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Crazy NYC Landlords Make Bizarre Demands on Would Be Tenants
By: Donny Simcha Guttman
The New York Post recently reported a trend of landlords’ quacky, insane requirements to rent from them. The Post found a case where the landowner, Michael Arieh Lerner, described on a listing as a “wonderful vegan landlord”, listed apartments that would only be rented if the renters would agree to not cook any meat or fish in the kitchen. Andrea Kelly, the broker of Lerner said, “It’s not vegetarian-only, but the owner lives in the building and doesn’t want the smell of cooking meat drifting upstairs.” The apartments located on 90 South Oxford Street in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene are listed as $4,500 and $5,750, respectively for each listed apartment.
The Post also cited a recent case where an 81 year-old Las Vegas man required as a part of the leasing agreement, to sign a ‘Direct Consent for Sexual Intercourse and/or Fallatio or Cunnilingus’ form. The form “does hereby freely give implied consent to consecutive or concurrent sexual encounters between the REPONDENT/S and the INITIATOR/S.” Additionally, part of the form stipulates that, “[she] does not currently have a boyfriend/girlfriend/parent who is larger, meaner and more physically aggressive, owns firearms and/or is more possessive than the INITIATOR/S.” A lawsuit has been filed against the man, while in addition, the man’s property’s management and the broker’s licenses have been revoked. Part of the lawsuit is whether the man at question violated the Fair Housing Act.
The Fair Housing Act was an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1966, which made it illegal to discriminate in housing, though no enforcement or provisions were established in the bill. As a part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 however, one of the bills passed in subsequent years was federal provisions for whom or what is included in being discriminated against. Groups included now by 2023 via the original bill and subsequent amendments years later, are based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and handicap. Many states and cities have other groups that are included in state anti-discrimination housing laws. New York City, as an example, considers discrimination for weight and hairstyle as additional violations.
The Post also reported on a case where a landlord required her renters to be heavy smokers. The broker, Luis Martinez said about her client that, “Her rule was that she would only rent to smokers. She was a very heavy smoker and she only wanted other smokers living there. The place smelled of cigarettes and her furniture had a nicotine patina. She did not want anyone who would complain about her smoking. She put real estate ads in Japanese-language newspapers because she believed that Japanese people were likelier to be cigarette smokers.”
The Post further reported on a couple who are landlords who will only rent to those that keep a low carbon footprint and who respect the environment. The broker of the couple said to the Post that, “The couple said they would go through the garbage to make sure that a lot of it was composted. They wanted people who did not fly anywhere, worked at home and did not own a car that used gasoline. They wouldn’t use email because deleting junk email wastes a lot of electricity. I drove to appointments there and parked my car a few blocks from their home.”
