Long Island Landlord Negligence Lawyers on Fitness for Human Habitation

While a lot of landlords are honest and take their responsibilities seriously, there are others whose only concern is collecting as much money in rent as they can, while spending as little as possible on issues of sanitation and safety.

The law in New York states that landlords have a legal obligation to make sure that their properties are fit for human habitation. Should a condition that threatens tenants’ safety develop, it is the duty of the landlord to eliminate the threat within a reasonable amount of time. Such conditions include:

• Ineffective waterproofing and protection from weather extremes
• Poorly maintained plumbing
• Unavailability of hot/cold running water
• Inadequate heating
• Insufficient electrical lighting
• Poor sanitation
• Vermin infestation
• Regular garbage collection
• A locking mailbox

Long Island Landlord Negligence Lawyers Help You Get Compensation

Tenants have a right under law to get their rent’s worth. With the help of a Long Island landlord negligence lawyer, you may be able to sue your landlord for back rent if you are experiencing any of the abovementioned issues. If your landlord remains unable or unwilling to take necessary action, you may join other disgruntled tenants and take action against him.

How a Long Island Landlord Negligence Lawyer Can Prove Your Claim

For landlord negligence to apply:

1. The defendant must be the landlord of the premises.
2. The plaintiff must be an invitee or, in certain cases, a licensee.
3. There must be negligence. In the past few years, the law of premises liability has changed to include cases where a person is injured on the premises of another by a third party’s wrongful act, such as an assault.

These cases are sometimes referred to as “third party premises liability” cases and they represent a very difficult and dynamic area of tort law. They pose particularly complex legal issues of duty and causation because the injured party is seeking to hold an owner of property directly or vicariously accountable when the immediate injury-producing act was, arguably, not caused by the owner.