Housing Law Commons^™

Converting Nonpayment To Holdover Summary Proceedings: The New York Experience With Conditional Limitations Based Upon Nonpayment Of Rent, Stephen Ross

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article examines the development in New York law of both the landlord's right to terminate a lease for a tenant default and the tenant's right to preserve his tenancy by curing a rent default. It finds that, despite some cases to the contrary, case law in New York favors the landlord's reserved right to terminate over the tenant's historic right to cure, at least as to commercial tenancies." It concludes that, in both residential and commercial tenancies, landlords should not have this termination right' and that the legislature should enact appropriate legislation to achieve that objective. Part II of …

The Necessity For Shelter: States Must Prohibit Discrimination Against Children In Housing, Gretchen Walsh

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This note surveys the different paths courts and legislatures have taken in their attempts to end housing discrimination against children, and concludes that the most feasible and appropriate solution to the problem is a more effective form of state legislation. Part II discusses the likelihood of success and the issues surrounding a claim based upon a denial of fourteenth amendment rights. Part III centers on the possibility of using the Fair Housing Act for a private cause of action and the problems with the proposed bill to amend the Act. Part IV examines the state statutes that attempt to ban …

An Overview Of Fair Housing, Kenneth J. Kowalski

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The purpose of this article is to give an overview of federal fair housing laws and their impact on the real estate industry. This article limits its review to three principle federal statutes affecting equal-housing opportunities: Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C. §3601 et seq. (hereinafter cited as the "Act" or "Title VIII") and the 1866 and 1870 Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §§1981, 1982 (respectively "section 1981" and "section 1982"). A review of the substantive provisions of the statutes, methods of enforcement, and judicial interpretations are included. The article also discusses specific evidentiary issues, …

Rent Control Price Fixing: Another Look At The Emperor's New Clothes, Robert N. Markle

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bargaining In The Shadow Of Eminent Domain: Valuing And Apportioning Condemnation Awards Between Landlord And Tenant, Victor P. Goldberg, Thomas W. Merrill, Daniel Unumb

Faculty Scholarship

Who has a constitutionally protected "property" interest when the government condemns land subject to a lease? Is it the landlord? The tenant? Or do both parties have property rights that entitle them to compensation? Further, how should the size of the total condemnation award be determined? Should we value the property rights of the landlord and the tenant separately and sum? Or should we value the entire parcel as if it were an undivided fee simple and apportion the award between the landlord and the tenant? If the condemnation award is based on the value of a fee simple and …

Can Public Housing Tenants, Alleging Civil Rights Violations, Enforce Federal Housing Law?, Douglas Bowman, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

California Federal Savings & Loan Association V. Guerra, Director, Department Of Fair Employment And Housing, Lewis F. Powell, Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

Mitigating The Effects Of Private Revitalization On Housing For The Poor, James Goeffrey Durham, Dean E. Sheldon Iii

School of Law Faculty Publications

This article addresses how to identify the benefits and costs of revitalization. It further discusses how to allocate the costs efficiently so that revitalizers will internalize expenses, thus enabling them to make efficient decisions about undertaking projects. Efficiency may not be society's ultimate goal, but efficiency in urban revitalization would promote society's goal to treat its members equitably."

This article first examines the costs and benefits of revitalization and outlines who bears the costs and who gains the benefits. This article then offers specific proposals for forcing revitalizers to internalize their costs. These proposals provide some definite conclusions about how …

Housing Violations Void Lease-A New Tenant's Remedy

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Property Vs. Services Analysis On Tax Consequences Of Development Fees In Limited Partnership Real Estate Investments, Anthony J. Luppino

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

A Case For Asylum, Lawrence Appleby, Prakash Desai

NYLS Journal of Human Rights

No abstract provided.

Weisner Revisited: A Reappraisal Of A Co-Op's Power To Arbitrarily Prohibit The Transfer Of Its Shares, Harvey S. Epstein

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Recently, there has been a rise in cooperative ownership in New York City. As a result, the boards of co-ops play a more pivotal role in who may reside in the City. The New York State legislature is moving to limit discriminatory practices by board members. While it does so, this Note concludes that the legislature must also balance the co-op's interest to choose its shareholders. The Note advocates a "reasonableness standard" to judge purchaser rejection decisions.

Illegal Lofts In New York City: Have The Equities Been Balanced, Jay Facciolo

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In New York City today, tens of thousands of people,' primarily tenants, are illegally occupying lofts. These tenants have signed commercial leases, often long-term leases at rents far below the current market rate. The changing economics of loft buildings has led to serious conflicts between landlords and tenants. Landlords have sought to evict tenants before their leases expire, refused to renew their leases or demanded higher rental rates upon renewal. Tenants have withheld rent for extended periods. These conflicts have been taken to the courts, and legislation recently enacted in New York State attempts to resolve these issues for at …

New Limits To The Application Of The Consumer Protection Act—State V. Schwab, 103 Wn. 542, 693 P.2d 108 (1985), Lora L. Pesto

Washington Law Review

In State v. Schwab, the Washington Supreme Court removed residential landlord-tenant transactions from the purview of the Washington Consumer Protection Act (CPA). Under Schwab, litigants may no longer invoke the generous remedial provisions of the CPA to enforce tenants' rights granted by the Residential Landlord-Tenant Act. Schwab also eliminated state prosecution of residential landlord-tenant actions. The reasoning used by the court could prevent the application of the CPA to new areas of commerce, and may also limit its application in areas where it previously has been considered fully applicable.

Cold Power: Energy And Public Housing, Steven Ferrey

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

The United States Housing Act of 1937 created a regulatory scheme whereby the federal government provides utility allowances to local Public Housing Authorities (PHAs). In 1984, HUD promulgated regulations which granted PHAs the authority to establish utility allowances independent of any federal standards. Energy inefficiency and waste, however, continued to plague the vast public housing sector, compounding the burden imposed upon the poor by the general rise in energy costs.

This Article reviews the history of public housing energy regulations and argues that they have actually contributed to the present energy inefficiency of the public housing stock. This article:

· …

The Residential Tenant's Right To Freedom Of Political Expression, James E. Lobsenz, Timothy M. Swanson

Seattle University Law Review

This Article outlines the arguments to be made on behalf of residential tenants who display political signs and who encounter threats of eviction, rent increases, and other forms of landlord opposition. In Section II, the Article describes the development of the general principles of constitutional law applicable to disputes between property owners and tenants who wish to use the property owners’ premises as a forum for the expression of the tenants’ ideas and beliefs. Tracing the history of the United States Supreme Court rulings in this area, the authors analyze the waxing and waning of first amendment speech rights, the …

Getting Power Back: Court Restoration Of Executive Authority In Boston City Government, Marcy M. Murninghan

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article chronicles some of the events that occurred when a state and a federal court attempted to disengage from active jurisdiction over two Boston public systems: the public schools and the Boston Housing Authority (BHA). It makes three proposals which, if enacted, would help to keep the courts out of day-to-day management of municipal operations. It also makes some generalizations about the court-agency interplay which are relevant to the postremedial phase of institutional reform litigation. The author uses the term restorative law to describe this court-controlled process of returning power to the executive branch.

Community-Based Housing: Potential For A New Strategy, Rachel G. Bratt

William Monroe Trotter Institute Publications

While the housing problem in the United States has changed since Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed that "one-third of the nation is ill-housed," it has by no means disappeared. For most low-income people, and to a lesser extent for moderate income people, housing still presents formidable problems.

Academics and housing analysts recognize four major aspects of the housing problem: affordability (ratio of housing costs to income), adequacy (including quality and overcrowding), neighborhood conditions, and availability. Over the past decade, the nature of the country's housing problem has undergone some important transformations.

Until ten years ago the phrase "housing problem" conjured up …

Exclusion Of Families With Children From Housing, George Palmer Schober

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note attempts to resolve the most significant problems raised by discrimination against children in housing. Part I briefly analyzes the prevalence of child exclusion in different types of housing. It also provides a statistical analysis of the rental housing market to enable the reader to gauge the extent of the problem in one type of housing. Part II discusses policy arguments supporting both those who seek to exclude children and those who advocate government policies forbidding exclusion. Part III then examines the various approaches that states have adopted in this area, as well as federal implications of the issue. …

Zoning Discrimination Affecting Retarded Persons, 29 Wash. U. J. Urb. & Contemp. L. 67 (1985), Susan Marie Connor

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Title I Of The 1949 Federal Housing Act On New York City Cooperative And Condominium Conversion Plans, Steven C. Forest

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In 1985, three Manhattan housing projects were in litigation to convert the units from rental to condominiums or cooperative ownership. However, each project's redevelopment agreement, consistent with Title I of the 1949 Federal Housing Act, required that "no change" be made without consent of the City Planning Commission and the Board of Estimates of the City. This Note analyzes whether the conversion of rental units built under Title I to ownership units constitutes a "change" as interpreted by the New York courts. The interpretation of the term "change" under the Title I redevelopment agreements will be analyzed from both the …

"Not In My Neighborhood:" Legal Challenges To The Establishment Of Community Residences For The Mentally Disabled In New York State, Robert L. Schonfeld

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article examines the laws and lawsuits which have affected the establishment of community residences for the mentally disabled in New York State. First, the Article traces the history of community residences prior to the enactment of the Padavan Law in 1978. Thereafter, this Article analyzes the statute to determine whether its procedures and interpretations by courts have been consistent with the drafters' stated intentions. In addition to examining the statutory procedures, this Article considers issues of zoning, the statute's constitutionality, the standing of neighbors and neighborhood groups to challenge community residence sites, and the effect of restrictive covenants on …

Enforcement Of The Fair Housing Act: What Role Should The Federal Government Play?, Alex Waldrop

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Dependent Covenants In Commercial Leases: Hindquarter Corp. V. Property Development Corp., Tracy R. Antley Faust

Seattle University Law Review

This Note demonstrates that the Washington Supreme Court correctly applied contract principles to the Hindquarter lease dispute. The Note first reviews the historical development of dependent covenants in both residential and commercial contexts. After setting out this important background information, the Note examines Hindquarter and the three factors that influenced the Washington Supreme Court in following the dependent covenants trend: (1) material inducements to execute the lease; (2) the intent of the parties; and (3) equity and policy considerations. The Note concludes that, even though the landlord prevailed in Hindquarter, commercial tenants stand to gain most from the supreme …

Direct Payment Housing Subsidies Count As Household Income In Determining Food Stamp Benefits: The Effect Of Ruhe V. Bergland, J. Randall Minchew

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Fundamental Issues In Housing Discrimination Litigation, J. Michael Mcguinness

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Forfeiture Clauses In Land Installment Contracts: Time For Equitable Foreclosure, Donna R. Roper

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment will trace the history of the Washington courts' decision to deny foreclosure by judicial sale in land installment contracts with forfeiture clauses and will demonstrate the viability and preferability of foreclosure by judicial sale as an equitable remedy for a defaulting buyer. The Comment will also describe how other states, either legislatively or judicially, have resolved the inequity of forfeitures.

New York City's J-51 Program: Controversy And Revision, Debra S. Vorsanger

Fordham Urban Law Journal

New York City administers a real estate tax incentive program, called the J-51 program, for eligible building owners who rehabilitate existing structures. Despite the need for such a program, various problems and abuses arose, emphasizing the need for major reform. Economic conditions changed the housing market and the tax incentives demonstrated several deleterious effects which contravene the original legislative intent of the program. After long negotiations surrounding several competing arguments, reforms were made. The current revisions were necessary to correct the abuses and to return the program to its original purpose of providing adequate housing for moderate and lower income …

Judicial Remedies In Pattern And Practice Suits Under The Fair Housing Act Of 1968: United States V. City Of Parma, Karen E. Rubin

Cleveland State Law Review

The elimination of racially segregated housing is a national goal of high priority. This goal is reflected in the pronouncements of law-makers and policy shapers, in decisional law, and in the existence of federal and state legislation designed to eradicate ghettos and replace them with "truly integrated and balanced" communities. Yet segregated housing patterns persist, often finding their source and legitimization in the policies and practices of local governments. This Note will examine an Ohio decision, United States v. City of Parma, and its impact on two issues: the bringing of a "pattern and practice" suit under Title VII of …

Displacement And Urban Reinvestment: A Mount Laurel Perspective, Peter W. Salsich

All Faculty Scholarship

This article discusses the continuing national debate concerning the responsibility that local governments should accept when residents are forced to leave their homes as a result of reinvestment activities encouraged by the cities and funded in part with public funds. The author explains the many different forms that reinvestment displacement may take and traces the legislative and judicial response to this issue. Despite what the author refers to as a considerable amount of buck passing, the article points out resources that are being made available to combat displacement. The article highlights the Supreme Court of New Jersey opinion in the …