Q. In December, I signed a lease for a new apartment. The owner wasn’t present, and the agent didn’t provide a copy, but he said the owner would give me a signed copy after I moved in. The owner did, but only after he crossed out the line that read, “Heat and hot water are included” and replaced it with “Tenant will pay all utilities.” The owner says the agent made a mistake. What should I do?
A. “This shows why one should always get a copy of the lease they sign and not wait for a copy with the owner’s signature,” said Joel E. Abramson, a Manhattan real estate lawyer.
If the tenant must separately pay for the utilities to keep them on, Mr. Abramson said, he can deduct the cost from the rent and send the landlord a letter explaining that he is doing so pursuant to the lease the tenant signed. “It is then likely that landlord will sue the tenant in Housing Court,” he said, adding that the tenant can assert as a defense the fact that he did not “initial” the changes made to the lease by the landlord.
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