March 5, 2020 On March 4, 2020, Michelle Itkowitz presented the results of a year-long study of published New York City Housing Court decisions from 2019 (“the Study”) at an LNY meetup. At this event, Michelle presented her findings and drew conclusions therefrom, which benefit both landlords and tenants. Here is a link to the full Study booklet. Over… Continue reading The 2020 Housing Court Study – Why Landlords Lose in Housing Court
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Evaluating Whether High Rent Vacancy Deregulation Really Happened
February 17, 2020 On February 13, 2020, Michelle Itkowitz taught a two-hour continuing education program for the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, Suffolk and Nassau County Chapters at Marcum's Melville office. The title of the presentation was, "A GUIDE TO THE 2019 HOUSING STABILITY AND TENANT PROTECTION ACT for Multifamily Owners, Operators, and… Continue reading Evaluating Whether High Rent Vacancy Deregulation Really Happened
The Sad Fate of Small Owner-Occupied Multifamily Buildings
February 16, 2020 I have seen three matters like the one I describe below, so its time for a blog post on the topic of what happens to a Rent Stabilized apartment, which is long “owner occupied”. A good portion of my practice is consulting – Rent Stabilization Due Diligence for Multifamily Buildings. I often… Continue reading The Sad Fate of Small Owner-Occupied Multifamily Buildings
When You Dig for Dirt, Sometimes You Get Messy
January 12, 2020 I am almost hesitant to write up this good little story. My pause comes from the fact that I like to brand my firm as doing almost exclusively landlord and tenant litigation. Branding one’s self with a durable niche is good for business! But, here, perhaps I will expose a secret –… Continue reading When You Dig for Dirt, Sometimes You Get Messy
Can I Keep My Cat? A Michelle Itkowitz Article in Bushwick Daily
December 30, 2019 A shorter version of this Article originally appeared in Bushwick Daily, where Michelle Itkowitz is the “Tenant’s Rights Adviser”. Hi, I’m Michelle Itkowitz, an instructor on the Tenant Learning Platform and Bushwick Daily’s Tenant’s Rights Adviser. This is the third article in a series that will bust some common myths contained in your apartment… Continue reading Can I Keep My Cat? A Michelle Itkowitz Article in Bushwick Daily
When Your Tenant Sells Newspapers in the Digital Age
December 1, 2019 I recently advised a commercial landlord about his options in the event his retail tenant remained in default. I thought this would make a good post, because, these days, retail and restaurant defaults are very common. Landlord Options for Retail and Restaurant Defaults Not all of these options are mutually exclusive;… Continue reading When Your Tenant Sells Newspapers in the Digital Age
A Conversation About the HSTPA – Michelle Itkowitz Interviewed by Holm & O’Hara
November 12, 2019 Michelle Itkowitz was honored to be interviewed by the folks at Holm & O’Hara, the go-to New York City firm for commercial real estate investors, closely-held businesses, corporations and their owners. H&O wanted to know all about the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019, so we spent some time talking about it. Here… Continue reading A Conversation About the HSTPA – Michelle Itkowitz Interviewed by Holm & O’Hara
Itkowitz PLLC Wins in First Department on Tenancy-at-Will Case
October 20, 2019 In this case we represented a single-family townhouse owner in a tony part of town. The owner’s adult child had moved into the townhouse with him. The owner/father wanted the occupant/child out. The child could well afford to re-locate somewhere else, she just did not want to go. There was no lease… Continue reading Itkowitz PLLC Wins in First Department on Tenancy-at-Will Case
How Much Can My Landlord Raise My Rent? Michelle Itkowitz Article in Bushwick Daily
September 25, 2019 Recently a shorter version of this Article originally appeared in Bushwick Daily, where Michelle Itkowitz is the "Tenant’s Rights Adviser". Hi, I'm Michelle Itkowitz, an instructor on the Tenant Learning Platform and Bushwick Daily's Tenant’s Rights Adviser. This is the fourth article in a seriesabout your rights as a New York City Tenant. In this column,… Continue reading How Much Can My Landlord Raise My Rent? Michelle Itkowitz Article in Bushwick Daily
The Case That Would Not End
September 9, 2019
This case is pretty plain vanilla, and would not be worthy of a story, but for the tantrum I threw at the end and the reasons therefor.
In this case, I was defending, in Supreme Court in one of the boroughs, a very small residential landlord against a luxury tenant, represented by a private (and very good) attorney. Ultimately, we made a deal and mutually beneficial outcomes were had by all. The twist in this one is that tenants not only sued my client, the owner, but they also sued the former owner as well. The former owner cross-claimed against the owner, forcing the owner to cross-claim against the former owner. Between that and the counter-claims by all owners and former owners against the tenants, there were quickly piles of paper everywhere. Nevertheless, the matter resolved rather quickly, and the settlement agreement was not so difficult to draft either.
The problem was that getting the various settlement documents, and exhibits to the settlement documents, signed by the various parties was a nightmare. It was not a big enough case to register prominently of the radars of my adversaries, so they each assigned the matter to busy associates at the settlement stage. My client (the owner) and the co-defendant (former owner) each had corporate counsel who had something to say about details in the settlement agreement; But they were not quick to give their comments. At the last minute, a ridiculous dispute broke out between owner and former owner, about something that was already dealt with in the consummated sales contract. All the lawyers and their clients were busy, no one got back to each other promptly, and the tread kept getting lost in the fabric of so many emails. There was a total of 58 hours entered into my firm’s time-keeping application for this case. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of those hours (16 of them) were associated with drafting and executing the settlement agreement! Of course, I did not charge the client for those hours.
The problem was that getting the various settlement documents, and exhibits to the settlement documents, signed by the various parties was a nightmare. It was not a big enough case to register prominently of the radars of my adversaries, so they each assigned the matter to busy associates at the settlement stage. My client (the owner) and the co-defendant (former owner) each had corporate counsel who had something to say about details in the settlement agreement; But they were not quick to give their comments. At the last minute, a ridiculous dispute broke out between owner and former owner, about something that was already dealt with in the consummated sales contract. All the lawyers and their clients were busy, no one got back to each other promptly, and the tread kept getting lost in the fabric of so many emails. There was a total of 58 hours entered into my firm’s time-keeping application for this case. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of those hours (16 of them) were associated with drafting and executing the settlement agreement! Of course, I did not charge the client for those hours.
Finally, I had an email tantrum (a thing for which I am somewhat famous) and I made a chart (the other thing I am famous for). Never underestimate the value of a good chart. Or a good tantrum.
What’s the lesson?
These days, in preschool, they teach kids that a project is not done until you put your materials away and finish cleaning up after yourself. Someone should teach a CLE on that topic to lawyers.
Respectfully submitted,
Striking Affirmative Defenses So Three Generations of a Family Can Live Together
August 18, 2019 This is the story of me striking “creative” affirmative defenses in an owner’s use case, so that three generations of a family could live together. Here, Respondent’s counsel came up with the following: The predicate notice needed to identify alternative housing. The 3-page, single-spaced, 1,067-word predicate notice was not detailed enough for… Continue reading Striking Affirmative Defenses So Three Generations of a Family Can Live Together
Choosing Your Battles is Half the Battle
July 28, 2019 There were at least three non-rent default cases in the last twelve months that residential-landlord clients brought me that they were certain were “slam dunks”. After I ran a Legal Project Management Analysis on these cases, however, I determined that they were not worth filing. By not filing these loser cases, my… Continue reading Choosing Your Battles is Half the Battle