Lease ending, landlord promising renewal. How much notice to kick me out?

[Harlem resident]

Originally Posted by goodrev05

Thanks for the advice. I'm definitely already looking, but I have a wife and kids (one already in school). I wouldn't even stress if it was just me, but it's so hard to find a place this perfect for a family. They haven't done us any favors by stringing us along for over a month when we could have been actively seeking a new place. It also stings whenever you pay a fee to move into an apartment and have to vacate after only a year.

So I'm ready to fight if need be, and I'm preparing to move if need be. I'm just having a hard time figuring out what the rules actually are.

There aren't any rules unless you are in a regulated unit. Anti-regulation people will tell you that all tenants are losers and deadbeats and should not be entitled to renewals, which are the law for regulated tenants. Landlords are a kind and generous bunch bending over backward to provide renewals but alas. So many disappointments.

In fact, many tenants are decent and need protection from the thuggish greed that is actually behind the mythically benevolent "invisible hand" .... There are fewer tenants who do not merit renewal than some would have you believe, simply for the reason that people need somewhere to live and at least some will refrain from sabotaging this.

Rather than waste energy fighting this, you might secure a regulated lease and/or try to buy somewhere.

[Hollytree]

Originally Posted by goodrev05

It's not the uncertainty alone that bothers me. It's the fact that they've said, "Yes, we want you to stay," but have done seemingly everything they can to actually avoid having to commit to it. If they want to sell an empty building they should just refuse to renew leases. It seems they want to have their cake and eat it too.

I appreciate everyone's feedback. I was hoping there was some magic bullet I'd overlooked but everyone seems to be on the same page. I guess this should make for an interesting next 30 days!

They want you to stay if the building doesn't sell. But it's an unknown- so they're in limbo too. How long do you think anyone could carry a vacant multi-unit financially? Selling a multi-unit building is not always an easy clean task. One of the hazards of being a renter is being at the mercy of the owner's situation as well as your own.