Our partner, Jarred I. Kassenoff, recently answered a question -- posed by a New York TImes reader -- about carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.
The text of the piece follows:
Q.
I live in a 180-unit rental building in Manhattan and my landlord wants to charge everyone $25 to install a carbon monoxide detector. Is this legal, or is the landlord obligated to provide the detector free of charge as a basic buildingwide service? What’s next, another $25 to replace the smoke detector?
A. The landlord does not have to provide carbon monoxide detectors free of charge. “While a landlord is ultimately responsible for ensuring that tenants are protected from building conditions that could be detrimental to life, health or safety, there are instances where a landlord may appropriately seek to be reimbursed for providing a service,” said Jarred I. Kassenoff, a Manhattan real estate lawyer. In the City of New York, a local law expressly provides that a tenant must pay a landlord $25 for the installation of a carbon monoxide detector, or for replacing a device that has exceeded its useful life, or that has been lost or damaged by an occupant. The law also provides that the owner can charge an additional $10 for a smoke detector, he said.
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To view the post on the Times' website, please use this link: JARRED ON CO & SMOKE DETECTORS
