Leaving my Brooklyn Rental Apartment - Deposit Questions (New York, York: 2009, eviction)

[mystiky]

We have been renting a rent-stabilized apartment for 7 years here in Brooklyn, NY. Our lease is due to expire on June 30, 2009 and I have not sent in my renewal form as of this moment. My udnerstanding is that if we dont send it in, it means we dont want to renew it.

My wife and I have found a house that we are buying, and it is currently "in contract" with the closing date being June 25, which is 5 days before our rent lease expires. We do not plan to send it the rent payment for the month of June, as our landlord has our "one-month" deposit and he can use it.

Just being prudent, we are concerned that our house closing could get delayed by one or two weeks, which could put us inside the first week of July.

Here are the questions:

1) Can the landlord FORCE us out onto the street on July 1st?
2) If we need to stay an extra 3-5 days in the apartment, can we try to make an agreement with him to pay him by WEEK rather than the month?
3) The apartment we are leaving needs a huge "fixing and updating" (leaks, craks in the wall, has not been painted for 7 years and we have colors on the walls, kitchen in bad shape, etc), so he cannot use the argument that someone is moving in on July 1st, or can he?
4) Can he force us to pay a whole months rent eventhough we may need to stay just a few extra days in July.
5) Are we being correct that we are not paying June and telling him to use the deposit money instead, or must we pay June and then he returns the deposit. I am afraid that if we stay until July 3 or 4, he will not pro-rate the deposit and will try to keep all of the months rent.

I know that New York City is "renter-friendly", but want to make sure that we don't get slammed by him if calls the cops on us or something of that nature.

All advise is appreciated.

[anders]

Originally Posted by mystiky

1) Can the landlord FORCE us out onto the street on July 1st?
2) If we need to stay an extra 3-5 days in the apartment, can we try to make an agreement with him to pay him by WEEK rather than the month?
3) The apartment we are leaving needs a huge "fixing and updating" (leaks, craks in the wall, has not been painted for 7 years and we have colors on the walls, kitchen in bad shape, etc), so he cannot use the argument that someone is moving in on July 1st, or can he?
4) Can he force us to pay a whole months rent eventhough we may need to stay just a few extra days in July.
5) Are we being correct that we are not paying June and telling him to use the deposit money instead, or must we pay June and then he returns the deposit. I am afraid that if we stay until July 3 or 4, he will not pro-rate the deposit and will try to keep all of the months rent.

(1) - He can start eviction proceedings, though you'd be out of there before they began.
(2) - You can try for any kind of compromise. He might be nice and say yes, but he's definitely not obliged to.
(3) - It's irrelevant whether someone is/isn't moving in on July 1, or how much fixing the place needs. If your lease ended on June 30, you're not supposed to be there on July 1.
(Even if these were relevant arguments: For all we know, he might've booked someone to start rehab/repairs on July 1 specifically _because_ the place needs so much work. If your delay conflicted with rehabbers' availability, it could postpone the job plus re-rental by much more than four days.)
(4) - In general: When you don't have a lease, you become a month-to-month tenant.
(5) - You don't tell him to use the deposit toward rent. You pay the rent, he returns the deposit, and he doesn't have to pro-rate.

You should keep the landlord's angle in mind, even in framing your compromise proposal(s):
It's his "stuff"; and presumably, he thinks you're moving out, depending on specifics. (Example: If the place is rent-stabilized, the LL must send the renewal lease 90-150 days before the old lease ends. You must return it within 60 days of the renewal-offer date -- not within 60 days of the old lease's end.)
If so, he might expect to fix the place up and re-rent it ASAP, for more money. So if you hang in as a holdover (no-lease) tenant, it's a "surprise" that costs him money.