Rego Park is a neighborhood of apartment dwellers. The towers of Park City Estates, the six-story prewar buildings off 63rd Drive, the co-ops along Queens Boulevard and the walk-ups near Woodhaven Boulevard house tens of thousands of residents. For them, the most dangerous floor is often not a supermarket aisle. It is the lobby they cross every morning, the stairwell they use when the elevator is out, the laundry room in the basement, or the icy walkway outside the front door.
Falls in your own building raise questions that store falls do not. Can you make a claim against your landlord and keep living there? What if your lease says the landlord is not responsible? What if you live in a co-op and the “landlord” is a board of your neighbors? This guide, from a slip and fall lawyer Rego Park Queens NY tenants can call, answers those questions.
Your Landlord’s Duties
New York landlords owe tenants and visitors a duty to keep the building’s common areas, including lobbies, hallways, stairwells, elevators, laundry rooms, courtyards and entrances, in reasonably safe condition. In New York City, several laws spell out specific obligations:
- The Multiple Dwelling Law requires owners of multiple dwellings to keep them in good repair (Section 78), and includes requirements for lighting in public halls and stairs.
- The NYC Housing Maintenance Code sets standards for building maintenance, including stairs, handrails, lighting and floors.
- Building codes set requirements for stair dimensions, handrails and exits, depending on the building’s age and work performed.
Violations of these laws can be evidence of negligence. Landlords are generally liable for falls caused by conditions they created, or knew or should have known about and failed to fix within a reasonable time.
Inside Your Apartment
Falls inside your own unit are more complicated. Landlords are generally responsible for repairs they are obligated to make, such as a collapsing floor, broken stairs within a duplex, or a leak from above that creates a slippery floor, especially when they had notice of the problem. Conditions you created, such as a rug or spilled liquid, are generally your responsibility.
“My Lease Says the Landlord Isn’t Responsible”
Many leases contain clauses saying the landlord is not liable for injuries. In New York, those clauses generally are not enforceable as to the landlord’s own negligence. General Obligations Law Section 5-321 provides that lease provisions exempting a landlord from liability for its own negligence are void as against public policy. So a clause in your lease does not, by itself, prevent you from bringing a claim.
“Will My Landlord Retaliate?”
New York’s Real Property Law Section 223-b prohibits landlords from retaliating against tenants for good-faith complaints about conditions, including complaints to government agencies. Retaliation can include eviction attempts or refusal to renew in certain circumstances. Claims for injuries are handled by the landlord’s liability insurance, and landlords generally carry it for exactly this purpose. If you face retaliation, document it and seek advice.
Co-op and Condo Residents
If you live in a co-op like many Rego Park buildings, the cooperative corporation owns the building and is generally responsible for common areas, usually through a managing agent. Claims are made against the co-op corporation, its managing agent and contractors, and are typically handled by the co-op’s liability insurer, not by individual board members. In a condo, the condominium board manages common elements, and similar principles apply. Your proprietary lease or bylaws may allocate responsibility for certain repairs inside units.
The Power of a Paper Trail
Notice is usually the central question. Tenants can build notice before anyone gets hurt by:
- Reporting hazards to building management in writing, by email or letter, and keeping copies.
- Calling 311 to file complaints with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), which can lead to inspections and violations.
- Photographing ongoing problems with dates.
- Organizing with neighbors; group complaints are harder to ignore.
HPD violation records are public. If HPD cited your building for a broken stair or missing light before your fall, that is strong evidence the owner knew about it.
Common Building Falls in Rego Park
- Lobby floors, often marble or terrazzo, wet from rain, snow or mopping without warning signs.
- Stairwells with burned-out lights, loose handrails, worn treads or debris.
- Building entrances with icy steps and walkways. Under NYC Administrative Code 7-210, building owners must also maintain the abutting public sidewalk, including snow and ice removal.
- Elevators that stop out of level, causing trips.
- Laundry rooms and basements with water on the floor from leaking machines or pipes.
- Courtyards and parking areas with broken pavement and poor lighting.
What To Do After a Fall in Your Building
- Get medical care.
- Photograph the hazard, the lighting, and anything that caused the fall.
- Report the fall in writing to the super and managing agent, and keep a copy.
- Ask neighbors who saw it, or who complained about the hazard before, for their names.
- Gather your prior complaints, emails and 311 records.
- Ask management to preserve lobby and hallway camera footage.
- Keep your shoes.
- Talk to a lawyer before speaking with the building’s insurer.
Deadlines
- Claims against private landlords, co-ops and condos: generally three years.
- Claims involving NYCHA or other public housing: Notice of Claim within 90 days.
- Falls on city-responsible sidewalks: Notice of Claim within 90 days.
- Wrongful death: two years.
Comparative Fault
If you were partly at fault, perhaps rushing down stairs or wearing slippers on wet marble, New York’s pure comparative negligence rule reduces your recovery by your share rather than barring it.
To check your building’s HPD violations or file a complaint, visit NYC HPD. For tenant rights information, see the New York Attorney General‘s tenant resources.
Tenants Deserve Safe Buildings
Mushiyev Law represents tenants and co-op residents injured in falls throughout Rego Park and Queens. There is no attorney fee unless we recover money for you. Visit our home page or contact us.
Directions From Rego Park to Our Rosedale Office
Mushiyev Law is at 1 Cross Island Plaza, Suite 325, Rosedale, NY 11422, beside the Cross Island Parkway and the Belt Parkway interchange.
From Park City Estates, take the LIE east to the Van Wyck south, then the Belt Parkway east and the Cross Island Parkway to Rosedale.
Visitors, Guests and Workers in Your Building
Tenants are not the only people hurt in Rego Park apartment buildings. Visitors, home health aides, delivery workers and contractors fall in lobbies and stairwells too. New York law gives all lawful visitors the same right to reasonable care, so a relative visiting for the holidays who slips on an unsalted entrance step has the same type of claim against the building owner as a tenant would. Workers injured in a building, such as home health aides or repair technicians, usually receive workers’ compensation through their employer and may also have a third-party claim against the building owner if a dangerous condition caused the fall.
A Rego Park Building Fall, Step by Step
Consider a hypothetical tenant in a six-story building off 63rd Drive. For three weeks, the light on the stairwell landing between the third and fourth floors has been out. She and two neighbors emailed the managing agent about it, and one neighbor called 311, leading to an HPD complaint. When the elevator breaks down one evening, she takes the stairs, misses the edge of a step in the dark, and fractures her ankle.
Her claim has strong notice evidence: written complaints to management, an HPD complaint record, and neighbors who will confirm how long the light was out. The Multiple Dwelling Law and Housing Maintenance Code requirements for lighting in public stairs add weight. Her lease contains a clause saying the landlord is not responsible for injuries in common areas, but under General Obligations Law 5-321 that clause is void as to the landlord’s own negligence. The building’s liability insurer handles the claim, and she continues living in her apartment.
Repair Requests That Protect Everyone
Every written repair request does two things: it helps get the problem fixed, and it creates evidence that the owner knew about it. Keep requests short and specific, including the location, the problem and the date. Save copies of emails and texts. If a hazard is not fixed within a reasonable time, follow up and call 311. Encourage neighbors to do the same. Those steps protect your whole building, not just you.
Injuries From Building Falls
Falls on stairs are especially dangerous because people fall down a flight rather than onto a flat surface. Common injuries include ankle and wrist fractures, knee injuries, back and neck injuries, hip fractures and head trauma. Falls on wet lobby floors often cause tailbone injuries, wrist fractures and shoulder injuries. Get medical care right away and follow up, because injuries like concussions and disc herniations may not be obvious at first. Keep track of how your injury affects your ability to manage stairs, carry groceries, do laundry and care for family, since those details matter in an apartment dweller’s claim.
Tenants in Rent-Stabilized Apartments
Many Rego Park tenants live in rent-stabilized apartments and worry that a claim could jeopardize a valuable lease. Rent-stabilized tenants have strong protections, including renewal rights, and anti-retaliation laws apply. A personal injury claim against the building’s insurer is not grounds for eviction. If you have concerns, raise them with your lawyer at the start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue my landlord for a fall in my Rego Park building?
Yes, if the fall was caused by a condition the landlord created or knew or should have known about and failed to fix. The landlord’s liability insurance typically handles such claims.
My lease says the landlord isn’t liable for injuries. Does that stop me?
Generally no. New York General Obligations Law 5-321 voids lease clauses exempting landlords from liability for their own negligence.
Can my landlord retaliate if I make a claim or complaint?
New York law prohibits landlord retaliation against tenants for good-faith complaints about conditions.
Who is responsible for a fall in a co-op common area?
Usually the cooperative corporation and its managing agent, through the co-op’s liability insurance.
How much does a slip and fall lawyer in Rego Park cost?
Mushiyev Law works on contingency: no attorney fee unless we recover money for you.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.