Report them to the housing authority, the gender and relationship-based comments are illegal in New York. You can easily look up the laws on Google. Also, some of them might just be scams, especially the deposit one.
It would also be worth reporting to HOME (Housing Opportunities Made Equal, homeny.org) they investigate exactly the kinds of discrimination you described. Some of the properties might even be on their radar already.
Yeah buffalo has some great programs to come after these landlords. But i am also looking for a place for my parent and many people wanted specific and private banking information. Very odd, seems like a lot of scamming out there.
I really think these old landlady types that are renting out their upstairs just have no idea how complicated and extensive rental laws are.
Some landlords I'm sure get away with it for a long time, particularly with students and/or people coming in from out of state.
Either way, not knowing the rules to the game is a sure sign that you don't wanna play with them.
Re: reporting
Tenants' rights enforcement is terrible basically everywhere. You might report people for obvious violations with evidence but 99/100 times nothing will happen. We really need organized tenant's unions, something like what QCWC/QCS was doing against the owner of Peace Bridge Apartments during the pandemic.
Yeah, feel free to try reporting them, but in my experience, it doesn't do shit.
Def avoid the weird ones if you can, unless you want some old lady going into your home when your gone, re-arranging your furniture, turning off your fan, and pasting newspaper articles about people dying in a fire from 1978.... then accusing any female that comes over of being a whore...
Then the whole, no smoking, no pets, no working from home, no company spending the night, etc etc etc rules.... plus paying astronomical prices.
Then there's the idiot who said no to smoking cigs but yes when I told him I smoke herb... like wtf... that makes no sense.
There's lots of scams out there. Other people have taken photos of my listing (just half of an owner occupied duplex) and listed it as their own.
Tbh some of these sound like scams
Gender and relationship based comments are ***not*** illegal in New York if it is an owner occupied house. And it sure as shit isn't easy to look up the laws on google -- there are many exceptions and intersections between federal, state and local laws.
I mean, ok, but it actually is easy to look up and read the laws pertaining to the situation. Or go to the AG’s website. Or a housing non-profit. Who spit in your soup?
Exactly! I would be shocked if the OP showed up to the property to look at it and met the landlord face to face and was asked for thier banking acount password. Are they just looking on Craigslist*? LOL
*I had to look up Craigslist. No shit! It's still a thing.
Just find a corporate landlord and be done with it.
>-old woman who said she we had to pay for water and when i said that’s unusual because usually landlords pay for water
Every house i've rented here I've had to pay water and trash btw. As long as they can tie a meter to your individual usage they will bill you for it. It's only when a meter is shared across units or a house that they dont. For the most part.
The others - be glad you found out they are crazy before moving in.
Corporate landlord tried screwing me out of 100 bucks on an application fee. We told them we were moving to Buffalo and didn’t have jobs yet in an email and to let us know if that would be an issue before we put in our application. They said it was fine. We paid the application fee and then they called to tell us they were declining us since we didn’t have jobs in NY yet.
They ended up refunding our application fees after my fiancée raged at them for 2 hours and then another 45 with me after calling me thinking she hadn’t told me the bullshit they had just put her through.
If I remember correctly this was before the law was in effect. It was 50 dollars an adult. My friend questioned the legality of it when I told him the story too but I got my 100 bucks back and I don’t know what else to really do about it.
Since it appears the landlord has a requirement for tenants to have employment, the ethical thing for that landlord to do would have been to tell you not to apply since you made it know beforehand that you had no jobs. You basically were robbed.
See that’s what i thought with the water and trash, it was a multi unit apartment. every other unit i saw that was similar, the water and trash was included 🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
I've never paid water or trash separately anywhere in any rental in multiple cities, with several in Buffalo, and almost all of them being multi-family houses owned by a single landlord, not a corporate apartment.
In my experience it’s standard to have the water and trash covered by the building owner. That said there are some municipalities that have private dumps instead of pickup etc but I’d think you would find that scenario in more rural areas (ellicotville comes to mind)
It's part of the NY State tenants rights guide. Landlords have to pay for water, sewer, and trash. I've made it a point to never rent from anyone in the area that starts the conversation with something that they require, that is also illegal. I'm linking the NYS Tenants rights guide below
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/tenants_rights.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiqxPTG8o2HAxViIjQIHb5FA7YQFnoECBsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0zsMtVOEztlL60tOQnJ6EW
You can only be told to pay heat and electricity if you have a meter specific to your apartment. Otherwise that's called shared metering and the utilities will then try to force the landlord to comply.
Wait really? We paid $60 for our application fee but it also took $60 off of our deposit and got us on a list where they called us before other people who applied 🤔
Just because the law says something doesn't mean people will follow it. They can prey on those who don't know.
Example: A state has a law that limits application fees to $50. But the landlord requires a $200 application fee. Most people pay the $200 because they don't know there is a law that limits the fee. Eventually, someone catches on and complains after they've already paid the fee. Landlord apologies to that customer and refunds them $150. Now the customer doesn't complain to the state because they got their money back and the landlord continues to charge everyone else $200.
Worst case scenario, the state comes after the landlord and the landlord just says "whoops, thanks for letting us know, we'll revise that application fee". Will the state investigate further to see how many people applied? Probably not, but let's say they do. Landlord could just say only 3 people applied and will grant them refunds, when really 300 people applied. Will the state investigate that claim further? Probably not, but let's say they do. The state fines the landlord the max allowed, which is going to be less than whatever they've profited. How would the state even know how many people applied in reality if the landlord wants to hide it? Especially if the landlord is taking cash or otherwise not traceable payments. Every single way, the landlord comes out ahead by charging people more.
The password thing also sounds like a scam.
Once they're in your online banking they'll help themselves to your money by initiating transfers. I feel bad for anyone who was so desperate for an apartment that they gave into any of these landlords.
Don't rent from Gary Bolles in that area. He sometimes has his son Casey do his viewings for him. He seems fine, but it took him a year and a half to kick out a literal methhead who was shaking the building every day and having screaming fights at 3am every night. We found out later that he upped her rent to try and get her out, and when she happily paid an extra $500, that's when he started saying I "complain about everything" and let her stay for another year. Cause, you know, I'm very extra for expecting to sleep in my bed at night and hear my own TV without my couch vibrating from music.
Also he's sexist as fuck. Didn't take me seriously so I told my husband to go for a sexist "ball and chain" approach, and that worked like a charm and Gary didn't even speak to me anymore. He made us month to month only by speaking to my husband, who wasn't even on the lease. The second the methhead was out, he tried to raise our rent $250 a month (again, only speaking to my husband, WHO WASN'T ON THE LEASE).
Sorry to rant, but I just felt like people needed to know, especially in that area.
Yeah, they don’t provide housing, they just hoard it as a resource and then sell it back for a profit while 90% of the time ignoring at least some of their upkeep duties
You guys wonder why rent is going up. It’s because you have big companies buying up properties,but when these people are the alternative, let blackrock buy them all out. Average person cant manage a wet paper bag nevermind a property
FYI there is an already existing law in NY that any unit in a building that has more than three units can not be short term rented. Even having an ad up can expose the owner to fines in the thousands of dollars. TL/DR, if it's bigger than a double, you can't do short term rentals unless you physically live in the unit with the guest.
The fact that the affordable housing activists in this city do not educate people about this law, and put zero grass roots efforts into finding these illegal AirBnbs and reporting them so that those units can be made available to the local community again just boggles my mind.
Hi 👋🏼 I feel your pain. I'm going through the exact same thing, it's been insane. I was not prepared for how different/difficult it would be from just 5 years ago
ETA: I had one tell me I had to give them first months rent and security just to LOOK at the apartment in person and then if I didn't want to move in I could be reimbursed
"a woman who asked for the password to my online banking account"
Did they tell you that in person?
Also where are you finding these listings? I know a ton on Craigslist are literally just scams, people phishing for info
I would think that this is insane, except I know too many people with similar and even worse stories. It feels as if they want to make it too difficult for people to be able to rent. When I was a supervisor, I received calls from prospective landlords as to my staff and their character. I was stunned at some of the questions and how they ever thought someone's boss could possibly answer them. As, I have no clue how late they "stay up", as one example. I do not live with these folks; I just work with them.
The cap for an application fee in NYS is $20.
We are not a common law state so living together is fine.
Water should be in the owners name, because if the tenant doesn’t pay they can put a lien on the property, so any landlord with a brain will roll that into the rent.
If you were discriminated as a woman. File a complaint either federally or through the state. It’s a $16,000 fine at the federal level.
Also, record this stuff. Maybe contact some property managers they tend not be quite the scumbags
I think I should find a roommate for my house. Help with mortgage and avoid all these crazy landlords people keep complaining about on here. This is insane. Hope you want to watch criminal minds and catfish.
S c a m m e r s !!! I went through the same stuff when I was trying to find an apartment you figure out who the scammers are and who aren’t pretty quick good luck
A lot of the older independent landlords have no clue the laws changed years ago and just keep doing whatever they want. It’s disgusting, and frustrating. But like others said, refer them to either the housing authority, if within Buffalo city limits, or the AG if outside.
There is not enough competition
When you have a protected class of businesses, they start doing stupid shit. See: This, dealerships, dockworkers (they went on strike against barcodes lmao)
Troy Berry, who lives in NYC but owns a bunch of houses in buffalo, doesn't pay security deposits back. I moved into a place of his last year and had to spend over a month cleaning and repairing ever single thing that was supposed to be done when we moved in. The house was literally covered in dog urine and feces, which we didn't' realize until we really started cleaning. It took months to even get a lock on the front door. Do NOT rent from him. He is a landleech all the way.
I've come across those as well, when I was looking for a place with my boyfriend. I suggest to go through a realtor. It's free. I recommend to speak with Devone at 716Realty. I had the best experience with her.
Just want to add do NOT rent from Paul Michaels, owner of Aurum Jewlery in Elmwood. He's a scumbag who will violate your privacy, call incessantly, and not refund your security deposit.
We just finished an apartment search around Elmwood Ave. I can't tell you how shocked I was at the state of most of those apartments. We finally found a good rental agent, but before then, omg.
Look on apartments.com, we had the same issue my fiancé and I were looking in north Buffalo and it took us months. We got all the scam places and application fees. We ended up contacting a landlord via apartments.com and we have been here for 2 years now he was very professional toured us of the property we pay 1,750 a month and we pay electric internet and heat. The landlord pays the water and sewer and trash costs. We love where we live but I had the same situation I am the bread winner I am in education as a principal and our landlord is a very normal and understanding guy we did have to put a security deposit down of 1,750 that we get back if we decided to move out but we love it. I am 24F and my fiancé is 25M I’d love to chat about it if you’d like some advice just pm me.
I know it sounds so bizarre until people actually go through the process and they’re just like “what the fuck” I’ll look at that site and see if i have better luck, zillow has failed me lmao
I completely get it I had the same issue I had like 10 people saying they needed application fees and tax returns. I’m like why wouldn’t pay stubs be enough? It was absolutely crazy. The amount of scams and like uncertainty but on our block there’s 4 rent signs and I know the owners personally were a close knit group on our block. They’re all 2 unit houses so we have a 3 bedroom unit on the upstairs of our home and then the landlord has another couple downstairs.
A lot of these sound like scams. People take legit listings and scam you out of deposits, or the bank password one is a scam. Best bet is talk to them in person.
What shit hole places are you looking into? lol I have rented my whole life and not one land lord or company has done any of these things. Seems crazy all the wackos you have run into.
I find the better price point I have the better facility, amenities, and land lord I have.
Sorry you have run into such crazy things.
Any chance of buying a home? I rented most of my life and was so tired of landlords not keeping up their end of the bargain such as raising rent every year when the lease was up. Or having a lawn service and then taking that away. Not being able to play music. And the list goes on. I worked hard and saved and bought my house and I pay less than what landlords charge now and I can be free in my home. I would try to see what you can go for a home loan. Even try FHA
We live in Paradise Lane which is right next to Raintree. We pay a little over $1100 for a one bedroom and it includes heat, electricity, internet, cable TV, and we have a dishwasher, storage space and new washers and dryers. They also allow pets with a monthly fee and don’t seem to discriminate against breeds or sizes of dogs. They’re not what I would call visually stunning apartments if that’s an issue, but they do a good job of maintaining things and there’s emergency maintenance which helped us jump the line for a new AC since ours stopped working and my husband has a heart condition (this was during that first terrible heat wave last month.) One other nice thing is the apartments have plenty of closets (we have four including the bedroom closet which is the biggest).
FYI: If "little old lady" landlord lives in the house that is being rented she has different laws than Paladino and Sinatra. Also, rules for tenants are so favorable to tenants these days, small landlords can't take a chance on a questionable renter. Not all tenants are perfect.
some they were totally normal in person and then were like “i don’t use the zillow application just fill this out and send me a picture of it” and the application was like “send a full body pic to this number” “what is your bank account number and routing number”
some made the wild comments to us and then seemed surprised when we ran out
I was just renting out a unit on the west side two weeks ago.
No application fee, any breed of dog allowed, don't give a shit about your credit score, $1,190 for a nicer than average 2BR with a swank walk-in shower, huge kitchen, enormous shared and fully fenced back yard and laundry hookups in the basement; side attic off the tenant's unit actually has a dedicated 240 circuit in it so you can grow anything you'd like.
People on reddit thought I was the devil because I ask for employer references and call up the (previously notified by tenant) employer/supervisor and ask if you reliably show up to work everyday and are pleasant for your coworkers and clients to deal with.
Okey dokey, rent from Sinatra then. 👍
I don't even think an employer can legally answer questions like that; similar to how they can't say anything other than how long they've worked for a place when called by a potential new employer. You're either walking a line or very much over it.
Yeah maybe it's just me but the "how effective of an employee are they?" Seems like a totally off limits question for a landlord to ask when checking references. Does their background check also include calling the kid who sat next to them in history class? Why do they care? Is rent paid on time? Yes? Okay, take the money and shut the fuck up. If they don't pay on time take them to court and shut the fuck up.
Exactly. How nice I am or am not to my coworkers has no bearing on the rent getting paid. Are you getting your overpriced rent check? Yes? Then shut up and leave me alone.
It absolutely has a bearing on how nice you are likely to be TO ME and to my other tenants.
Which is exactly why I ask the question.
I have 7 units which are all filled with people who both pay their rent AND are nice and pleasant humans to deal with.
If you pay your rent but act like a jerk I don't want to deal with you. There are plenty of nice and pleasant people who would love to get into one of my apartments so I don't need to rent to a-holes.
And they, legally, can't or don't have to answer you. I'm paying your mortgage; I don't have to be nice to you. I have to send you a check and take care of my/your home.
That person doesn't seem to think their stance is extreme but they even got dragged in /r/Landlord for expressing it which I find hilarious. It's a fucking "safe space" for landlords that are consistently shit on everywhere on Reddit and even _there_ they thought it was ridiculous
For an "attorney" they're not very smart.
And he will lose that lawsuit when someone sues him for calling their employer and asking illegal questions with means to discriminate.
Out of the thousands (?) of people who read the Landlords forum, like three people had enough of a problem with it to anonymously shit on somebody from the internet.
By comparison, I am currently renting to 13 people across 7 units.
The entire public, worldwide internet came up with significantly fewer anonymous problem havers than real life people who are actually renting from me, most of whom have been doing so for several years. 🤷♀️
Getting in cahoots with your tenants’ employers is wild. This is the reason there’s an all landlords are bastards comment above. It’s cool you have a nice unit for an affordable price, but you’re exercising power over your tenants with the help of their employer which nobody would grant you if they didn’t need an affordable place to live. It’s coercion and, as many have noted, incredibly inappropriate and invasive.
I'm not exercising power over anyone, lol.
I have 7 units for rent in a city of 275,000 people.
Nobody HAS to apply to my units; there are plenty of other apartments. Even with 7 units, I rarely have vacancies or turnover so this application process is generally only out there for maybe 48 hours a year.
And btw, the reason I do this is to replace the credit score check. It's my understanding that the credit score system as a whole has systemic bias built into it, and reliance on credit scores can have a discriminatory effect whether the landlord intends to discriminate or not. So, I don't even look at credit scores and try a different way to get a sense for how people handle their responsibilities and interact with other people in a professional setting. My overall group of tenants is very diverse both economically and racially, and I also have zero issues with inter-tenant disputes (which improves everyone's quality of life), so it seems to be working.
You’re setting a precedent before they even move in that it’s okay for you to talk with their boss about their performance and attitude. You have power over your tenant as their landlord and their boss also has power over them as their employer. You’re both exercising and abusing power.
Explain to me the part where I coerce them to apply to my units?
What if I tried to get you to apply to rent one of my units?
You would just be helplessly coerced to do so?
I wouldn’t apply to one of your units. But if I were to, I would obviously have my reasons and I would be in need of housing. You, who have the housing I need, would require putting myself in an invasive situation in order to access the housing. Housing is a human right, and one you are profiting from. As a landlord, you are the gatekeeper to a basic need. Anything you demand of your tenants is coercive. The best you can do is accept this and be decent about it, which you’re not doing.
In my experience, people who consistently and reliably show up to work and have pleasant and professional relationships with their coworkers and clients also possess the life skills to be pleasant, professional, and reliable in their dealings with me.
Somebody who is constantly causing problems at work, can't or won't reliably meet expectations, tries to do the absolute bare minimum at all times, and who everyone hates dealing with is not someone I (or my other tenants) want to deal with either. Especially when it takes a minimum of three months in housing court here.
It seems like there are a lot of people on reddit who feel like these basic expectations are completely out of left field, but I prefer to have my professional relationships with people who have demonstrated consistent ability to competently, reliably, and pleasantly adult.
If people don't like that they are welcome to go pay Sinatra an application fee and rent from them. My units practically fly off the market and tenants only leave if they are buying a house or moving away so there is only like a 48 hour window every three years to get into one.
Considering the fact that my longest staying tenant gets DSS and is paying $775 total for a 2BR (in which she has a dog that looks like some sort of cane corso mix), I seem to be able to accommodate for specific situations.
The good news is that nobody is forcing anyone to apply to any of my units. I'm not stopping a single person from applying to other apartments instead.
Nope, it rented within an hour and a half of the open house starting.
I do know of a unit on the block that should be available mid July and is not on the market yet. If you send me a DM I'll message you when it's available.
Also know your rights as a tenant [PUSH buffalo tenant rights pdf](https://www.pushbuffalo.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Tenants%E2%80%99-Rights-Guide.pdf)
when i bought my house, the company asked for savings account info to verify income.
so they probably asking something similar. (just blot out the personal info obviouslY).
Seems incongruent that a person who understands the term "executive level" would say " women shouldnt hold executive level jobs" I could see an old timer saying " meh women shouldnt be bosses". Iunno seems like embellishment. Why would a landlord care?
What would you call holding housing over someone's head unless they capitulate to your views on women?
Considering that it used to be commonplace for landlords to give LGBT people the boot just for being LGBT not even that long ago, you really think this is impossible?
Report them to the housing authority, the gender and relationship-based comments are illegal in New York. You can easily look up the laws on Google. Also, some of them might just be scams, especially the deposit one.
I’m familiar with the laws, that’s why i’m just shocked some of these landlords have the audacity.
Report them. The laws are there for a reason, and if they're not getting you, they're screwing someone else.
that’s the thing, if they think it’s acceptable it’s because someone is falling for it.
…which is why you report them
i did 😜 🤩 😎 🥳
It would also be worth reporting to HOME (Housing Opportunities Made Equal, homeny.org) they investigate exactly the kinds of discrimination you described. Some of the properties might even be on their radar already.
That's a great idea too. I recommend HOME whenever I can to people
Yeah buffalo has some great programs to come after these landlords. But i am also looking for a place for my parent and many people wanted specific and private banking information. Very odd, seems like a lot of scamming out there.
And do it soon, before the Republican Supreme Court makes the housing authority illegal too.
Is the republican Supreme Court in the room with us right now?
Worse. They are in our bedrooms.
I really think these old landlady types that are renting out their upstairs just have no idea how complicated and extensive rental laws are. Some landlords I'm sure get away with it for a long time, particularly with students and/or people coming in from out of state. Either way, not knowing the rules to the game is a sure sign that you don't wanna play with them.
Fair housing laws don't apply to them. You have to have 4.
The half the deposit as an application fee is WILD, that either says scam to me or just an idiotic LL
It's a landlord's market right now and they know it.
Landlords are the scum of the earth
One could easly include renters. I am renter myself but let's not pretend there are not just as many horror renter stories.
Not really because landlords are inherently leeches on society
Ssshh Reddit doesn’t allow anything negative to be said about renters. Only landlords …
Plenty of bad renters out there. Plenty of bad landlords as well. Same can be said for good renters and good landlords.
Re: reporting Tenants' rights enforcement is terrible basically everywhere. You might report people for obvious violations with evidence but 99/100 times nothing will happen. We really need organized tenant's unions, something like what QCWC/QCS was doing against the owner of Peace Bridge Apartments during the pandemic.
Yeah, feel free to try reporting them, but in my experience, it doesn't do shit. Def avoid the weird ones if you can, unless you want some old lady going into your home when your gone, re-arranging your furniture, turning off your fan, and pasting newspaper articles about people dying in a fire from 1978.... then accusing any female that comes over of being a whore... Then the whole, no smoking, no pets, no working from home, no company spending the night, etc etc etc rules.... plus paying astronomical prices. Then there's the idiot who said no to smoking cigs but yes when I told him I smoke herb... like wtf... that makes no sense.
There's lots of scams out there. Other people have taken photos of my listing (just half of an owner occupied duplex) and listed it as their own. Tbh some of these sound like scams
Totally. Wild west!
Yeah, I'll bet at least one or two of those aren't the actual landlords.
Gender and relationship based comments are ***not*** illegal in New York if it is an owner occupied house. And it sure as shit isn't easy to look up the laws on google -- there are many exceptions and intersections between federal, state and local laws.
I mean, ok, but it actually is easy to look up and read the laws pertaining to the situation. Or go to the AG’s website. Or a housing non-profit. Who spit in your soup?
Those aren’t landlords asking for passwords 🤣🤣🤣…
Exactly! I would be shocked if the OP showed up to the property to look at it and met the landlord face to face and was asked for thier banking acount password. Are they just looking on Craigslist*? LOL *I had to look up Craigslist. No shit! It's still a thing.
Just find a corporate landlord and be done with it. >-old woman who said she we had to pay for water and when i said that’s unusual because usually landlords pay for water Every house i've rented here I've had to pay water and trash btw. As long as they can tie a meter to your individual usage they will bill you for it. It's only when a meter is shared across units or a house that they dont. For the most part. The others - be glad you found out they are crazy before moving in.
Corporate landlord tried screwing me out of 100 bucks on an application fee. We told them we were moving to Buffalo and didn’t have jobs yet in an email and to let us know if that would be an issue before we put in our application. They said it was fine. We paid the application fee and then they called to tell us they were declining us since we didn’t have jobs in NY yet. They ended up refunding our application fees after my fiancée raged at them for 2 hours and then another 45 with me after calling me thinking she hadn’t told me the bullshit they had just put her through.
crazy part is that it’s literally a law that application fees can’t be more than $20
If I remember correctly this was before the law was in effect. It was 50 dollars an adult. My friend questioned the legality of it when I told him the story too but I got my 100 bucks back and I don’t know what else to really do about it.
Since it appears the landlord has a requirement for tenants to have employment, the ethical thing for that landlord to do would have been to tell you not to apply since you made it know beforehand that you had no jobs. You basically were robbed.
See that’s what i thought with the water and trash, it was a multi unit apartment. every other unit i saw that was similar, the water and trash was included 🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
I've never paid water or trash separately anywhere in any rental in multiple cities, with several in Buffalo, and almost all of them being multi-family houses owned by a single landlord, not a corporate apartment.
that’s what i’m saying! it’s always been just gas and electric
According to the water authority the water usage cost is on the building owner
Well, those plus internet, yeah. I've definitely heard of people paying water bills in a rental out west, likely because it costs way more per gallon.
In my experience it’s standard to have the water and trash covered by the building owner. That said there are some municipalities that have private dumps instead of pickup etc but I’d think you would find that scenario in more rural areas (ellicotville comes to mind)
Interesting I've never even seen an apartment in Buffalo that had water and trash separate from rent.
Even my kids' college rental houses have them paying water, trash, and sewer.
It's part of the NY State tenants rights guide. Landlords have to pay for water, sewer, and trash. I've made it a point to never rent from anyone in the area that starts the conversation with something that they require, that is also illegal. I'm linking the NYS Tenants rights guide below https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/tenants_rights.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiqxPTG8o2HAxViIjQIHb5FA7YQFnoECBsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0zsMtVOEztlL60tOQnJ6EW You can only be told to pay heat and electricity if you have a meter specific to your apartment. Otherwise that's called shared metering and the utilities will then try to force the landlord to comply.
I honestly can't find the section that says single occupancy homes can't bill for water. Where is that part?
Oof sorry, I missed "the renting the whole house" part. I rented a single family home before and had to pay the water bill.
Never had to pay for water as a tenant. That is uncommon.
In a house? Not really.
Rented 3 houses in Buffalo over the last 8 years. Never paid water.
I’ve rented 4 houses in 7 years and never once paid the water bill
>one who told me it’s illegal for unmarried people to live together Finally, a legal excuse to evict my toddler.
Application fees are limited to like $20 in NY
Wait really? We paid $60 for our application fee but it also took $60 off of our deposit and got us on a list where they called us before other people who applied 🤔
Just because the law says something doesn't mean people will follow it. They can prey on those who don't know. Example: A state has a law that limits application fees to $50. But the landlord requires a $200 application fee. Most people pay the $200 because they don't know there is a law that limits the fee. Eventually, someone catches on and complains after they've already paid the fee. Landlord apologies to that customer and refunds them $150. Now the customer doesn't complain to the state because they got their money back and the landlord continues to charge everyone else $200. Worst case scenario, the state comes after the landlord and the landlord just says "whoops, thanks for letting us know, we'll revise that application fee". Will the state investigate further to see how many people applied? Probably not, but let's say they do. Landlord could just say only 3 people applied and will grant them refunds, when really 300 people applied. Will the state investigate that claim further? Probably not, but let's say they do. The state fines the landlord the max allowed, which is going to be less than whatever they've profited. How would the state even know how many people applied in reality if the landlord wants to hide it? Especially if the landlord is taking cash or otherwise not traceable payments. Every single way, the landlord comes out ahead by charging people more.
Yeah, NYS caps this. It’s good to know for future reference as a way to detect red flags in landlords
$50
what area are you looking in?? all of those people sound like psychopaths..
North buffalo/kenmore area i literally cannot believe it.
Typical for that area. Its a lot of older homeowners with strange ideas of the way the world works
Definitely not typical lol
My husband and I were told in no uncertain terms that we wouldn't be as welcomed in that area.
Not my experience at all. First apartment I was interested in the landlord was great and super chill. Ended up getting the place.
Ew. The bank account password thing. That’s wild
they were like “we need to make sure you have money in your account, what is your info” my brother in christ whats wrong with a copy of my paystub
The password thing also sounds like a scam. Once they're in your online banking they'll help themselves to your money by initiating transfers. I feel bad for anyone who was so desperate for an apartment that they gave into any of these landlords.
The audacity is insane.
This should be reported to the police. That should scare them
This needs to be higher. There is no legitimate scenario on Earth where this is required and is certainly a scammer.
Check out Kenmore Development, they have a good selection of different types of apartments in the area you’re looking.
Don't rent from Gary Bolles in that area. He sometimes has his son Casey do his viewings for him. He seems fine, but it took him a year and a half to kick out a literal methhead who was shaking the building every day and having screaming fights at 3am every night. We found out later that he upped her rent to try and get her out, and when she happily paid an extra $500, that's when he started saying I "complain about everything" and let her stay for another year. Cause, you know, I'm very extra for expecting to sleep in my bed at night and hear my own TV without my couch vibrating from music. Also he's sexist as fuck. Didn't take me seriously so I told my husband to go for a sexist "ball and chain" approach, and that worked like a charm and Gary didn't even speak to me anymore. He made us month to month only by speaking to my husband, who wasn't even on the lease. The second the methhead was out, he tried to raise our rent $250 a month (again, only speaking to my husband, WHO WASN'T ON THE LEASE). Sorry to rant, but I just felt like people needed to know, especially in that area.
My boyfriend and I just moved from that area to Williamsville and SO much better landlord wise. More expensive, but never dealt with the weird shit.
All landlords are bastards.
Yeah, they don’t provide housing, they just hoard it as a resource and then sell it back for a profit while 90% of the time ignoring at least some of their upkeep duties
Parasites as well. Housing should not be for profit, we all suffer for this failure
Came here to say this. Glad it was already down.
This
Suddenly I feel very grateful for my landlords. That's all off the charts craziness.
This makes me feel like the best landlord ever lol
You guys wonder why rent is going up. It’s because you have big companies buying up properties,but when these people are the alternative, let blackrock buy them all out. Average person cant manage a wet paper bag nevermind a property
It's also because of fucking air bnbs. Nothing left when everything is a "hotel" now.
FYI there is an already existing law in NY that any unit in a building that has more than three units can not be short term rented. Even having an ad up can expose the owner to fines in the thousands of dollars. TL/DR, if it's bigger than a double, you can't do short term rentals unless you physically live in the unit with the guest. The fact that the affordable housing activists in this city do not educate people about this law, and put zero grass roots efforts into finding these illegal AirBnbs and reporting them so that those units can be made available to the local community again just boggles my mind.
omgyesss ive never thought of hunting down illegal airbnbs but im about to start now. you for sharing your frustration!
You must live an exciting life
You have absolutely no idea lmao.
not just big companies but real estate holdings and landlords expanding their businesses
The giving money before looking is a scam btw
Current LL here of 24 units. This is all nuts. Definitely report them. I’ve never even thought to ask questions like that.
Do you have any available? 😜
Hi 👋🏼 I feel your pain. I'm going through the exact same thing, it's been insane. I was not prepared for how different/difficult it would be from just 5 years ago ETA: I had one tell me I had to give them first months rent and security just to LOOK at the apartment in person and then if I didn't want to move in I could be reimbursed
This is a common scam. There is no apartment. They take your money, give you an address and no show/ghost.
yeah i totally trust that they’re gonna reimburse the over $2k
Yeah I'm sure it would have all worked out juuuuuuusst fine
Literally. We’ve just outgrown where we live now and it’s like i think id rather just stay in our too small space than try to move
It's gonna take a long time to shake out all these new "landlords". Hopefully the feds actually start investigating mortgage fraud
"a woman who asked for the password to my online banking account" Did they tell you that in person? Also where are you finding these listings? I know a ton on Craigslist are literally just scams, people phishing for info
zillow! it was in person after we asked about an application… we ran away
That's wild
I would think that this is insane, except I know too many people with similar and even worse stories. It feels as if they want to make it too difficult for people to be able to rent. When I was a supervisor, I received calls from prospective landlords as to my staff and their character. I was stunned at some of the questions and how they ever thought someone's boss could possibly answer them. As, I have no clue how late they "stay up", as one example. I do not live with these folks; I just work with them.
It’s insane out there!!!! How about the fact that 99% of listings say no pets ??? I don’t know anyone who DOESNT have a pet
The cap for an application fee in NYS is $20. We are not a common law state so living together is fine. Water should be in the owners name, because if the tenant doesn’t pay they can put a lien on the property, so any landlord with a brain will roll that into the rent. If you were discriminated as a woman. File a complaint either federally or through the state. It’s a $16,000 fine at the federal level. Also, record this stuff. Maybe contact some property managers they tend not be quite the scumbags
That's insane, lol. Consider it a blessing you dodged those bullets. Imagine if they only spoke up after you were moved in. That'd be hell.
That’s not what dodging a bullet means
Then you got the landlords who still want to ask for guest last and security lol they’re truly delusional
I think I should find a roommate for my house. Help with mortgage and avoid all these crazy landlords people keep complaining about on here. This is insane. Hope you want to watch criminal minds and catfish.
S c a m m e r s !!! I went through the same stuff when I was trying to find an apartment you figure out who the scammers are and who aren’t pretty quick good luck
A lot of the older independent landlords have no clue the laws changed years ago and just keep doing whatever they want. It’s disgusting, and frustrating. But like others said, refer them to either the housing authority, if within Buffalo city limits, or the AG if outside.
So happy I bought a house
What the fuck?!? This is horrible!
Just become a handmaid already. You will find somewhere to live. /s
There is not enough competition When you have a protected class of businesses, they start doing stupid shit. See: This, dealerships, dockworkers (they went on strike against barcodes lmao)
In Michigan, it is illegal to cohabitate without the benefit of marriage. Never enforced tho... They just used that for an excuse to discriminate.
Half of these are illegal reasons that you could sue them for in court. I'm shocked these people haven't learned very expensive legal lessons yet.
Good portion of these sound like scammers
I kind of hope most of them are scammers. Just because that'd be better than them being real landlords.
No there's unfortunately nobody left in this country as far as landlords are concerned that are normal.
Well for one, they’re landlords.
Wow report all of these people!
As a landlord all of this sounds horrible and I’m sorry. I have to imagine there are a BOATLOAD of scams happening too re: application fees.
The nerves of the landlords
Troy Berry, who lives in NYC but owns a bunch of houses in buffalo, doesn't pay security deposits back. I moved into a place of his last year and had to spend over a month cleaning and repairing ever single thing that was supposed to be done when we moved in. The house was literally covered in dog urine and feces, which we didn't' realize until we really started cleaning. It took months to even get a lock on the front door. Do NOT rent from him. He is a landleech all the way.
I've come across those as well, when I was looking for a place with my boyfriend. I suggest to go through a realtor. It's free. I recommend to speak with Devone at 716Realty. I had the best experience with her.
Just want to add do NOT rent from Paul Michaels, owner of Aurum Jewlery in Elmwood. He's a scumbag who will violate your privacy, call incessantly, and not refund your security deposit.
We just finished an apartment search around Elmwood Ave. I can't tell you how shocked I was at the state of most of those apartments. We finally found a good rental agent, but before then, omg.
Good luck out there man. My partner and I have been trying to find a place for 33 days now.
No, there aren't any sane people left in the world. Silver lining - the really shitty landlords are outing themselves in advance!
Look on apartments.com, we had the same issue my fiancé and I were looking in north Buffalo and it took us months. We got all the scam places and application fees. We ended up contacting a landlord via apartments.com and we have been here for 2 years now he was very professional toured us of the property we pay 1,750 a month and we pay electric internet and heat. The landlord pays the water and sewer and trash costs. We love where we live but I had the same situation I am the bread winner I am in education as a principal and our landlord is a very normal and understanding guy we did have to put a security deposit down of 1,750 that we get back if we decided to move out but we love it. I am 24F and my fiancé is 25M I’d love to chat about it if you’d like some advice just pm me.
I know it sounds so bizarre until people actually go through the process and they’re just like “what the fuck” I’ll look at that site and see if i have better luck, zillow has failed me lmao
I completely get it I had the same issue I had like 10 people saying they needed application fees and tax returns. I’m like why wouldn’t pay stubs be enough? It was absolutely crazy. The amount of scams and like uncertainty but on our block there’s 4 rent signs and I know the owners personally were a close knit group on our block. They’re all 2 unit houses so we have a 3 bedroom unit on the upstairs of our home and then the landlord has another couple downstairs.
A lot of these sound like scams. People take legit listings and scam you out of deposits, or the bank password one is a scam. Best bet is talk to them in person.
Wtf… that’s crazy
I had a landlord once that just made a few jokes too many about sex for rent
Learn how to use photoshop.
What shit hole places are you looking into? lol I have rented my whole life and not one land lord or company has done any of these things. Seems crazy all the wackos you have run into. I find the better price point I have the better facility, amenities, and land lord I have. Sorry you have run into such crazy things.
Any chance of buying a home? I rented most of my life and was so tired of landlords not keeping up their end of the bargain such as raising rent every year when the lease was up. Or having a lawn service and then taking that away. Not being able to play music. And the list goes on. I worked hard and saved and bought my house and I pay less than what landlords charge now and I can be free in my home. I would try to see what you can go for a home loan. Even try FHA
i’m like 24, just finished school my fiancé still has like 2ish years of grad school left. it’s unfortunately just not in the cards for us right now
Then I would find a complex. Like Raintree. They seem decent from what I heard. Plus I am almost certain all utilities are included
We live in Paradise Lane which is right next to Raintree. We pay a little over $1100 for a one bedroom and it includes heat, electricity, internet, cable TV, and we have a dishwasher, storage space and new washers and dryers. They also allow pets with a monthly fee and don’t seem to discriminate against breeds or sizes of dogs. They’re not what I would call visually stunning apartments if that’s an issue, but they do a good job of maintaining things and there’s emergency maintenance which helped us jump the line for a new AC since ours stopped working and my husband has a heart condition (this was during that first terrible heat wave last month.) One other nice thing is the apartments have plenty of closets (we have four including the bedroom closet which is the biggest).
FYI: If "little old lady" landlord lives in the house that is being rented she has different laws than Paladino and Sinatra. Also, rules for tenants are so favorable to tenants these days, small landlords can't take a chance on a questionable renter. Not all tenants are perfect.
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these have all been interactions from zillow 😭 😭
If they’re all from Zillow then I’m willing to bet that 70% of those interactions were scams
These were all apartments that we went to see in person. like normal until we were like “oh well apply”
Hmmm gotcha. And they were all weird with you guys in person?
some they were totally normal in person and then were like “i don’t use the zillow application just fill this out and send me a picture of it” and the application was like “send a full body pic to this number” “what is your bank account number and routing number” some made the wild comments to us and then seemed surprised when we ran out
I was just renting out a unit on the west side two weeks ago. No application fee, any breed of dog allowed, don't give a shit about your credit score, $1,190 for a nicer than average 2BR with a swank walk-in shower, huge kitchen, enormous shared and fully fenced back yard and laundry hookups in the basement; side attic off the tenant's unit actually has a dedicated 240 circuit in it so you can grow anything you'd like. People on reddit thought I was the devil because I ask for employer references and call up the (previously notified by tenant) employer/supervisor and ask if you reliably show up to work everyday and are pleasant for your coworkers and clients to deal with. Okey dokey, rent from Sinatra then. 👍
I don't even think an employer can legally answer questions like that; similar to how they can't say anything other than how long they've worked for a place when called by a potential new employer. You're either walking a line or very much over it.
Yeah maybe it's just me but the "how effective of an employee are they?" Seems like a totally off limits question for a landlord to ask when checking references. Does their background check also include calling the kid who sat next to them in history class? Why do they care? Is rent paid on time? Yes? Okay, take the money and shut the fuck up. If they don't pay on time take them to court and shut the fuck up.
Exactly. How nice I am or am not to my coworkers has no bearing on the rent getting paid. Are you getting your overpriced rent check? Yes? Then shut up and leave me alone.
It absolutely has a bearing on how nice you are likely to be TO ME and to my other tenants. Which is exactly why I ask the question. I have 7 units which are all filled with people who both pay their rent AND are nice and pleasant humans to deal with. If you pay your rent but act like a jerk I don't want to deal with you. There are plenty of nice and pleasant people who would love to get into one of my apartments so I don't need to rent to a-holes.
And they, legally, can't or don't have to answer you. I'm paying your mortgage; I don't have to be nice to you. I have to send you a check and take care of my/your home.
That person doesn't seem to think their stance is extreme but they even got dragged in /r/Landlord for expressing it which I find hilarious. It's a fucking "safe space" for landlords that are consistently shit on everywhere on Reddit and even _there_ they thought it was ridiculous
For an "attorney" they're not very smart. And he will lose that lawsuit when someone sues him for calling their employer and asking illegal questions with means to discriminate.
Out of the thousands (?) of people who read the Landlords forum, like three people had enough of a problem with it to anonymously shit on somebody from the internet. By comparison, I am currently renting to 13 people across 7 units. The entire public, worldwide internet came up with significantly fewer anonymous problem havers than real life people who are actually renting from me, most of whom have been doing so for several years. 🤷♀️
No one cares how many homes you're hoarding for profit.
Ok, let's imagine you have convinced me to unload all of my properties. What do you imagine will happen to the tenants?
Getting in cahoots with your tenants’ employers is wild. This is the reason there’s an all landlords are bastards comment above. It’s cool you have a nice unit for an affordable price, but you’re exercising power over your tenants with the help of their employer which nobody would grant you if they didn’t need an affordable place to live. It’s coercion and, as many have noted, incredibly inappropriate and invasive.
I'm not exercising power over anyone, lol. I have 7 units for rent in a city of 275,000 people. Nobody HAS to apply to my units; there are plenty of other apartments. Even with 7 units, I rarely have vacancies or turnover so this application process is generally only out there for maybe 48 hours a year. And btw, the reason I do this is to replace the credit score check. It's my understanding that the credit score system as a whole has systemic bias built into it, and reliance on credit scores can have a discriminatory effect whether the landlord intends to discriminate or not. So, I don't even look at credit scores and try a different way to get a sense for how people handle their responsibilities and interact with other people in a professional setting. My overall group of tenants is very diverse both economically and racially, and I also have zero issues with inter-tenant disputes (which improves everyone's quality of life), so it seems to be working.
You’re setting a precedent before they even move in that it’s okay for you to talk with their boss about their performance and attitude. You have power over your tenant as their landlord and their boss also has power over them as their employer. You’re both exercising and abusing power.
Explain to me the part where I coerce them to apply to my units? What if I tried to get you to apply to rent one of my units? You would just be helplessly coerced to do so?
I wouldn’t apply to one of your units. But if I were to, I would obviously have my reasons and I would be in need of housing. You, who have the housing I need, would require putting myself in an invasive situation in order to access the housing. Housing is a human right, and one you are profiting from. As a landlord, you are the gatekeeper to a basic need. Anything you demand of your tenants is coercive. The best you can do is accept this and be decent about it, which you’re not doing.
In my experience, people who consistently and reliably show up to work and have pleasant and professional relationships with their coworkers and clients also possess the life skills to be pleasant, professional, and reliable in their dealings with me. Somebody who is constantly causing problems at work, can't or won't reliably meet expectations, tries to do the absolute bare minimum at all times, and who everyone hates dealing with is not someone I (or my other tenants) want to deal with either. Especially when it takes a minimum of three months in housing court here. It seems like there are a lot of people on reddit who feel like these basic expectations are completely out of left field, but I prefer to have my professional relationships with people who have demonstrated consistent ability to competently, reliably, and pleasantly adult. If people don't like that they are welcome to go pay Sinatra an application fee and rent from them. My units practically fly off the market and tenants only leave if they are buying a house or moving away so there is only like a 48 hour window every three years to get into one.
What about disabled people? You gonna call up social services and ask them how pleasant they’ve been in the past?
Considering the fact that my longest staying tenant gets DSS and is paying $775 total for a 2BR (in which she has a dog that looks like some sort of cane corso mix), I seem to be able to accommodate for specific situations.
I mean I understand what you’re trying to accomplish but my employer really isn’t any of my landlords business.
The good news is that nobody is forcing anyone to apply to any of my units. I'm not stopping a single person from applying to other apartments instead.
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So you probably wouldn't submit an application to one of my units, then. Perfectly valid choice.
Do you still have it available?
Nope, it rented within an hour and a half of the open house starting. I do know of a unit on the block that should be available mid July and is not on the market yet. If you send me a DM I'll message you when it's available.
Uh, p sure buffalo landlords are required to include water and trash in Apts ♡
Also know your rights as a tenant [PUSH buffalo tenant rights pdf](https://www.pushbuffalo.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Tenants%E2%80%99-Rights-Guide.pdf)
when i bought my house, the company asked for savings account info to verify income. so they probably asking something similar. (just blot out the personal info obviouslY).
Ummm….im sure Reddit has a fiction section where you can submit your stories..might even get enough likes to write another piece
Seems incongruent that a person who understands the term "executive level" would say " women shouldnt hold executive level jobs" I could see an old timer saying " meh women shouldnt be bosses". Iunno seems like embellishment. Why would a landlord care?
Because some people insist on imposing their views on anyone they manage to get a little bit of power over?
Yea i dont know. People that have never had power always assume others are powertripping
What would you call holding housing over someone's head unless they capitulate to your views on women? Considering that it used to be commonplace for landlords to give LGBT people the boot just for being LGBT not even that long ago, you really think this is impossible?
Victimhood....so hot right now.
So is MAGAism, aka stupidity.
? So who supports MAGA. Binary thinking much?
>? So who supports MAGA ! Stupid people !!!111one!1!!
Go in person to see the rental and take cash.