A Process Server at the Door
Q I live in a doorman building. I was three weeks late on my monthly rent and a process server appeared at my door, served me, and took my photo. The doorman allowed the process server up to my floor without alerting me on the intercom. Are these breaches of privacy by my landlord?
A "When a tenant fails to pay rent on time," said Lucas A. Ferrara, a Manhattan real estate lawyer, "a landlord is usually permitted to start an eviction proceeding right after any grace period or notice periods reserved in the lease have expired." To do that, the service of certain paperwork -- like a "rent demand" and a "notice of petition and petition" -- is statutorily required. And those papers must be delivered to the tenant, at the actual apartment, rather than be left with the doorman. To avoid a tenant's claim that the documents were not legally served, some landlords ask the process server to videotape the exchange or photograph the recipient. Under current law, the mere taking of an image outside the confines of the tenant's apartment doesn't constitute a violation of privacy rights, Mr. Ferrara said.