Property owner sold the house for rent (sale, apartment)

[cruzmar]

I am concerned about my mother who lives in Queens with my sisters. She is currently disabled (wheelchair bound) & spoke with me regarding a terrible news. Yesterday, 1/1/08, her landlord informed her that he sold the house & gave her a 30 day notice.
What rights does my mother and sister have? It is unfair for the landlord to not letting her know in advance (at least 3 months that he was in the process of looking for a buyer) about his plans.
I went to Ask.com and read a very small article about legal rights of disabled person being evicted in an apartment. She lives in a 2 storey house. Is renting a house similar to renting an apartment as far as renting law and contract are concerned?
How long can a lessee stay before she moves to another house? It is not easy of course to get a place as convenient as where she stays now.
Please advise.

Many thanks.

[newtoli]

What are her lease terms? Month to Month or yearly? If it is a month to month lease, or she has no lease, they are simply required to give her 30 days notice. Renting a house is the same as renting an apartment.

[SeventhFloor]

did your mother even sign a lease or was it verbatim? for 1 and 2 family houses, its not required to sign a lease. only multiple dwellings (3 family and up) can do rent stabilized leases anyway. did the landlord stop accepting her rent? if he did then he probably started a civil court case on her. sorry to say but this is why its better to own than rent....nobody can kick you out if you own it....its a sad situation.

[anderonia]

call 311 to find the right numbers for the housing agency to call -- I would try many as many resources as possible -- disability agencies, homeless agencies, advocates, etc. This all depends on you or your mother devoting a lot of time to this issue in the next few days PLUS finding a substitute apt as a fallback. Good luck. Research web-sites tonight and get on the phone at 9AM tomorrow -- don't delay.

[DonnaReed]

I think 30 day notice is required.

Laws for private homes are different (not as strict) as for apartment buildings.

[SeventhFloor]

a 30 day notice is required, its called a 30 day notice to terminate. the 30 day notice is the 1st step of a holdover case. if the tenant doesnt vacate within the 30 days then the warrant is executed and the marshal comes.

[Guywithacause]

Cruzmar..unfortunately this is what happens when you rent. You are not owed anything but 30 days notice, although you may "feel' you should have gotten more or you "feel" it is "unfair." Your feelings have nothing to do it so don't cloud your mind with that nonsense.

From what you said, your LL gave you the right notice and treated you as you should have been treated according to the law, unfortunately, it sounds like you will exhaust every BS trick, loophole, and work the "sympathy b/c she is disabled" angle for all its worth, causing your LL undue stress, and potentially killing the sale of his home. I wonder if he would think that is fair hmm?

I realize it is difficult to find an apt for a disabled person..so you should probably seek council from the myriad of city services that will no doubt back you in a court case just to buy you time until you find a new place. This will of course cause your LL massive headaches, cost him an arm and leg in legal fees, and probably kill the sale of his house...but hey...thats life right.

[newtoli]

Your best bet is to put as much energy as possible into finding a new apartment rather than devoting it towards trying to stay in this apt. Someone bought the place and is going to want to move in, I'm supposing, after they close.

[Guywithacause]

Agreed Toli....that would be the smart thing to do..but judging from his "fair" and "feel" comments...I suspect he will waste time and resources trying to delay the inevitable.

[newtoli]

Also, you do not want the owner to have to evict her. It will then show up on her rental record and make finding a new apartment impossible. It is inevitable that that will happen. It may sound cruel, but the owner is not obligated by law to provide her with an apartment because she is elderly and disabled. All he has to do is honor the terms of the lease. If she had a year long lease with a few months left on it, the new owner would have to honor that, but it sounds like she doesn't.

I can understand why an owner wouldn't tell a tenant that he is looking to sell the house... I mean then you have a pissed tenant in your investment. Then what if you can't sell and your tenant moves because you are looking to sell?

Also, didn't anyone come to look at the place before buying?