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Steven Warren Smollens
New York County Lawyers' Association
Badges
Claimed Lawyer ProfileQ&A
Practice Areas
- Real Estate Law
- Commercial Real Estate, Condominiums, Land Use & Zoning, Residential Real Estate
- Landlord Tenant
- Evictions, Housing Discrimination, Rent Control, Tenants' Rights
Fees
- Free Consultation
Jurisdictions Admitted to Practice
- New York
- New York State Office of Court Administration
- ID Number: 1564673
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- U.S. Supreme Court
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- US District Court, Eastern District
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- US District Court, Southern District
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Languages
- English: Spoken, Written
Professional Experience
- Member Civil Court Practice Section
- New York County Lawyers' Association
- Current
- Member Real Property Law Section; Incoming Co-Chairperson Landlord and Tenant Proceedings Committee effective February 2024
- NYSBA
- Current
- Co-Chairperson Civil Court Practice Section 2023-2026
- New York County Lawyers' Association
- - Current
- Co-Chairperson, Civil Court Practice Section, New York County Lawyers Association
- Correspondent
- New York County Landlord and Tenant Bar Association (NYCLTBA)
- - Current
- Private Practice of Law
- Law Office of Steven W. Smollens
- - Current
- Partner
- Law Office of Smollens Guralnick & Frazer
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- Partner
- Law Office Steven W Smollens
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- Manager Single Practice Law Office
- Law Office Steven W Smollens
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- Staff Attorney Legal Aid Society New York City Harlem Neighborhood Office
- The Legal Aid Society
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- Attorney Law Office of Steven W. Smollens 2000 - Present Partner Smollens Guralnick & Frazer 1990 - 2000 Partner Smollens & Guralnick 1984 - 1990 Attorney Steven W. Smollens 1982 - 1984
- United States Army (Reserve)
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- USAR (Reserve) Honorable Discharge 1972
Education
- Brooklyn Law School
- J.D.
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- City University of New York - City College
- B.A. | Political Science
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Awards
- CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION
- New York County Lawyers' Association
- Recognition of outstanding contribution to the Association's Continuing Legal education program
- CERTIFICATE
- NYSBA
- Co-Chairperson CLE Program Residential Landlord and Tenant Practice Update
- CERTIFICATE
- NYSBA
- Speaker Residential Landlord and Tenant Practice Update
Professional Associations
- New York State Bar # 1564673
- Member
- - Current
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Publications
Articles & Publications
- Advanced Issues in Cooperative and Condominium Law,New York County Lawyers' Association CLE Nonpayment Proceedings, Warranty of Habitability, Objectionable Conduct, Nuisance, Pets and Noise
- Jack Newton Lerner Lecture Series, NYCLA Nonpayment Proceedings, Bed Bugs, Warranty of Habitability
- New York County Lawyers' Association, CLE, Jack Newton Lerner Lecture Series Objectionable Conduct, Nuisance, Pets and Noise Nonpayment Proceedings, Warranty of Habitability
- New York County Lawyers' Association, CLE, Landlord and Tenant Practice: The Jack Newton Lerner Lecture Series Non-Payment Proceedings and the Warranty of Habitability
Speaking Engagements
- NEW YORK COUNTY LAWYERS ASSOCIATION, VARIOUS CLE PROGRAM, NEW YORK
- NYCLA
- 2007 CLE entitled Jack Newton Lerner Lecture Series Bed Bugs, Warranty of Habitability 2005 Jack Newton Lerner Lecture Series Warranty of Habitability and Non Payment Proceedings 2004 Jack Newton Lerner Lecture Series Objectionable Conduct, Nuisance, Pets and Noise 2004 Advanced Issues in Coop & Condo Law 2003 Jack Newton Lerner Lecture Series Techniques in Defending and Prosecuting a Non Payment Proceeding 2002 World Trade Center Owner and Tenant Forum in Commercial Tenant Issues
Websites & Blogs
- Website
- SmollensLawOffice
Legal Answers
348 Questions Answered
- Q. Is a verbal agreement to exit a lease early legally binding?
- A: Why not have them provide written confirmation to you now? Oral promises cannot alter the terms of a written agreement.
But even if the lease, like most residential leases, does not provide a right by a tenant to unilateral nullification, all New York tenants are protected by the mitigation of damages statute. This New York State law requires a landlord with a lease-breaching tenant to rent the abandoned apartment to a new tenant. This law requires the landlord to take reasonable and customary actions to rent the premises. Renting out the apartment again to a new tenant is a quid pro quo for the landlord, even having the right to sue for unpaid rent.
- Q. Am I liable for the unpaid utility bills if I was not under lease when charges occurred?
- A: Dear Brooklyn Tenant:
On the surface, it would seem that as the primary account owner, you have direct liability for the utility charges. You may have a valid cause of action against the tenant who succeeded you based on a theory of unjust enrichment and whatever your lawyer may figure out. A debt collection communication is not a lawsuit.
Number one is defending the claim of money owed by the collection agency. It is recommended that any debt collection notification be reviewed by a lawyer. But there is also a finite time to demand validation of the debt from the debt collector.
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/what-information-does-a-debt-collector-have-to-give-me-about-the-debt-en-331/ ... Read More
- Q. Can I change a holdover petition to eviction and recover rent arrears in NY?
- A: Dear Manhattan Property Owner:
A Holdover Summary Proceeding is an eviction proceeding. All Holdover cases allow for a claim of past unpaid rent as well as Use & Occupancy--as long as the landlord made that money claim known in the Notice of Petition.
You abandon a Holdover for a nonpayment case--that cannot fly. New York Housing Court case law does not allow for a landlord to sue for a nonpayment eviction after the lease expires. The only form for an eviction is a Holdover proceeding.
You may very well have sabotaged the existing case by making a rent demand.
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