Bad Landlord? These Coders Are Here to Help

This is proof positive that there is genuine humanity in our city. Mr. Kass is a genius who has created a resource for our citizens to even the playing field...kudos Mr. Kass!!!

https://whoownswhat.justfix.nyc/ - Does NY not have an assesor's database? In MA, all citys/town have a database that is searchable online, I wasn't sure that was state exclusive.

Exactly this: "Landlords often own numerous residential buildings, each under the guise of a limited liability company. Using separate L.L.C.s allows landlords to protect themselves legally and maintain anonymity." Recently decided not to take an apartment because research indicated the building's owner is a 2 year old LLC with the same address as another LLC with many negative, highly detailed reviews on Yelp. Dept of Buildings and HPD websites' violations and other info was corroborative. No doubt landlords will increase variation of these LLC addresses even more often, especially after an article like this, so hopefully the coders are on it because it is a key area of obfuscation. Kudos to these coders. We're behind you all the way!

I hope you can spread this nation/worldwide. Renters (I'm a senior renter) definitely need to be aware when apt.shopping

Wonderful app. I hope it will be available everywhere soon. Most apartment buildings where I live are infested with bedbugs and cockroaches. I will bet the landlords will be on fire when this app is available everywhere!

I wonder if there is a way that we could donate money to Mr. Kass, in order to help him to create his software?

THANK YOU. I, like everyone, had an awful landlord experience and I am hopeful that this tool will help others who go through it too. I found that these sort of tools weren't accessible, and people in my old building are likely still suffering through it (I got out). I just found out all of the open violations of my old landlord in all of his buildings and I am not surprised.

Would love to see a similar website focusing on decent landlords who provide what the tenant bargained for, and more.

Particularly relevant as landlords and property owners use hiked rent to skirt anti-discrimination fair housing laws and just-cause eviction ordinances. And as they seek to dump tenants in favor of Air BnB "guests" in high tourist areas.

To truly appreciate the extent that the mayor, governor, city and state agencies collude with predatory real estate developers to circumvent tenant rights as well as the depth of the corruption may I suggest reading the excellent NY Times series on the Housing Crisis published in May of 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/20/nyregion/nyc-affordable-housing.html As well as Pro Publica's 33 part series entitled The Rent Racket https://www.propublica.org/series/the-rent-racket

Until tenants organize they will be working for the Kushners,the Trumps,and others who buy,own ,and control those responsible for the oversight of them. Not all the cockroaches are hiding in the walls.

The City's housing supply is under siege by foreign "investors" under assume-named LLCs and by predatory "LLC" landlords using shameful eviction tactics to clear out tenants. Its heartening to hear that these young coders are using their skill-set to help those who need help.

This is a truly commendable effort. To consolidate so much information is a real benefit to the tenant and it has been a long time coming. THANK-YOU SO MUCH While the essentials of the rent stabilization code (NYS) and law (NYC) is a fairly straight forward, the attendant 421-a and J-51 laws are unnecessarily byzantine. A tenant's research must be informed by the law. If a tenant discovers illegal activity on the part of the landlord then what? One would imagine that the courts would offer relief. WRONG As the NYTimes analysis of Housing Court concluded the courts have been hijacked by the real estate industry. In addition, De Blasio and Cuomo are the real estate industry's stooges, as was Schneiderman, who literally refuse to enforce the law. The city and state agencies legally responsible for the monitoring and administration of rent stabilization and related programs are equally liable in colluding with predatory developers to thwart the very law under their exclusive jurisdiction. All the while the city oversees a tax exempt programs supposedly designed to provide affordable housing that is currently costing taxpayers in excess of $2 billion per year. With city and state government actively obstructing the rule of law and the corruption of the courts it is near impossible for a tenant to pursue their rights. Mr Kass and his collaborators have made a contribution to fighting on behalf of tenant rights. The fight can use all the talents it can muster.

I would love to see the web of intrigue between the Trump organization and their numerous partners and clients.

Dan Kass & Georges Clement - as always you guys are AMAZING "Who Owns What" - Awesome work! Would you please set out to tackle the Department of Buildings complaints and fines that have resulted in loss of life. Construction as harassment - constant cooking gas outages - who is minding the store.

People should also check out www.rentlogic.com and www.housingrightsny.org

"Landlords often own numerous residential buildings, each under the guise of a limited liability company. Using separate L.L.C.s allows landlords to protect themselves legally and maintain anonymity." And guess what allows for this idiocy? A state government bought and owned by the city's real estate interests. I'm sure Dan has their names.

kudos to them!

Now let's get the goods on the worst bad landlord of them all, sitting at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue...

Oh Seattle, King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties! With all our programmers we need you to save the rest of us with families of children and elders from exile and earthquakes destroying new high rent tall apartment and condominiums that meet only weak earthquake standards.

Great! Are the housing advocates watching? They should be.

Perhaps LLC's should not be allowed to own property? I know, fat chance; real estate pulls the strings, and the politicians sing and dance. So it goes.

Outstanding! A crowd-sourced way to pierce the veil of predatory landlords. This needs to go national!

Sounds like my son's experience with bad landlord in Boston...no A/C, spray for roaches every other week, etc.

Bravo! To these smart and humane coders and organizers. The nation's rental market is beginning to turn our society back to a feudal times, or worse because few landlords will accept barter arrangements (goods or services) for rent.

This kind of user driven apps to keep an eye on landlords that are negligent is a great idea, but the developers also have to be careful to add some kind of protection so that trolls won't target an innocent landlord. In an age where Hollywood stars can pay for an army of fake bot followers to boost by millions their Social Network accounts to make them look better in the eyes of potential employers, I can see corrupt people shifting the tide with fake complains to drive people away from their competition for their own benefit. If the special team in Facebook guarding the fake news still hasn't figured out a way to stop the bots, I don't see how a new initiative like this that still needs to iron out some core features could do it. Still a great idea, hope it becomes mainstream.

Wonderful !! Thank you. As someone in trial right now in Housing Court to protect my rights as a stabilized tenant in a building going condo, I am David vs Goliath against this huge landlord and while I appreciate much of the protections Housing Court has afforded me in the process because I am without a lawyer, I am going right away to this database to examine my landlord's history of evictions etc. to see what I can make of it in my closing argument at the last part of the trial, end January.

This might be one of the greatest things to happen for city residents in a long time. I hope these young men keep up the good work!

I hope that someone does this in the Los Angeles area because rents keep increasing, salaries don't and more people are being forced out.

Much much much needed in the SF Bay Area! Would be amazed that none of the local techies didn't come up with this stuff, and sooner, but they make so much more money than the rest of the general population that they either own or can afford sky-high and ever-increasing rent without a second thought. Also, they are young enough that concerns about staying in the same neighborhood - for kids schooling, elder support and so forth don't register for them - yet.

Nice, but like 15-20 years too late. I'm a survivor of both Shalom (aka Ohebshalom) and Cronin rental empires in lower Manhattan. (Both also seem to have or have had units in upper Manhattan and adjacent boroughs.) Hundreds perhaps thousands of us were harassed out of our homes and communities for committing the unpardonable sin of living in rent stabilized buildings. I don't want to minimize what people who have been through real wars must go/have gone through, but to me and many of us, that's what it felt like. Appearing out of nowhere, psychological and physical violence, displacement. Our lives forever destroyed. Now, of course, it's happening to commercial tenants through great swaths of the city, particularly downtown. Does no one at City Hall or in Albany get the concept of community?

Just like Mr. Kass, l’m trying to empower homeowners against builders. In Washington DC, the builders get special zoning exceptions, destroy or damage neighboring homes and still get Scott free. They know they have support from the police, electrical company, and from the local politician at our detriment. Just like owner, they hide behind the building permits. In dc you can hire a third party to get you a building permit. How do I know this, because I had first hand experience in this matter.