A leaky roof. Broken elevators. Pests in your apartment. These are all common problems that tenants face in their homes. Usually, these get fixed by asking the landlord to make repairs. But some landlords refuse to make repairs in order to push tenants out and raise the rent. What do you do then?
If you live in a rent-stabilized apartment in New York City, you have the right to get repairs made in your home and to have access to essential services like heat and hot water. CUP, designer Kyle Richardson, and the Flatbush Tenant Coalition collaborated to create Tenants’ Rights to Repairs, a trilingual guide in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole that lets folks know their rights as tenants and what steps you can take if your landlord isn’t making repairs. It also highlights the important work of tenants’ associations and the power of organizing for housing in your building and community.
Flatbush Tenant Coalition is sharing the guide with their tenant associations and at their coalition meetings. They will also use the guide in their community-based Know Your Rights trainings and citywide trainings and events held in collaboration with the Right to Counsel Coalition and other housing organizations.