Property owners are not holding their breath for a citywide ban on domestic smoking, like the ones barring lighting up in bars or restaurants, but non-smoking is increasingly becoming a requirement for renters in New York City. The Daily News reports that while the city's health department doesn't have hard numbers on the trend, more real estate companies are forbidding renters to smoke anywhere on the premises. It's not just rental properties either:Manhattan real estate......

Pet-owning tenants of eight buildings in the Bronx are distressed over letters recently sent out by the South Bronx Management Company, who took over the buildings that were once owned by the city. The letters point out that leases prevent the keeping of pets in the building and threaten that if tenants don't get rid of their animals, they will be evicted. This sounds like a case for the pet lawyers! Indeed, many tenants have......

Yesterday Mayor Bloomberg signed off on the city’s first law enabling tenants to sue landlords in Housing Court for systemic harassment. Previously, tenants had to take landlords to court for each and every violation, such as failure to provide hot water or letting so much water leak that floors collapse. The so-called Tenant Protection Act is primarily aimed at landlords who are trying to force tenants out of rent-regulated apartments in order to bump the......