New property manager out of his mind

[hannahaly]

My family is renting an apartment in a private home and 1 other tenant on the first floor. For the past almost 3 years us tenants have been maintaining the home, inside and out. Nothing was deducted from our rents.as the home was being neglected. We have a new property manager who states that the home is not generating enough income(so no repairs will be made) and is storing salvaged cars in the back yard. He is stating that we should not have access to the backyard because it is a luxury.he says he can do whatever he wants with the property. Last summer our kids could not play in the back yard because as a security hazard they were forced to tear down th eold garage. No where in our lease does it state that we do not have access to the backyard. I am not on a program and i pay cash every month. The tenant on the first floor has section 8. Also we were given the apartment dirty and stuff left from the old tenants which we took care of ourselves.what rights do we have/ please help. Owner lives in brooklyn,ny

 

[bluemann33]

The landlord must do repairs on the house if they are a danger or hot water, electric, etc. About the cars stored in backyard you could look up county/city codes to see if that is allowed. Some places will not allow the eye sore. good luck.

 

[mightymoose]

The landlord seems to be changing your lease. You moved in and paid a certain amount that apparently included the use of the yard. So long as you are paying, the landlord does not have the privilege of dumping his junk there.

Your arguments about a dirty apartment 3 years ago when you moved in are pointless.

You do seem to have a reasonable argument to make regarding the use of the yard, however the question is whether or not you really want to fight over it.

Your simplest solution may be to give the landlord 30 days notice of your intent to vacate (in writing) unless the vehicles are moved. If he doesn't comply, find a better place to live. If the place is as bad as you say it is, he won't have much luck trying to find another tenant that will pay what you already are.