Landlord Sueing for illegal Rent; Counter Claims? (Lindenhurst, Nassau: real estate, apartments)

[Fighter 1]

Originally Posted by omigawd

The slumlord will ONLY get a judgement of possession..... meaning, she will have to move. In this instance, the slumlord CANNOT get a judgement for any back rent at all since the apartment is completely illegal.

legal or not is not the issue here. The fact there is a contract that was signed and defaulted on is what govern's what will happen.

[Fighter 1]

Originally Posted by cottercutie

Actually, they do care about why the rent hasn't been paid, peole have been known to legally withhold rent

If it was as simple as what you're saying there would be no need for a court date.

OP contends that rent was paid through end of December per agreement with the LL to use security for that month.

To OP, if that was your agreement with the LL, you should be gone by now

Op contens that rent was paid thru end of December ???? where is her proof,? ( that will be required in the court hearing ) Security deposit is just that , security deposit for expences when tennat leaves ( legal or not !) As to being simple , It is! Court gives you your constitution right to due process ( chance to state your case within their guidlines )

[Huckleberry3911948]

so you wana stay there for free. somebody told you that was ok?

[Donna-501]

Get out and make sure you show up for court. If you are already out then they can't get an eviction, if you stay they maybe able to. It so depends on the Judge and I wouldn't want to chance it.

[totallyfrazzled]

Is it really worth the expense of hiring an attorney for a counterclaim? Especially when there doesn't seem to be a really solid chance of winning. Many judges have a knee-jerk negative reaction to "quality of life" lawsuits because it's such a royal PITA to assign a monetary value to things like that. Unless the plaintiff can actually prove they sustained financial damage (which you have not, or cannot prove, as a result of ANY of the admittedly annoying interactions you listed) many such cases are very apt to be dismissed by the judge as frivolous. And you'll still be on the hook for paying your lawyer. Wouldn't that money otherwise be better used toward rent or other needs in your next apartment?

I understand your desire to get something back for all the negatives you've had to deal with from this landlord, but do you really want to throw good money after bad on only the chance of getting anything? Of course if you can afford to do that, go right ahead.....

[cottercutie]

Originally Posted by Fighter 1

Op contens that rent was paid thru end of December ???? where is her proof,? ( that will be required in the court hearing ) Security deposit is just that , security deposit for expences when tennat leaves ( legal or not !) As to being simple , It is! Court gives you your constitution right to due process ( chance to state your case within their guidlines )

It's housing court which encompasses all aspects of HOUSING laws, including whether the premise is suitable to be rented (in this case it's not)

OP states she had an VERBAL agreement with the LL not only to rent the apartment but also to apply security to Dec rent probably with the assumption the OP would be vacating the premises by Jan 1. OP has stated there is no written lease.

OP needs to vacate premises or be evicted.

The issue of rent is moot since the premise was illegal and not fit for habitation. Court is for due process, you are correct, but the OP is allowed a defence and these are affirmative defenses as to why she has not paid the rent for the current time.

[cottercutie]

Originally Posted by totallyfrazzled

Is it really worth the expense of hiring an attorney for a counterclaim? Especially when there doesn't seem to be a really solid chance of winning. Many judges have a knee-jerk negative reaction to "quality of life" lawsuits because it's such a royal PITA to assign a monetary value to things like that. Unless the plaintiff can actually prove they sustained financial damage (which you have not, or cannot prove, as a result of ANY of the admittedly annoying interactions you listed) many such cases are very apt to be dismissed by the judge as frivolous. And you'll still be on the hook for paying your lawyer. Wouldn't that money otherwise be better used toward rent or other needs in your next apartment?

I understand your desire to get something back for all the negatives you've had to deal with from this landlord, but do you really want to throw good money after bad on only the chance of getting anything? Of course if you can afford to do that, go right ahead.....

She can countersue pro se, including the counterclaim in her written answer. This is small claims/housing court, they're used to people representing themselves. NOLO has great books on representing yourself Pro Se and a lot of times the clerks at the courts will help you make sure you have the paper work filled out properly. There is also a plethora of online information that will help her format her answer/counter claim properly. She just needs to make sure she gets it all in to the courts by the date stated on the notice for her answer.

ITA with the issues of quality of life being brought up as main points being frivolous. The issues of illegal activity by the LL (no heat, B&E, apt not legal) are not frivolous, IMO

Once again, I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice

[newtoli]

Document what she's been doing.

Move for your mental health.

Avoid Eviction on your record by showing up to court with documentation. The landlord may be ordered to return all rent, as it is an illegal apartment. Do you have proof that you paid?

Sucks but those are the breaks. The most you can do is report her to IRS/USPS for having an illegal apartment, and I'd do that AFTER you move out to avoid retaliation.

Why have you stayed there so long if it's so bad it's effecting your boyfriends job and your piece of mind? I wouldn't even stay there for free at this point.

[Fighter 1]

Originally Posted by cottercutie

It's housing court which encompasses all aspects of HOUSING laws, including whether the premise is suitable to be rented (in this case it's not)

OP states she had an VERBAL agreement with the LL not only to rent the apartment but also to apply security to Dec rent probably with the assumption the OP would be vacating the premises by Jan 1. OP has stated there is no written lease.

OP needs to vacate premises or be evicted.

The issue of rent is moot since the premise was illegal and not fit for habitation. Court is for due process, you are correct, but the OP is allowed a defence and these are affirmative defenses as to why she has not paid the rent for the current time.

The fact still remains . Unlawful detainer actions are simple Do you live there ?( yes ) have you paid the rent this month ? (NO) Why not? ( what ever ) can you pay it now ? (YES or NO ) If they try to talk about all the things discribed herein this post , the judge will politely listen and then ask , then if is that bad why are you still there ?, and he will as i have seen many times rule in favor of the land lord, your out ! and you have an eviction on your record!
.

[totallyfrazzled]

Originally Posted by cottercutie

ITA with the issues of quality of life being brought up as main points being frivolous. The issues of illegal activity by the LL (no heat, B&E, apt not legal) are not frivolous, IMO

Oh definitely the LL is totally in the wrong on all the illegal stuff (no heat, apt not legal, etc etc) and the OP should go for the jugular on those counts.

The OP's temptation to throw in all the other stuff as well, is understandably strong. The problem is that there's a fine line between bolstering their position on answer, and coming off as a whiner. I AM NOT putting the OP in that category, but during my past years in a law office I dealt with some real doozies. You wouldn't believe the level of pettiness these situations can descend to. Some of them would make an episode of Jerry Springer look like a performance of 'King Lear' by comparison.