My NYC apartment has been leaking through the roof for six months. Literally the weekend I moved in, there was a huge storm, and now my apartment is just constantly wet.

It’s damaging the sheetrock and the paint, which I can live with, so long as landlord doesn’t try to stick it to me. But bigger problem is there’s LOTS of mold, and the leaks are so bad that it’s knocked out my electrical once before, requiring significant electrical repairs. This, of course, is a fire hazard, not to mention very irritating practically. Furthermore, I am very allergic to mold, and I have had to have approximately five ear and sinus surgeries due to mold exposure in the past—so I’m not exaggerating about how unsafe the conditions are, at least for me personally.

Landlord just isn’t doing anything at all because he says the neighbor won’t give him roof access next door to repair the leaky roof. So he’s thrown up his hands and given up on his landlordly duties of fixing the roof, and he certainly isn’t doing anything about the mold inside the unit because that would be a “waste of money” until the roof is repaired …

I’m an attorney (but not this kind), so I am generally familiar with my legal rights here and know that it doesn’t look good for landlord. However, as a practical matter, what are my rights and best/most practical course of action?

I think best recourse from a cost/time perspective is to complain to the city, but it will still take a long time for that process to resolve. Alternatively, I could seek to terminate the lease early. Not sure it’s worth my trouble to sue so long as landlord cooperates with move out, but this living situation is not sustainable. Really, I don’t want to move out, because there’s will be a significant cost associated with finding a new place and moving again. I like the apartment—I just wish they would maintain it, at least to the point of habitability.

I spoke with landlord by phone today (again, for like the 15th time) to relay my health concerns given than I now have an active ear infection from the mold, and he told me to move out because he knows I’m going to sue him anyway. There’s six months left on my lease, but landlord made it clear he doesn’t want to deal with me and my annoying habitability concerns anymore.

If I pursue legal remedies with the city complaint process, lease termination process, or the courts, what happens at my next place when landlord won’t give me a good recommendation? I hear whispers about a formal or informal blacklist of tenants among NYC landlords. All my prior landlords will give me positive references, though … I’m actually friends with most of them because I’m a good tenant. Lol.

Thoughts?