The landlord-tenant relationship can often be adversarial, and the legal process is built around this tension. On one side, an owner needs tenants who pay on time, take care of the space, and follow their lease. On the other side, tenants may push back on rent increases, repairs, or the terms of their stay. When that friction turns into a dispute, it needs to be resolved quickly and correctly, whether that means going to court or finding a way to settle it before things escalate. Our attorneys represent owners, landlords, and managing agents of cooperatives, condominiums and apartment buildings in the full spectrum of landlord-tenant matters, including:
- Evictions and nonpayment proceedings
- Holdover proceedings and lease defaults
- Nuisance, noise and pets
- Good Cause Eviction
- Succession rights disputes, including claims by family members to a rent-regulated tenancy
- Illegal sublet and short-term rental (Airbnb) disputes
- Tenant harassment claims
- Habitability disputes, including warranty of habitability claims and conditions complaints
When a commercial tenant stops paying rent or refuses to leave after a lease ends, every week that passes can cost a landlord tens of thousands of dollars. New York’s landlord-tenant law is dense and constantly changing, which makes it hard to navigate without an attorney who works in this area every day. Our attorneys move swiftly to counter tenant defenses and drive cases toward a judgment, possession, or settlement. We represent commercial landlords and real estate management companies in a full range of landlord-tenant matters, including:
- Nonpayment proceedings
- Holdover proceedings
- Opposing tenant applications, including Yellowstone injunctions
- Lease, contract, and statutory rights enforcement
- Good Guy Guaranty
New York City’s rent regulations change constantly, and staying on top of them is essential to protecting a property’s value and controlling costs. Whether you are dealing with a DHCR filing, a tax benefit compliance issue, or a rent increase application, getting it wrong can be costly and slow to fix. Our attorneys represent property owners, real estate investors, and management companies before the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, in housing court, and in state supreme court. We handle a wide range of matters relating to rent regulation, including:
- Rent stabilization and rent control coverage disputes
- Rent overcharge claims and DHCR audits
- Rent deregulation and luxury decontrol issues
- Compliance with the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA)
- DHCR filings, applications, and administrative proceedings
- Good Cause Eviction rent increase and coverage disputes
Numerous buildings throughout New York City are run by cooperative and condominium boards. In a cooperative, a shareholder owns a particular number of shares and may occupy a specific unit under a proprietary lease. In a condominium, a unit owner occupies a particular unit pursuant to a unit deed and owns a particular percentage of common interest in the building. Disputes can arise over bylaws, proprietary leases, house rules, regulations, or leases. We advise cooperatives and condominium boards as well as unit holders and shareholders on a variety of matters, including:
- Shareholder disputes
- Common charge collection
- Sponsor litigation
- Breach of contract
- Construction, management and repair issues
When co-owners of real estate can no longer agree on what to do with the property, a partition action offers a way forward. Any co-owner with a present possessory interest can petition the court to force a sale or physical division, even without proving the other owner did anything wrong; they simply need to show that joint ownership has become impractical. Our attorneys help clients navigate these disputes strategically, working towards a resolution that protects their financial interests while avoiding unnecessary and prolonged legal battles. We handle a range of matters relating to co-ownership and partition disputes, including:
- Partition by sale and partition in kind
- Disputes among business partners over management, use, or sale of co-owned property
- Disputes among family members, including inherited property and sibling disagreements
- Buyout agreements and negotiated settlements as alternative to litigation
- Petitions by tenants in common and parties with equitable interests
When two or more parties claim ownership of the same piece of property, resolving the conflict often requires a quiet title action. Whether the dispute stems from a boundary disagreement, a contested inheritance, an old lien, or a defect in the chain of title, these cases are complex and often contentious. Our attorneys represent clients in quiet title actions throughout New York City, working to protect their ownership interests and secure a clear, marketable title. We handle a wide range of matters relating to equitable title disputes, including:
- Boundary and easement disputes
- Removal of invalid lienholders clouding title
- Inheritance and heirship disputes
- Adverse possession claims
- Errors and omissions in the chain of title, including unrecorded deeds and transfers
Even a well-drafted real estate contract can fall apart between signing and closing. When that happens, the party who didn’t breach may be entitled to keep or recover the deposit, recoup other costs, or even force the sale to go through. Our attorneys help buyers and sellers resolve these disputes as efficiently as possible, whether through negotiation and arbitration or, when necessary, trial-ready litigation. We handle a wide range of matters relating to real estate contract disputes, including:
- Buyer and seller breach of contract, including failed financing, deposit disputes, and title defects
- Specific performance and deposit recovery
- Failure to disclose known property defects
- Closing cost disputes
- Enforcement of contractual arbitration provisions
- Mediation and negotiated settlements
- Signing-to-closing litigation and trial representation
Construction and development litigation is a highly specialized area of the law. For owners and developers, disputes are often part of the construction process. There may be disagreements about the scope or cost of work, allocations of responsibility and the meaning of even the most carefully drafted contract provision. We advise a variety of industry participants, including general contractors, subcontractors, developers, owners, and lenders, on all types of construction and development matters, including:
- Construction contract breaches
- Claims relating to defective goods and materials
- Mechanic’s lien guidance
- Breach of contract and breach of warranty
- Bond and insurance claims
- RPAPL 881 access
Maturing debt, falling property values, rising costs, and higher interest rates have put many owners, lenders, and investors in unfamiliar territory. Getting through it requires attorneys who understand both the deal-making and litigation side of distressed real estate. Our team brings experience across every discipline touched by a distressed deal providing one-stop legal support from the first sign of trouble through resolution. We provide comprehensive support across every stage of a distressed real estate matter, including:
- Acquisition and sale of distressed properties and commercial real estate loans
- Loan workouts, restructuring, and repositioning of distressed projects
- Mortgage and UCC foreclosure proceedings
- Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings
When an industrial or commercial building has been illegally converted into residential lofts, New York’s Loft Law offers a path to legalize the space and bring it up to code, but navigating the coverage application, legalization hearings, and rent increase process alone can be daunting. Our team guides building owners through every stage of loft legalization, representing them before the New York City Loft Board and the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings. Our specialized guidance includes:
- Loft Law coverage applications and legalization hearings
- Representation before the Loft Board and Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings
- Rent increase applications to recoup code compliance costs
- Fixture valuation and right of first refusal disputes
- Loft law-related litigation
Housing discrimination remains a serious problem in New York City. Our attorneys have represented individuals and organizations fighting discrimination before government agencies and in federal court. From tenants denied housing over source of income or disability, to families facing racial discrimination in their own buildings, we handle a wide range of matters relating to housing discrimination and real estate litigation, including:
- Source of income discrimination against renters using housing vouchers
- Reasonable accommodation disputes
- Disability discrimination, including denial of reasonable accommodations and emotional support animals
- Racial and ethnic discrimination by landlords, management companies, and co-op boards
- Complaints before the New York City Commission on Human Rights and other government agencies
- Representation for individuals, families, and fair housing advocacy organizations
Appellate litigation in New York City demands a specialized approach and our attorneys bring years of experience handling real estate appeals across the city, analyzing lower court decisions, identifying viable grounds for appeal, and crafting the compelling briefs and oral arguments that give clients the strongest chance of success. We handle a wide range of matters relating to appellate litigation, including:
- Real estate appeals
- Commercial appeals
- Appeals before the Appellate Division, First and Second Departments
- Appeals of Housing Court and DHCR determinations
- Post-trial motions, including motions to reargue, renew, and set aside a verdict
- Stays pending appeal and interim relief
