Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Midtown NYC Landlord Slams Tenant w/ $300K Lawsuit For Allegedly Illegally Peddling 'Short Stay' Sublets On Airbnb For $200/Night, Resulting In $60K+ Tab In City Fines For Landlord
In New York City, the New York Daily News reports (via The Real Deal - NYC):
That's one heckuva hotel tab.
A Midtown landlord is suing a tenant for $300,000 for repeatedly renting out her apartment on Airbnb for $200 a night.
In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, 357 West 54th St. LLC says Madalina Iacob's bid to make some quick bucks on Airbnb and other short-term apartment rental sites has already cost the building over $60,000 in fines — and could wind up costing it four times as much.
"Under the law, the landlord is strictly liable even though it's the tenant causing the violation — and even though we're not participating in this with this lady," said the building's lawyer, Lawrence Silberman.
Iacob's lease on the small $2095-a-month one-bedroom says that "tenant understands that they may NOT sublet the apartment" — but that's what the yoga instructor and self-described life coach and emotional intelligence coach was caught doing by the city in May, court papers say.
As a result, the building was slammed with four violations by the city, including operating as an illegal hotel, not having the required amount of exits for a hotel and not having adequate fire alarm system for a hotel.
All of the tenants denied to building management that they were the illegal renters, but staff wound up catching Iacob red-handed, Silberman said. [more]
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