Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Your landlord is NOT allowed to go into your apartment when you're not home unless there is an absolute emergency. PERIOD. I hate LLs like that... they think because your'e renting an apartment in their house that they can come and go in your apartment as they please to look around, snoop, or whatever.
If I were you, I would live off the deposit for the last month. These LI landlords NEVER give back the security deposit --- even though it's supposed to be in an interest-bearing escrow account and you're supposed to either get the interest every year OR the total interest once you end your tenancy.
The biggest problem is the total ignorance of LI Landlords.... they think they can just make up rules and do things how they want to do them when, in reality, they can't. There are laws protecting tenants (such as the LL going in your apt when you're not home) as well as landlords but they seem to think they're above everything.
If I were you, I would live off the deposit for the last month. These LI landlords NEVER give back the security deposit --- even though it's supposed to be in an interest-bearing escrow account and you're supposed to either get the interest every year OR the total interest once you end your tenancy.
I just wanted to correct this because it is misconception that many people have. Deposits are not required to be placed in a segregated interest bearing escrow account unless the building is five units or larger. If the building has four or less units the funds do not have to be segregated and the tenant is not entitled to interest.
Many tenants do not pay the last months rent and instead want the landlord to apply the security deposit. In my opinion, this is morally wrong and in violation of contract.
All that being said, I don't think that anyone should ever consider renting an illegal apartment, especially a basement. A deal made with the devil rarely turns out well. You are risking having to deal with unscrupulous or uninformed landlords like the one you are discussing. But, more importantly, you may be risking your life. Illegal apartments have not been inspected to ensure the safety of the tenants. If you are unsure about the legal status of an apartment that you are considering renting always check with the town.
I just wanted to correct this because it is misconception that many people have. Deposits are not required to be placed in a segregated interest bearing escrow account unless the building is five units or larger. If the building has four or less units the funds do not have to be segregated and the tenant is not entitled to interest.
Many tenants do not pay the last months rent and instead want the landlord to apply the security deposit. In my opinion, this is morally wrong and in violation of contract.
You many be right about the deposits... I'm going to look into it and see what the law says on it.
It may be morally wrong to live out the last month off the security deposit but let's be real here. You know the LL spent that security deposit the minute they got it in their hands and have absolutely no intention of returning it to you regardless if you left the apartment spotless and everything perfect. I would NEVER give a LL an opportunity to keep my money. I've seen it happen to too many people.... they either never got it back or the LL tried to pull some scam like "I can give you $25 a week until it's paid up" Okay, so you have to wait a year or longer to get your deposit back in drips and drabs. That's crap.
Tom, are you going to say that you, as a RE agent have NEVER brought a prospective tenant to an apartment that you KNEW was illegal but you just overlooked it? Or the LL told you it was legal but you never bothered asking for a CO? If so, then you are probably the ONLY RE agent on LI that hasn't.
It may be morally wrong to live out the last month off the security deposit but let's be real here. You know the LL spent that security deposit the minute they got it in their hands and have absolutely no intention of returning it to you regardless if you left the apartment spotless and everything perfect. I would NEVER give a LL an opportunity to keep my money. I've seen it happen to too many people.... they either never got it back or the LL tried to pull some scam like "I can give you $25 a week until it's paid up" Okay, so you have to wait a year or longer to get your deposit back in drips and drabs. That's crap.
I have to agree with Omigawd on this statement.. Even in the last house rental I lived in, which was legal, i lived off the deposit.. first because I was ending my lease early simply because hte landlord decided to sell AND despite the fact that I was a Realtor living in teh home he didn't list it with me.. which ticked me off (and it was because the realtor he listed with told him to list it much higher than what I did... she told him he could get more for his home than I did.. I turned out to be right and it sold for EXACTLY what I told him it would only AFTER he lowered his price to the price I told him to start it at.. .).. So.. I did not want to have the place I was living and called him walked through whenever , and it was embarassing being a Realtor having other realtors show listing that WASN'T mine. I was afraid that he woudlnt' give my deposit back because we were ending it 2 months early.. BUT we had found the hosue we wanted to buy (and needed the cash anyway). That being said.. we left the hosue in beautiful condition.. I even shampooed the carpets myself adn took pictures just in case.. although he never bothered us and he was fine with everything in the end.
Most people need to save up again to put down last, first and security and so they can not pay the last months rent anyway AND they can not afford to not get the deposit back ..
I dont think it's moraly wrong..unless, of course, you were a pig and did major damage to the place.. THAT is a different story
Another friend of mine was renting an apt in East Islip. When he left, he and his girlfriend cleaned the place from top to bottom, shampooed the rugs, etc. Do you think the LL gave him back the security?? HELLS NO!!! They gave him some BS and one excuse after the next and he never got it back. I told him he should have taken them to Small Claims, but he didn't want to be bothered since he moved into Manhattan and didn't want to have to be running back and forth to court out here.
Hi, Tom is right. As mentioned previously, I own a legal accessory apartment approved by the town. Having been a tenant of both legal and illegal apartments for years on Long Island, I inquired of the attorney who did my closing about my legal obligations for the apartment. He had been involved in helping the town set up the law and so knew it well. He said what Tom did--there are no obligations about escrow accounts or anything else. The town's main issue is safety and after that, you are on your own. If your lease says the landlord can't come in except for emergencies, then you're protected. If your lease promises to put it into an escrow account, then you're covered. If not, then you have nothing to say about it. I'm not saying that's right, it's just that there's no law saying otherwise.
And as a landlord, let me say that some owners may feel it's okay to cruise through someone's apartment but I don't and I don't think we should say that we all do. I have had a couple of tenants ask me if it's okay to have guests stay over for a night or weekend! Well, of course--it's their apartment. I'm sorry to hear that other landlords have been so creepy but not everyone is that way.
Tom, are you going to say that you, as a RE agent have NEVER brought a prospective tenant to an apartment that you KNEW was illegal but you just overlooked it? Or the LL told you it was legal but you never bothered asking for a CO? If so, then you are probably the ONLY RE agent on LI that hasn't.
--
Again, in Huntington, the agencies can be fined or lose their licenses if they rent someone an illegal apartment.
---- Even in the last house rental I lived in, which was legal, i lived off the deposit.. first because I was ending my lease early simply because hte landlord decided to sell AND despite the fact that I was a Realtor living in teh home he didn't list it with me..
--
Wait. You decided to break the contract (lease) and that's the landlord's fault? You're lucky you didn't get locked out. Once I let a tenant live off the security deposit because I knew she was completely reliable and would leave the place in great shape (and she did) and she was saving with her new husband to buy a house. But I certainly didn't owe her that--she was a lovely person and I was sorry to see her leave.
--
Wait. You decided to break the contract (lease) and that's the landlord's fault? You're lucky you didn't get locked out. Once I let a tenant live off the security deposit because I knew she was completely reliable and would leave the place in great shape (and she did) and she was saving with her new husband to buy a house. But I certainly didn't owe her that--she was a lovely person and I was sorry to see her leave.
First.. it's against the law to lock a tenant out of their rental.. you have to take them to court first, etc. etc. etc. And by the time anything like that would have happend I would be long gone and was. I moved out on the last day of that month and shampood the carpets and the house was immaculate.
It's unfortuante for landlords, but it's very hard to get rid of non paying tennants in NY. And again, I wouldn't and never could either destroy the place or remain beyond the deposit without paying.
And.. as far as I was concernd, having people come in while I was living their was against my privacey and I don't recall that that was written into the lease for the ability to do that. .. rather, when he decided to sell I immediately looked and found the home I wanted to move into and was gone .. better for him, better for me.
If your lease says the landlord can't come in except for emergencies, then you're protected. ..... I'm not saying that's right, it's just that there's no law saying otherwise.
Excuse me, but you're totally wrong here.
There IS a law... it's called BURGLARY and TRESSPASS.... Once you rent that apartment to a tenant, you have NO rights to be in that apartment AT ALL without the permission of the tenant unless there is an EMERGENCY situation, such as a flood, a smoke alarm going off, etc. Other than that, you have NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER TO ENTER THE PREMISES. I don't know what attorney told you that you can, but he needs to go back and read his law books.
Landlords can't just walk in someone's apartment any time they feel like it.... think about that... how RIDICULOUS is that?!?! Would you, as a tenant, even want to think that while you're at work, some person could just come in your apartment at will and look around and see what you're doing or what you have or anything else?? Absurd..... and the fact that you, as a landlord, think you have a right to do that is scary and shows the attitudes of many LI landlords.
One of my first landlords was like that.... They would just walk in my apartment without knocking, go in when I wasn't home, etc. I asked them a couple of times nicely to stop. They said the same thing as you.... we own the house, so we have a right to go in the apartment. I told them they don't. The next time they did it, I called '911' and reported a burglary. The cops told the LL they had absolutely no right to come in my apartment without permission and, if they did it again, I could press charges on them (I told the cops I didn't want them arrested THIS time). The cops suggested I just change the locks and don't give them a key..... if there's an emergency, they'll figure a way to get in.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
