Compensatory and punitive damages are an effective and highly publicized means of enforcing federal housing laws. Victims of housing discrimination can seek compensatory, as well as punitive damages.

Compensatory damages consist of special and general damages. Special damages include actual out-of-pocket expenses or losses, including actual expenses such as moving and storage expenses and the losses that directly result from discriminatory practice such as having to move to more expensive alternate housing or inferior alternate housing.

Compensatory damages also include general damages for humiliation, embarrassment or emotional distress.

Courts award punitive damages if there is a reckless disregard for another’s rights. The following factors are considered in determining the amount of damages:

• The egregiousness of the conduct.
• The frequency of discrimination, i.e. whether it was a single, isolated incident or part of a continuing pattern of practice.
• The relative wealth of the owner.
• Whether the property owner participated in conciliation in an effort to settle the complaint.
• An amount sufficient to deter the property owner from continued violations of the civil rights laws.

Punitive damages were awarded against a landlord who evicted tenants for entertaining black guests because:

• The tenants had warned the landlord that his eviction attempt violated the Fair Housing Act.
• The landlord expressed animus by using racial epitaphs.
• The landlord had a history of racial discrimination.

If you are a Landlord with property in the Buffalo, New York area and need assistance with legal issues specific to property owners, see my Landlord legal page for more information

New York Tenants were served with a notice of termination for using the apartment for the illegal trade of the sale, storage, packaging or manufacturing of a controlled substance.

The notice contained a seven-point list of facts surrounding the arrest of the tenants inside the premises where they were in possession of marijuana. The tenants claimed that the eviction proceeding must be dismissed because the notice failed to lay-out the underpinnings of the illegal conduct complained of, rendering the notice vague, conclusory and defective.

The City of New York Civil Court, Richmond County held that the annexation of the following materials to the petition and the notice of termination gave clear notice of the events out of which the landlord’s grievance arose and served to allege adequately the elements of its cause of action: search warrant, arrest reports of the tenants, the Police Laboratory Controlled Substance Analysis Report indicating that marijuana was seized at the premises and the Police Report indicating that a scale and packaging materials were seized during the search and subsequent arrests.

The court held that the tenant’s participation or acquiescence in the use of the apartment for illegal drug sales may be inferred from the indicia of drug measurement, packaging and scales recovered in the search of the premises.

When a tenant dies in New York, landlords expose themselves to liability by granting unauthorized persons access to the apartment or by removing the deceased tenant’s property from the apartment.

Only a duly appointed executor (designated in the will), administrator (if there is no will) or Public Administrator (if there is no will and no known heirs) is permitted to enter the apartment and dispose of the decedent’s personal property. Children or other relatives of the tenant may not have authority to remove property from the apartment.

If an administrator or executor has not been appointed by the New York Surrogate’s Court and no one has taken possession of the apartment, the landlord can institute eviction proceedings three months from the date of death. The eviction notice of petition and petition must be served on:

• The surviving spouse, if any, otherwise on:
• A surviving child, if any, otherwise on:
• One of the other distributees (those who would inherit the estate if there
  were no will, i.e. grandchildren, parents, nieces or nephews).
• If there are no known heirs, contact the Public Administrator for guidance.

The estate is liable for the remaining balance of the lease term. If there is an unexpired lease, the executor, administrator or legal representative of a deceased tenant my request that the landlord consent to assignment of the lease or to subletting.

The request must be accompanied by the written consent of any co-tenant or guarantor of the lease and state the name, business and home address of the proposed assignee or sublessee. Within 10 days after the mailing of the request, the landlord may ask for additional information.

Within thirty days after the mailing of the request or the additional information requested by the landlord, (whichever is later) the landlord must send notice of his election to terminate the lease or to grant or refuse his consent.

The landlord’s failure to send such a notice will be deemed to be a consent to the proposed assignment or subletting. If the landlord consents, the estate of the deceased tenant and any other tenant still remain liable for the performance of the tenant’s obligations under the lease.

If the landlord terminates the lease or unreasonably refuses to consent, the lease shall be deemed terminated and the estate of the deceased tenant and any tenants thereunder are discharged from further liability as of the last day of the calendar month during which the landlord was required to exercise his option.

If the landlord reasonably refuses to consent, the lease shall continue in full force and effect subject to the executor’s right to make further requests for consent. All requests, notices or communications must be sent by registered or certified mail.

If there are damages to the apartment and unpaid rent, the landlord should file a proof of claim in Surrogate’s Court and serve it on the executor or administrator within seven months of when he is appointed by the court.