Tenants failed to promptly notify landlord of need for repairs and damage to house from water that resulted in thousands of dollars in structural damage [due to the delay in making the repair] and these damages were not covered by their security or pet deposit.

The lease agreement specifiys that tenants must promptly notify absentee landlord of any problems or damages to this private home in Brooklyn NY where tenants rights are paramount.

When landlord filed small calims action to recover damages in excess of security deposit, tenants tried to extort a settlement by refusing to allow landlord into the house to make the necessary emergency repairs which were displacing the downstairs tenants and to extort a release from this mall claims action, invoked their 4th amendment rights and refused to leave the homse [even though they had notified landlord that they did not want to renew the lease which had expired 15 days prior] or allow landlord to make repairs, when the tenants knew that new tenants were destiined toarrive and take over the apartment the following day.

Landlord tried to get an emergency ocourt order but was unsuccessful as there was not sufficinet time, becuase local police refused to do a civil standby when Landlord called to asked for help so that she could get into the house to make the necessary emergency repairs which were destroying thehouse and the lower apartment.

The police threatened to arrest the landlord if whe entered the apartment against the wishes of the tenants [who incidnetally had previously agreed to allow the landlord in to make the repairs, only to change their mind after the small calims action against them had been served] . The police insisted that the tenants had 4th amendment rights to privacy and that a landlord had to get a court order if tenants refused to allow them into the house to make emergency repairs. The police alleged thatt hey were not experts on whether the repairs were emergency or were cosmetic and that the landlord had to get a court order to get into her own house to make these repairs.

How would you have handled this problem?