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YOU knowingly rented an illegal apartment and stayed for a full year without benefit of a lease (i.e. you could have left such deplorable conditions) and chose not to and now you are hell bent on pointing her out to the town. I say walk away you have nothing to gain.
As for texting tha landlord, or her son, stop. Any such communication can be used against you, and while you may not legally owe anything, it may be enough to drag you into a process that you can just walk away from currently.
Just call the town. What's all the proof for? Don't think the town can use any of your proof? They'll treat your complaint the same as anyone else's complaint with no videos or pictures.
The pictures are if you feel like taking them to small claims. Which is probably your best bet. File a small claims case against them for renovations. The cost should be a lot more then what you pay for rent. They will counter with back rent and an arbitrator will tell the both of you to go home and sleep it off.
Okay last question! I want to call the town today with the picture and videos I have of the illegal apartment. I also have a text from the land lord son saying 'I'm assuming you're not paying the rent right' is that enough proof with the text comfirming that they are indeed renting it out illegaling? or should I text the landlord and get her to say how she has been renting it out to me then call the town?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. You guys are really helping me here
I don't live in Brookhaven, but for where I live the proof you have would be more than enough for them to investigate. They've investigated on much less. I think Brookhaven should be about the same, so if you want to report her, I am pretty sure Brookhaven will take you seriously. I think that the boiler in the bathroom instead of being located outside of tenant quarters, is especially dangerous, for one thing ... and not because of the mold alone. Did you have full-sized windows you could escape from in there if there was a fire? I think if the apartment is truly dangerous with not enough escape options in case of a fire, you have a duty to report it. I see fires all the time reported on in Newsday with people killed even if they have enough escape options in their living space. Some of these illegal basement apartments are real death traps. Her son probably shouldn't be living in the basement either for his own safety.
As for the money the landlord claims you still owe her, she could sue you for it, but she will have to bring attention to the two illegal apartments in the basement and that could backfire on her badly. In terms of the court making you pay her anyway even though it is an illegal apartment, on Long Island that is up to the judge's discretion and it depends on what judge you end up with. Some are of the opinion that even though the apartment is illegal, you still had somewhere to live and should pay for that. Some are of the opinion that the fact that the apartment is illegal makes the "contract" (verbal or written) unenforceable because it was illegal to rent the apartment out in the first place.
That's what I always thought too, but on LI some judges do enforce illegal contracts when it comes to illegal apartments.
If LL sued for missing rent. He would lose with no receipts proving he's paid rent. I've won a case renting out an illegal basement before in queens.
Tenant would need the town to gain access and officially state the apt is illegal. If the LL never gives them access, the bldg dept would need a warrant. the percentage of times they go through that headache is barely ever.
If OP is afraid LL is looking to sue for past rent, best bet here is to sue for cost of renovations as a handy man. If just reporting out of spite, I'm guessing by now, the steams already blown off.
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