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I have a rent stabilized apartment in NYC and as a favor to a old friend agreed to let her granddaughter use the apartment. We have no lease. She has moved her boyfriend in with her and I want them to move out and they are refusing. What can I do to make them leave?
Start the eviction process. When you serve the eviction papers make sure you mention her and her boyfriend in the documents. It may take a while, so get started ASAP. Good luck!
If you have no lease with her then I believe she's considered a month to month tenant, in which case you send her via certified return receipt mail a letter giving her 30 days notice. If she fails to move then you can file an eviction against her.
Normally I don't advocate the "tell their parents", but in this case, grandma is already involved. Maybe a talk with your "old friend" is in order. In addition to starting the eviction process as the others said.
You don't say why you want them to move. Is it just because the boyfriend moved in, or have they not paid as agreed, are they trashing the place, or were they only supposed to be there for a certain amount of time, and that is now up, or something else? In some states/areas it makes a difference on what the eviction process has to be. For example, in my area, non payment or anything illegal or damaging to the property can warrant a 3 day eviction notice, but just violating the lease is a 30 day notice to vacate.
Actually, as I reread, are you just trying to get the boyfriend to move out, but willing to let the girl stay? That's an entirely different issue. You would need to read up on your local landlord/tenant law and probably consult a local lawyer on that one. If you don't have a lease, you don't have anything that says she can't have a friend move in, or a long term guest stay.
*Edit* Oh, and from everything I've read here, NYC has different rental laws than pretty much anywhere else in the country, so I would strongly advise talking to a local rental attorney about this.
I had offered to let them stay for additional rent and they refused to pay an increase. I have someone else who is ready to move in. I called them and asked if I could show the apartment and they refused. I went to the apartment only to find they had changed the locks. I think they are going to drag this on forever. I need them out yesterday. Any advice??
I can't afford an attorney. Is there anyone in NYC who has had to deal with a similar situation. I would love to hear what you did and how long it took?
It's my understanding that only a landlord can institute eviction proceedings against a tenant. The OP is not a landlord. S/he is a renter who is allowing people to stay in their apartment and pay him or her rent. In NYC you are supposed to notify the landlord in writing if you intend to sublet your apartment and the LL can say no. Since the OP said s/he has no lease with these tenants, the owner of the building may not know that these people are living there. Depending on the stabilized rent, the OP could be making a hefty profit every month.
For those outside of NYC, a rent stabilized apartment's rent can only be increased by a certain percentage each year. There are many people who have been living in their apartments since the 1970s and even with increases are today paying well below market rent. I know a woman in an apartment by Central Park who is paying about $775 for her one bedroom apartment. Vacant apartments in the building rent for over $2k a month.
It's also my understanding that you are not allowed to profit off your apartment via a sublet, i.e., if you are paying $800 for an apartment you can't charge the tenants $2k in rent. I don't believe you can charge any more than you are paying. If you tried to impose a rent increase on those tenants and they refused, they probably think you are renting to them on the down low and if you go to the management you will be putting your own lease in jeopardy.
If they are refusing to leave and this is all above board, just tell the landlord of the building that you allowed people to stay there and pay rent and now they won't leave. The LL will then start eviction proceedings against them. If the landlord has no idea that you are renting out your rental apartment I can see why you are in such a pickle.
You'd be better off posting this in the NYC forum as the rent laws are drastically different here than throughout the rest of the country.
I believe subletting is legal in New York,
Agree with Lacerta, since this is a favor to a friend, let them know you rented
the apartment to her granddaughter not the boyfriend and they
refused to pay additional rent and that you plan to give them 30 day written notice to vacate.
Check here for NewYork City rental laws beforehand.
WHOA! They changed the locks? Do you have a key? That right there is a major violation. I'm not sure, but you may have the right to have the locks changed - although you need to check out with an attorney first because that may constitute an eviction.
The NYC Bar Association probably has a lawyer referral program wherein lawyers donate their time (pro bono) generally a 1/2 hour consultation. The Lawyer Referral page says they are experienced attorneys. Contact the NYC Bar Association The Association of the Bar of the City of New York - Legal Referral Service
YOU are the primary tenant. They had no authority to change the locks without your prior consent and without giving you a key.
I didn't say it was not legal to sublet, I said you need the landlord's permission. There are rules to subletting in NYC as shown below
Subletting
Even if your lease forbids it, you have the right under the law to sublease your apartment, and the lease provision is null and void. The subletting procedures below apply generally to tenants renting an apartment pursuant to an existing lease in a building having four or more residential units. The exceptions are tenants in public housing, limited-profit housing, or housing subject to rent control. Rent controlled tenants may, however, sublet if they have a current or prior lease that contains a clause permitting subletting, or if the landlord consents. To sublet, you must closely follow these procedures......
If they won't leave and changed the locks, call the owner of the building and they will get them out.
The people living there may not have had any authority to change the locks but we don't know if the OP had the authority to sublet their apartment. If they did not, they are stuck now because they can't enlist the building management for help in getting these people out of there.
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