Housing
Beware of Paying Your Rent With Money Orders
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How you pay your rent can be very important. While money orders seem convenient, they may cause you a lot of problems and, in some cases, could...
Beware of Rent-to-Own Agreements
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What is a Rent-to- Own Agreement?
Many people who sign rent-to-own agreements or land contracts end up evicted, not homeowners. Rent-to-own...
Beware of Working for your Landlord Instead of Paying Rent
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In our experience at LawNY®, tenants will sometimes call us because they are being evicted for nonpayment of rent, even though they worked for...
Communicating with your Landlord
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Problems with communicating with your landlord in-person or by text message
If you discuss important issues about your tenancy, it is important...
Demand for Past Due Rent in Mobile Home Parks
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What is the legal definition of a mobile home park?
A property is considered to be a mobile home park if:
There are at least 3 mobile...
Fair Housing Disability Issues
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What is Fair Housing?
Fair housing means every person should have the opportunity to prove he or she is qualified to rent or buy housing free...
General Eviction Information for New York
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IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS INFORMATION IS GENERAL EVICTION INFORMATION AND HAS BEEN MODIFIED BY RECENT CHANGES DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
If your...
Illegal Evictions
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What do I need to know about illegal evictions?
A landlord who tries to illegally evict a tenant may be guilty of a criminal misdemeanor. It...
Mobile Home Rent-to-Own Contracts
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In 2019 the New York legislature officially recognized that manufactured homes provide a critical source of affordable housing in New York. The...
New Protections for NY State Renters
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On June 14th, 2019, the Governor of NY signed into law a bill that provides new tenant protections. The bill is called the Housing Stability and...
New York State Fair Housing Protections
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Legal Assistance of Western New York (LawNY) is one of six recipients of a new state fair housing grant through a partnership with Enterprise...
New York State Protected Classes
The federal Fair Housing Act of 1968 protects individuals against housing discrimination on the basis on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability. New York...
Security Deposits
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What is a security deposit?
A security deposit is money that you pay to your landlord when you move in. Your landlord holds this money until you...
Subsidized Housing
How do I know if my housing is subsidized?
In some cases this may be obvious. One of the most common types of subsidized housing is the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. This is...
What to Do if You Are Not Treated Fairly in Court
You should be treated fairly and with respect when you go to court. If you had a court hearing and the Town, Village, or City Judge or Justice did not treat you with fairness and courtesy, you...
When a Landlord Won't Make Repairs
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Tenants often have problems trying to get their landlords to make repairs. This article provides general information about how you can try to...