Welcome to Ohm, the ultimate slumlord…read more
Last year I got my dream job that relocated me to NYC.
NYC was in the midst of a housing crisis, my rental options were limited. I chose Ohm due to its proximity to work. My horror story begins with signing the lease remotely:
Upon arrival to NYC and entering the unit, my dreams quickly dissolved. My $5,395/mo unit was a disaster: broken appliances, holes, exposed wiring, and soon-to-be-discovered non-working heaters and malfunctioning window blistering winds into the unit. My mounting concerns and pleas were met with gaslighting, denial, and several failed attempts to fix a long list of issues. It was so cold, that I had to wear a winter jacket, sleep under 3 blankets, and fall ill with acute bronchitis. The management downplayed every habitability issue - taking no accountability and belittling me. Their director of management Troy Berman suggested in an email that, perhaps, I don't know how to use a heater offering to teach me; their maintenance guy said that, perhaps, I am not strong enough to shut down a window properly. It wasn't the casual sexist comments, but their negligence as I suffered in an unlivable unit.
3rd week into my lease & nothing is fixed. I'm exhausted, physically and mentally, living in a construction zone as the maintenance guys go in and out, pretending to do fixes, leaving their massive ladders, open paint cans, and construction appliances in my unit. The crucial aspects aren't getting fixed. I am paying $5,395 and living in the midst of construction in a freezing temp. I told Ohm I wished to break the lease on the basis of failed safe livable conditions.
The management replied with early vacate "options" that felt more like extortion: either an additional penalty of $10,790 to leave now (forfeiting my deposit) OR the nebulous "billed until re-rented". Thinking I could at least recover my deposit from option 2, I mistakenly believed they would act in good faith and make genuine efforts to re-rent the unit swiftly - THIS WAS ONE, HUGE MISTAKE.
After vacating, Ohm deliberately didn't show the unit, didn't make an online listing on SteetEasy with the rest of its listings, but kept accumulating exorbitant charges against me. Seeing what was happening, I anxiously began to reach out to the leasing agent Tim Lauben, asking to revert to their initial offer of $10,790, so they could just leave me alone. He said he'll talk to management and get back to me. Instead, he disappears ignoring all the following emails. I informed them that I had lost my job and wouldn't be able to meet any additional payments if they kept accumulating them.
As the leasing agent disappeared, Ohm's financial team appeared loudly - they actively hounded me for payments. Ultimately, a bill of over $23,000 landed on my doorstep.
I believe Ohm delayed re-renting the unit so they could renovate it - the maintenance guys accidentally blurted that they couldn't fix my window as it would take months to order parts. Ohm was likely renovating the unit while I was bearing the costs.
This ordeal cost me countless nights of sleep and peace of mind. Feeling helpless and victimized as a tenant against a profiteering, extorting bully landlord that acts as if they're above the law. Note that there are habitability and heat laws in NYC that they violated.
I'm now in a legal dispute, armed with evidence against Ohm's lies and negligence in providing safe living conditions.
For those also ensnared in Ohm's flagrant disregard for tenant rights and safety, please reach out. I'm working to ensure Ohm's unscrupulous management faces the accountability they deserve.