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My friend's tenant is being sued for non-payment of rent. The tenant will probably not pay and be evicted.
Does that mean he is off the hook for the rent owed? Can he be sued in some court for the rent owed even though he is not living there any longer?
Does your friend have a lease with time remaining? If so, he can be sued for rent up until the lease is up less security deposit and plus damages. If the LL gets a judgment against your friend, the LL can through his lawyer petition the court for collection.
Does your friend have a lease with time remaining? If so, he can be sued for rent up until the lease is up less security deposit and plus damages. If the LL gets a judgment against your friend, the LL can through his lawyer petition the court for collection.
The lease expired on April 30. The tenant owes rent since January. He petitioned for rent January thru May.
It sounds like you're saying he can only sue for Jan - April (because the lease doesn't cover May) minus the one month security. Is that right?
The tenant is still living in the apartment.
Yes, that person can get sued. Most management companies do not sue because the cost and time to retrieve the money cost more than what is owed. Only large, ruthless management companies will sue because they have nothing better to do and enjoy spending money on legal fees. Nobody wants to constantly go back and forth to court over such nonsense.
However, based on the circumstances of being evicted for not paying rent is more severe versus breaking a lease because the management company refuses to do any repairs or if the apartment had an infestation of some sort. With eviction based on non payment for months on end, the landlord/management company most likely might pursue legal action because a few months of rent can be a substantial amount of money. The court can also garner the individuals wages from future paychecks to do a payment plan for repayment to the landlord/management company.
If the individual left on good terms, there really is no need for court.
Last edited by NYCLotteryGurl; 05-22-2015 at 01:24 PM..
My friend's tenant is being sued for non-payment of rent. The tenant will probably not pay and be evicted.
Does that mean he is off the hook for the rent owed? Can he be sued in some court for the rent owed even though he is not living there any longer?
Yes he can be sued,also be added to the black list making it hard to rent again.Depending on the amount owe this
Can also affect his credit,then again this depends on how far the landlord will go he might get lucky.maybe the
Landlord just wanted him out.🏢
Large management companies that have nothing to do will chase down a good tenant for no reason. There are also chances that the judge will understand where you are coming from and let the case be dismissed where you owe nothing.
Large management companies that have nothing to do will chase down a good tenant for no reason. There are also chances that the judge will understand where you are coming from and let the case be dismissed where you owe nothing.
No, that is not correct.
Most if not all leases contain a clause stating one is responsible for rent for the entire period of the lease. If you do not pay and the LL must begin legal action you are still legally responsible for not only the past due rent, but whatever remains of the lease until the apartment is rented again.
Depending upon the situation LL may decide to "eat" the future rent and simply be happy to see the back of a non-paying tenant. In particular when he feels the unit can be leased again soon and at a higher rent.
However when it comes to any back rent owed for a period one actually lived in the apartment that is a different story. There is often two parts to an eviction action; one to recover possession of the apartment, the other is to have a judgment entered for any sums owed (the back rent). Armed with such a judgment a LL can pursue collection just as any other debt.
A court *could* deny the request for back rent but it needs reasons that are valid and would withstand appeal. Simply because you don't have the money isn't a good enough reason. The judge may try to get the LL to "make a deal" such as "if the tenant vacates by such and such a date would you forgo the back rent?", but make no mistake the LL has rights to enforce the terms of lease.
As mentioned upthread small landlords may not have the time to hunt down a non-paying tenant to enforce a judgment, however all large property owners/managing agents are another story. They keep lawyers on retainers and often think nothing of hounding someone down to get what they are owed.
Much would depend upon how much back rent is owed and the potential upside to getting the apartment vacated.
If you are living in a RS apartment paying below market rent (or even well below) the financial rewards to the LL for getting a tenant out almost certainly outweigh the back rent and even what would be owned for the balance of the lease. With current lifer tenant gone the LL can gut/renovate the unit, jack up the rent and possibly get it out of RS.
I think if a LL/management company is smart, they'd try to rerent as soon as possible instead of playing the court game. Some money is always better then no money.
The OP situation is different. I meant for people who have valid reasons for not paying such as defective appliances, broken tub, broke toilet, and some sort of infestation and the LL/management refuses to fix or acknowledge the issue then that's when I mean that legal action should not be taken. Especially when the tenant has proof of unresponsiveness and photos of broken facilities.
Someone being unemployed after they move in and don't have the money to pay the rent is another story. If that is the case, almost 100% of the time, the court will ask the evicted tenant to make a payment plan.
Per NYC housing law, tenants have a valid reason to break the lease should the unit become uninhabitable. All those reasons given above is just that.
What about a tenant who is evicted due to non-payment who is on Social Security? Can he be sued and his Social Security future checks garnished to pay the landlord back?
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