Brick Underground, January 09, 2019
Who is Responsible for a Clogged Drain: You or Your landlord?
Many residential buildings in New York City—and their plumbing systems—are old, so if you live in one of them you can expect a clogged drain in your sink or bathtub to happen. And when that does happen, your nice, hot shower can quickly go from “ahh” to “ugh” as water starts rising past your feet. But a perk of being a renter is that your super or landlord is responsible for many of your apartment’s repairs, including clogged pipes. If you own your place, however, those things are pretty much all on you—to handle yourself or contact a professional to deal with. "Generally, a blocked drain will be handled by your landlord. Mostly they prefer you let them handle it as opposed to trying to deal with it yourself because you could potentially damage the pipes,” says J’Nell Simmons, CEO of LandlordsNY, a social network for vetted landlords and property owners that own and manage more than 1 million residential apartments across the city.
