10/28/2025
This is why I don't buy any properties with tenants anymore....This city is nuts...
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Seems about right! Bronx-based landlord Les Lerner has a long list of horror stories.
In one, a nonpaying tenant had his eviction case adjourned by claiming repairs were needed. Two months later, Lerner’s lawyer showed the judge photos of the completed repairs, but the tenant insisted they were not made. The judge adjourned the case for another two months.
“At the next court appearance, the tenant once again claimed that the repairs were not done,” Lerner recalled. “The judge once again adjourned for two months to make arrangements for an HPD inspector to review the repairs.”
If you’ve lost track, that’s six months of rent-free living. But wait, there’s more.
“At the next court appearance, the judge stated that he had a report from the HPD inspector stating that all the repairs were completed,” Lerner continued. “The tenant once again stated that they were not. The judge once again adjourned for two months for us to ‘double check.’ What can possibly be more official than an HPD inspector’s report?”
That’s eight months of adjournments, using just one of the many techniques that nonpaying tenants have to stave off eviction. It’s no mystery why the eviction rate in New York City is among the lowest in the nation.