Q: I moved out of New York Metropolis to an condo in New Rochelle. As an alternative of keys, tenants use a smartphone app to open doorways to the constructing foyer and particular person residences. The app usually fails after I use it, however I don’t have a key as a backup. This coverage wasn’t disclosed after I signed the lease, which doesn’t point out the dearth of keys. Can a constructing refuse to present residents keys? What about older folks with out smartphones? Or folks with imaginative and prescient points?
A: As long as you possibly can exit your condo and the constructing in an emergency while not having to make use of the app, the owner is free to make use of the digital expertise as an alterative to a key. It’s just like landlords who present key fobs or playing cards in lieu of steel keys, mentioned Alan J. Goldberg, a Manhattan lawyer who represents tenants.
And since smartphones are ubiquitous, it isn’t unreasonable that your landlord would select a expertise that requires you to have one. “Nearly all people has a smartphone these days,” Mr. Goldberg mentioned. “I don’t suppose the courts can be sympathetic to that” should you challenged the coverage.
As you point out, nevertheless, the app may not be accessible to tenants with disabilities, like imaginative and prescient or reminiscence impairment, or mobility limitations. A tenant with a incapacity ought to notify the owner of their want for an affordable lodging, requesting a substitute for the app, like a conventional key. If the owner doesn’t adjust to the request, the tenant can file a criticism with the New York State Division of Human Rights.
For everybody else, the app should do. However it must work, and also you talked about that yours is unreliable. If the system fails, the owner has to repair it and give you an alternate technique of getting into the constructing and your condo. Put your complaints in regards to the issues in writing. If the owner fails to handle them instantly, file a criticism with the New Rochelle bureau of buildings.
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