Tips on Gathering Information Before Filing a Case Against Your Landlord

When filing a case against your landlord — such as suing over harassment or to receive repairs — or when responding to an eviction case, it is important to gather basic information about your unit’s status and your building’s ownership.

Gathering information on your landlord

Your lease is supposed to state clearly if the apartment is “subject to rent stabilization” or if there is a subsidy program. Sometimes landlords don’t provide the legally required lease for the specific type of apartment, so to know your rights, you might need to do some research.

• Look up your building on Who Owns What (WhoOwnsWhat.justfix.org). This website can tell you if your building has rent stabilized apartments or not.
  • Under Useful Links, this website can take you to several different city-run sites that have information about your building:
    • HPD (Dept. of Housing Preservation and Development): Complaint history and open violations
    • DOB (Dept. of Buildings): Complaint history and certificate of occupancy
    • DOF (Dept. of Finance): Building tax credits that may make it rent-stabilized

• Look up your building on www.portal.displacementalert.org to see if it is in an affordable housing program or receives an abatement that makes it rent stabilized.

• Ask New York State Division of Homes & Community Renewal (DHCR) for a rent history. This will tell you if your apartment was ever rent stabilized.
  • To access records particular to your apartment, go to this online form: https://portal.hcr.ny.gov/app/ask

For free legal help, call Legal Services NYC at 917-661-4500 Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn more about our intake process here.

* The information does not constitute legal advice. You should always consult an attorney regarding your matter. Legal help subject to capacity and location.