Virginia K. Smith

Q: I live in a co-op building, and my upstairs neighbors have been renting for the past three years. My understanding is that they have 80 percent of the floors covered with rugs, but only in the bedrooms. They have three young children who run around and make a lot of noise. Can I legally force them to install wall-to-wall carpeting? And does the "80 percent rule" for carpeting include every room in the apartment, i.e. living room, kitchen, bathrooms, as well, or just the bedrooms and common areas?

Moving from one apartment to another in NYC comes with lots of expenses that you may not plan on—here's how to identify and budget for them.

While tenant advocates were none too impressed with Albany's recent deal to extend current rent regulation laws by four years (and raise the threshold for when an apartment can be de-regulated from $2,500 to $2,700), the laws may come with stronger tenant protections than previously thought. And it all comes down to some particularities of the wording.