My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: NY
I am new to this forum so I hope I'm posting to the correct topic.
I live in a co-op building with a "no pets without written consent" rule but it wasn't really enforced. Many shareholders in the building have dogs and even multiple dogs. I have two dogs, my first dog I got him in May 2013, the other June 2015. On 11/2/15 everyone in the building received a Notice to Cure stating the Board is reinstating the no pets rule except for grandfathered pets. And all pet owners must submit vaccination forms, so I did. On 12/01/15 I received a letter stating I am harboring an illegal pet (my younger dog) and am being fined $50 plus asked to remove the dog. I spoke with the Management and Board informing them I confirmed small pets were OK when I purchased the co-op in 2012 and they never asked for anything in writing. They didn't want to hear any of it, so I decided to get an attorney and speak with them about the NYC Pet Law which waives the no pet rule if the pet has been living in the building openly for over 3 months, and no action was taken by Management/Board to remove the pet. Long story short, one of the maintenance staff members confirmed to all of us at the meeting that he did know about my dog since June 2015. The Board claimed they would take his word as a verbal affidavit and they would discuss my issue at the Board of Directors meeting in 2 weeks. My attorney mailed a letter going over what was discussed at the meeting, and she called and emailed the Management to follow up on the issue. They never responded to her or myself.
On 1/1/16 I received a statement with the original $50 fine plus $1800 in legal fees. The invoice that was forwarded to me was legal fees from the Co-op's lawyer commencing a 10 day notice (which I never received) and filing a petition against me (which I never received). My question is, will I be able to dispute these fees and is the holdover valid? I was led to believe that the Board was discussing my case since myself and my attorney never heard back from them, that's why I was told not to remove my pet or pay the $50 fine yet. Also, why am I being charged the legal fees when I haven't been given any notices or served any court papers.
I am new to this forum so I hope I'm posting to the correct topic.
I live in a co-op building with a "no pets without written consent" rule but it wasn't really enforced. Many shareholders in the building have dogs and even multiple dogs. I have two dogs, my first dog I got him in May 2013, the other June 2015. On 11/2/15 everyone in the building received a Notice to Cure stating the Board is reinstating the no pets rule except for grandfathered pets. And all pet owners must submit vaccination forms, so I did. On 12/01/15 I received a letter stating I am harboring an illegal pet (my younger dog) and am being fined $50 plus asked to remove the dog. I spoke with the Management and Board informing them I confirmed small pets were OK when I purchased the co-op in 2012 and they never asked for anything in writing. They didn't want to hear any of it, so I decided to get an attorney and speak with them about the NYC Pet Law which waives the no pet rule if the pet has been living in the building openly for over 3 months, and no action was taken by Management/Board to remove the pet. Long story short, one of the maintenance staff members confirmed to all of us at the meeting that he did know about my dog since June 2015. The Board claimed they would take his word as a verbal affidavit and they would discuss my issue at the Board of Directors meeting in 2 weeks. My attorney mailed a letter going over what was discussed at the meeting, and she called and emailed the Management to follow up on the issue. They never responded to her or myself.
On 1/1/16 I received a statement with the original $50 fine plus $1800 in legal fees. The invoice that was forwarded to me was legal fees from the Co-op's lawyer commencing a 10 day notice (which I never received) and filing a petition against me (which I never received). My question is, will I be able to dispute these fees and is the holdover valid? I was led to believe that the Board was discussing my case since myself and my attorney never heard back from them, that's why I was told not to remove my pet or pay the $50 fine yet. Also, why am I being charged the legal fees when I haven't been given any notices or served any court papers.
Defenses to Eviction: Co-Op Holdover
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