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Old 12-02-2011, 01:03 AM
 
1 posts, read 833 times
Reputation: 10

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I am currently living in an illegal apartment the building used to be owned by my grandmother and was recently put up for foreclosure. It sold in jan this yr to an investment company and again recently sold to new owners. They now want to raise my rent and the apartment isn't worth what they are asking only problem is I cant afford to pay them rent plus save for sec dep and first months rent! So what Id like to know is what kind of rights do I have? I'm worried that if I don't pay them one day ill come home and my things will be put out ! Please help
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Old 12-02-2011, 07:52 AM
 
Location: Placentia, Orange County, CA
199 posts, read 616,148 times
Reputation: 116
What do you mean by "illegal apartment"? Did you ever sign a lease when your grandmother owned the building? If you did, the lease would have information regarding your rights. I'd get in touch with a real estate attorney and see what rights you have.
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Old 12-02-2011, 12:27 PM
 
Location: Tower Grove East, St. Louis, MO
12,063 posts, read 31,485,827 times
Reputation: 3798
They can't, legally, put your stuff out. They'd have to go through the sheriff. That said, they have the right to lease the apartment for whatever price they choose, so you're not in a great position.
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Old 12-02-2011, 12:30 PM
 
Location: River North, Chicago, Illinois
4,620 posts, read 8,118,849 times
Reputation: 6321
Quote:
Originally Posted by aragx6 View Post
They can't, legally, put your stuff out. They'd have to go through the sheriff. That said, they have the right to lease the apartment for whatever price they choose, so you're not in a great position.
They don't have the right to rent the apartment for any price if it's not a legal apartment.

To the OP:
If the apartment isn't legal, you have each other at a standoff.

You don't really have many rights - the city would evict you if they took action against an illegal apartment, the owner wouldn't even have to lift a finger for it to happen.

On the other hand, they don't have any rights to be collecting rent for an illegal apartment, either.

If you know, for a fact, that the apartment is illegal, gather that evidence and then sit them down and play massive hardball. They're investors, so they respond to two things: Money and risk. Right now they're getting money from you for relatively little risk. You just need to make it very clear to them that they can keep getting that reasonable amount of money for low risk, or they can raise your rent and risk losing all future revenues for that unit when you report them to the City inspectors. Repeatedly.

While you do need an emergency plan where you can crash with a friend for a few weeks if it turns out wrong, chances are that if you have your evidence and approach them in a calm, professional manner that they'll cave. They will NOT like being threatened, however if they say that, you can say you don't like being overcharged for your long-term family home when you know it's not even legal for them to charge money for it. It's a standoff, and I think you'll win if you're calm and insistent - AS LONG AS IT REALLY IS AN ILLEGAL APARTMENT. You have to be dead sure about that, or the strategy falls apart.

Using this strategy, you also have to give both them and you a timeline. They'd be happy with six months. You probably don't want to push past a year, because living under a coerced agreement with the landlord long term probably isn't worth it. So pick a timeframe, tell them you'll keep paying your original rent amount for that period of time and not cause them trouble with the city but that you'll leave after that period of time. And then follow through. In the end, everyone ends up okay. They lose a little rent but avoid a big risk. You have to move, but don't have to pay extra rent so you can save up for that impending move in 6-12 months.
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Old 12-04-2011, 07:38 PM
 
622 posts, read 1,190,797 times
Reputation: 470
fantastic advice. please keep us advised as to your progress!
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Old 12-05-2011, 06:59 AM
 
28,455 posts, read 84,971,395 times
Reputation: 18725
I suspect that emathias has dealt with people that buy foreclosed properties in the region. The likely reason that the OP's grandmother's building was purchased had little to do with renting it out as configured and much more to do with the POTENTIAL to make it into a conforming multi-unit building through magic of rezoning.

In all liklihood a "tenant" without any lease will be evicted in 30 days EVEN if they agreed to some massive new rent amount as the new owner almost certainly wants to get the zoning straightened out.

Once the place is a legal multi-unit building it is going to be targeted to a whole different kind of buyer than it would be as non-conforming use...
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