Skip to main content
Fulltext search
FILTER RESULTS BY:
RECOMMENDED IN RENT
Moving to NYC after college? Here's how to find a rental apartment
RECOMMENDED IN BUY
How buying real estate in NYC is unlike anywhere else
RECOMMENDED IN SELL
A guide to using a no-fee renovation loan from a NYC real estate firm
RECOMMENDED IN IMPROVE
How to make your NYC renovation more pet-friendly
BEST REAL ESTATE WEBSITE!
National Association of Real Estate Editors
BEST REAL ESTATE WEBSITE! National Association of Real Estate Editors
Brick Underground
Social Links
follow:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Flipboard
  • search
Brick Underground
☰ Brick Underground
Brick Underground
Brick Underground
☰
Brick Underground
  • Buy
    • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
    Haley and JP move to Prospect Lefferts Gardens
    New Construction + Condos
    From Prospect Heights to Prospect Lefferts Garden: We wanted three bedrooms so we could each have a home office
    An image of the top of a brick New York City apartment building, including its parapet.
    Design + Architecture
    Parapet inspections: What NYC boards and building owners need to know about Local Law 126
    one-bedroom condo at 702 Hancock Street
    The Search
    7 reasons why ground-floor apartments are desirable—instead of dealbreakers
  • Rent
    • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
    Midtown Manhattan seen from Roosevelt Island tramway
    The Market
    Manhattan median rent spiked 6 percent to $4,500 in April
    Tenant protest outside Rent Guidelines Board preliminary vote
    Affordable Housing
    Rent Guidelines Board intends to raise stabilized rents for a fourth time
    A beautiful pink flowering cherry tree next to an old brick residential building with a fire escape in Astoria Queens New York during spring
    The Search
    A wet, hot, broker fee-free summer? A major change to rental broker fees is supposed to start in June
  • Sell
    • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
    Madison avenue and East 67th Street, Manhattan, New York City
    Sell
    Median sales price for Manhattan co-ops and condos jumps to $1,165,000
    new condo building and older co-op buildings in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
    Sell
    Brooklyn median price nears $1 million but the spring market is a question mark
    View of NYC condo buildings from New Jersey
    Sell
    Private listings: What NYC sellers and buyers need to know about the off-market controversy
  • Live
    • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
    FlatRate moving brick underground
    Live
    How to troubleshoot your move in advance
    Sponsored By flatrate
    big apple moving NYC
    Troubleshooting
    How can I save money when hiring a moving company in NYC?
    Sponsored By Big Apple Moving
    Houses and apartment buildings in Queens, NYC
    Troubleshooting
    Mayor Adams is bringing the tax lien sale back. Here’s how to get your property off the list
  • Improve
    • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide
    An image of the top of a brick New York City apartment building, including its parapet.
    Design + Architecture
    Parapet inspections: What NYC boards and building owners need to know about Local Law 126
    solar panels on a small house roof
    Design + Architecture
    Simple Yet Powerful Steps To Turn Your Apartment Eco-Friendly
    Sponsored By Ecoflow
    This is a photograph of a street in the Upper West Side in NYC viewed from the Summit in Central Park through bare tree branches.
    Renovation
    Fewer buyers, steeper rents, and costlier renovations: How tariffs could impact NYC real estate
  • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards
    • Finance
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Property Management
    • Structure & Systems
    • Sustainability
    Burned and Boarded Up Windows
    When should your board hire a public adjuster?
    Manhattan GM
    What should we consider when renewing insurance for our building?
    Facade of NYC buildings
    How much is insurance on a NYC co-op or condo building?
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with us
    • Sponsored Content
    • Experts
    FlatRate moving brick underground
    Live
    How to troubleshoot your move in advance
    Sponsored By flatrate
    Apartment buildings at Grand and Crosby streets in Soho, Manhattan
    Affordable Housing
    Ask Altagracia: My mom is moving out of our rent-stabilized apartment. How do I take over the lease?
    Sponsored By Outerbridge Law P.C.
    big apple moving NYC
    Troubleshooting
    How can I save money when hiring a moving company in NYC?
    Sponsored By Big Apple Moving
  • Brick Report
  • About Us
  • About Us
Email Address
Fulltext search
FILTER RESULTS BY:
New Main menu
  • Buy
    • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
  • Rent
    • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
  • Sell
    • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
  • Live
    • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
  • Improve
    • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide
  • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards & Buildings
    • Boards
    • Finance
    • Insurance
    • Legal
    • Property Management
    • Structure & Systems
    • Sustainability
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with us
    • Sponsored Content
    • Experts
  • Brick Report
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertise
  • About Us
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER →
Social Links Footer
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Search
Ask Altagracia [ SPONSORED ]

Ask Sam: I think my landlord is messing with our water pressure. What should I do?

By Himmelstein McConnell Gribben & Joseph LLP  | August 19, 2015 - 11:59AM
image
SHARE:
Share to Facebook
Share to Twitter
Print
More...

Dear Sam: The landlord of our rent-stabilized building keeps lowering our water pressure--you have to flush the toilet up to 10 times to get it to work, and lately, the pressure has been reduced in the shower, too. (Standing in the rain would be more effective.) Is this a common problem in buildings, and can I get a city inspector to come by and investigate unannounced? What should I do?

As with so many quality-of-life issues in buildings, your water pressure problem is likely best solved by banding together with your neighbors, says Sam Himmelstein, a lawyer who represents residential and commercial tenants and tenant associations. And while your instinct to bring in a city inspector is correct, the problem might not even be your landlord's doing.

"My first question is if you're 100 percent sure it's the landlord who's doing this," says Himmelstein. "It could be a problem with the city, or the water main." Unlike, say, messing with the building's gas supply, skimping on a building's water pressure isn't a common landlord scam, he adds. Still, it is your landlord's responsibility to provide you with a habitable living situation, and to get this fixed. "With a problem as severe as the one you describe, it's definitely a breach of the warrant of habitability," or the landlord's  legal responsibility to provide you with a  safe, livable home, says Himmelstein.

To throw some extra weight behind your complaints, talk to your neighbors to see if they're experiencing the same problem. "In general, when tenants have a building-wide habitability issue, they should try to form a group first," says Himmesltein. "That way the landlord can't respond by saying you're the only one who's complaining." (For more advice on forming a tenants' association in your building, Himmelstein has a guide here.) 

From there, submit a written complaint to the landlord--a paper trail is always helpful in these situations. "If you don't get a response, call 311 to have them send an inspector out," says Himmelstein. "If the inspector sees water pressure this inadequate, they would certainly issue a violation."

Having a city-issued violation on hand will strengthen your case to file an HP action, which, as Himmelstein has written previously, can be done without a lawyer and should result in a court order for the landlord to either fix the problem or face steep fines. "If you have violations on record, it pretty much makes the HP action a slam dunk," says Himmelstein. 

If the problem persists, you could also consider filing a reduction of services complaint with the DHCR for a rent reduction, "though it's hard to say how much [your rent might be reduced in this case.] Typically the reduction is to lower and freeze the rent at the rate paid in the last lease, but with severe problems like this, DHCR will often lower the rent to $1.00 per month," Himmelstein notes. One last level of escalation to keep in mind: if you do find out that your landlord is behind your water pressure problems, you could potentially sue for harassment on the grounds that he (or she) is engaged in intentional activities to deprive you of your rights. Long story short: you're well with in your legal rights to expect a decent shower.

Related:

Ask Sam: Is my landlord obligated to upgrade my ancient kitchen? (sponsored)

How do I fix the water pressure in my upper-level co-op?

72 NYC renters on what they wish they'd known before they moved in

Ask Sam: What kind of problems qualify me for a rent abatement? (sponsored)

See all Ask a Renters' Rights Lawyer


Sam Himmelstein, Esq. represents NYC tenants and tenant associations in disputes over evictions, rent increases, rental conversions, rent stabilization law, lease buyouts, and many other issues. He is a partner at Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph in Manhattan. To submit a question for this column, click here. To ask about a legal consultation, email Sam or call (212) 349-3000.

Brick Underground articles occasionally include the expertise of, or information about, advertising partners when relevant to the story. We will never promote an advertiser's product without making the relationship clear to our readers.

topics:

Ask Altagracia boards landlords Neighbors rent regulation rentals renting staff water pressure and use
SHARE
TWEET
BRICK’S PICKS
Historic brick facades of NYC apartment buildings
Getting overcharged by a landlord? Here’s how the Tenant Protection Unit helps rent-stabilized tenants
Apartment buildings in Soho
New Rent Guidelines Board report justifies a rent freeze, tenant advocates claim
Brooklyn apartment buildings
Understanding net effective rent: Here's how to calculate your real monthly rent
image
How much should you renovate your NYC apartment or house before selling?
Council Member Shahana Hanif hold press conference before the City Council vote on Arrow Linen spot rezoning.
City Council signs off on 10-story towers for Arrow Linen site
couple standing close, only jeans-clad legs showing
Can my boyfriend claim ownership of my condo if we break up?
Follow Brick on Instagram
@brickunderground | #brickunderground
Brick UndergroundBRICK UNDERGROUNDREAL LIFE. REAL ESTATE. REAL NEW YORK.
Social Links Footer
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Search
Main menu footer
  • Buy
    • The Market
    • Investing
    • New Construction + Condos
    • Affordable Housing
    • Co-ops
    • Negotiating + Financing
    • How to Buy in NYC Guide
  • Rent
    • Affordable Housing
    • Roommates + Landlords
    • The Market
    • The Search
    • How to Rent in NYC Guide
  • Sell
    • Staging + Open Houses
    • Negotiations + Closings
    • Getting Ready
    • How to Sell in NYC Guide
  • Live
    • Neighbors
    • Kids + Pets
    • Neighborhood Intel
    • Products + Test-drives
    • Troubleshooting
  • Improve
    • Small Spaces
    • Small Projects + DIY
    • Renovations
    • Design + Architecture
    • Products + Services
    • How to Renovate in NYC Guide

Get more news you can actually use...

The subscription service is currently unavailable. Please check again later.

Delivered to your inbox weekly - for free.

*By signing up you agree to receive occasional emails on behalf of our sponsors

Footer Menu
  • About Us
  • Advertise

Copyright 2009-2024 by BND Ventures Inc | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Ad Choices | Login