to hold on to your drivers license while you go and peruse the file. At least how they do it in Queens, and I have pulled certified C/O copies in Brooklyn. From the building plan, and the C/O, you can figure out if the space you occupy is legal or not.
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