Group Effort Jolts Slumlord Into Action

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Group Effort Jolts Slumlord Into Action
By Ron Leshnower, About.com Guide June 2, 2011
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See More About:dealing with your landlordpaying your rentcommon areas

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As you may know, it can be very frustrating when your landlord doesn't respond as quickly as you like to a repair request. But when an entire apartment building is in dire need of repair yet the landlord just lets violations pile up, what can you do?

New York City tenants, with the help of a local housing organizer and city councilman, recently got together to send a strong, collective message to their landlord that they will no longer tolerate such unsafe and unhealthy living conditions and threatened to file for state-mandated rent reductions, according to a report from the New York Daily News.

The effort appears to be working. Within a matter of months, the landlord, who had earned a spot on New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio's "Slumlord Watch List," has reportedly painted the interior common areas, repaired and remodeled most of the 44 apartments in the building, and greatly reduced the violation count.

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(Photo © Charlie Schuck / Getty Images)