[NYC] Is it legal for my landlady to have rented a 3-bedroom to me when one of the rooms has no heating?
I am the only one on the lease and have been subletting with her permission. However, it has been impossible to rent the 3rd room that has no heating because it is winter and it is cold. Is it legal for her to be charging me for the 3rd room when it has no heat? Is that room considered "uninhabitable" in the winter?
There is heating in the other two rooms, as well as the living room and kitchen.
What would you recommend I do? I could ask for a rent reduction?
Posted Jan 16, 2020, 6:28 PM UTC · edited
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Is it a bedroom? As in, meaning the NYC requirements of a bedroom?
(8ftx8ftx8ft, must have window opening to a yard, court yard or street, a door way, the room cannot be used as a passage to another room)
It's roughly 10x7 (10x5 1/2 in one part), very small, but rented as a full room. It has a window to a courtyard and a door, and it is not a passage to another room.
The 8x8x8ft is a basic measurement - the technical rule in NYC is that it must be 80 Square Feet at a minimum. with a minimum width of 8 feet in any direction.
Your room doesn't meet this in overall square footage or minimum width in any direction. Technically, it can't be counted as a bedroom and doesn't require the heat you're inquiring about.
Here is an article with more info and a link to the actual building code.
Is there anything I can do considering she rented this to me as a 3BR, which includes this small room?
Does your lease state its three rooms?