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My family and I are living in the village of Valley Stream, the homeowner rents out the her house to a family whom which we do not have a good relationship with, and rents the basement to us. I am not sure if our basement is illegal or not.. all I know is that there is NO lease agreement and we give her cash the first of every month. Since I bought my car, we have had several problems sharing the driveway, they have 3 cars parked and I have to squeeze mine in at the end, wake up at 5 in the morning everytime the guy upstairs has to leave for work, they knock on my window to move my car after leaving me NO SPACE, at times I would have to park half-way in the driveway and half-way on the street. The other night, they threw a party and had their guests park in the driveway taking up all the space, when I come home around 2 AM, I go looking for them to move their cars and couldnt find them anymore, so I park my car in front of the house.. Valley Stream is a little weird as far as parking regulations, (no street parking b/w 3:30 AM-5:30 AM) I wake up to see I got a ticket.. I called the landlord furious letting her know that either she had to take care of this ongoing problem or they did, she said she would speak to them and still has not gotten back to me... on top of this parking/driveway issue. I NEED TO KNOW AS A BASEMENT TENANT IF WE HAVE ACCESS TO THE BACKYARD.... THEY HAVE FENCED THE BACKYARD WHERE THE ONLY ENTRANCE IS THROUGH THEIR HOUSE. PLEASE, I AM TIRED OF THIS. I HAVE A YOUNG BROTHER AND SISTER WHO CAN NOT EVEN USE THE BACKYARD TO PLAY ANYMORE, AN EVERYDAY ISSUE TO PARK. IS THIS ILLEGAL? DO WE HAVE RIGHTS TO THE BACKYARD? EVEN IF WE ARE BASEMENT TENANTS, NO LEASE WAS SIGNED. I NEED TO KNOW, I WANT TO TAKE THIS ISSUE TO A COURT OF LAW, BUT I WANT TO BE PREPARED FIRST..
We addressed this issue with the Landlord, and she says since they pay her more rent for the house than we do to the basement, ... "what can she do"?
Unless the lease says so, you have no rights to the backyard
I am 99.99 percent sure your apartment is illegal.
In regards to parking, if it is illegal to park on the street during certain hours than the landlord has to make sure you can park in the driveway. If the upstairs tenants aren't working with you, I'd be damned if I'm getting up at 5 am to move my car.
You have no lease and living in an illegal apt (most likely)
Forget about court. You can sue for anything, but chances are you'll lose. You have nothing in writing. Keep on trying the diplomatic way and suggest for the LL to draw lines and designate a spot for you.
Find a new legal apartment and move into it. You're not going to win in this situation. Your landlord doesn't know/doesn't care about landlord/tenant law, and doesn't care about your or your family either. All she cares about is getting her cash every month.
1. You're probably in an illegal apartment as the other posters said. Most (if not all) houses that are rented (assuming it's not a legal 2-family house) are supposed to have one family in them and only one family. In your house there are two families residing. That's a red flag. Also, your basement apartment has to have proper egress in order for you to escape in an emergency (ie, fire). If it doesn't, it's not up to code = not legal. Since you're paying cash for rent (I strongly urge you to get signed receipts for every rent payment) she's probably not declaring it on her income tax return and just pocketing the money which is a clear indication the apartment is illegal. And you don't have a written lease, which is one more indication it's probably illegal.
2. And since you don't have a written lease, you have no legal recourse at all for any of your problems. It's the landlord's word against yours. Next time you rent any place, get a written lease and read it and check it over for anything and everything (including rights to park your car in a driveway and use of the backyard). Once it's signed, it's considered a contract between you and the landlord and you have to uphold your end of the bargain - so does the landlord.
3. Your landlord has the legal right to make house rules. For example, if she tells you verbally (it doesn't have to be written) that you can't park in the driveway, well, then you can't. If she says you can, then you can. As far as her talking to your upstairs neighbors, well, I wouldn't count on it. If she's a rule breaker (and she is with an illegal apartment), she'll do (or not do) whatever she pleases. Odds are she will probably flake out and not do a thing about your problems. Which is why you ought to move.
4. Best bet? Find a new apartment that IS legal (live above ground - much cheerier), get a signed lease that begins August 1, and give your current landlord 30 days notice. That notice should start on the first of the month (July 1, 2014 for example). So, say you find another apartment tomorrow and can't wait to tell your landlord and get out of there. You have to wait until July first to tell her because that would give your landlord a full month's notice that you're leaving. Make sure it's in writing, and send it certified return receipt a few days before July 1 so you have proof the written notice was received on time. That way she can't contest that you didn't give notice. If certified mail won't work, just get her to sign a copy of your written notice no later than the first of the month. All you'll need in court if you end up there (if it comes to that which probably won't happen), is proof that she got written notice that you're moving.
5. These illegal apartments usually sting the unfortunate tenants one way or another. And they're a burden to the taxpayer since they're stealing town services (ie, extra garbage pickup, extra students in the school system, etc.). Try to find a good apartment that is legal and get everything you want in a lease/contract.
6. And this baloney your landlord is handing you about the other tenants paying more rent and not handling the parking situation because of more rent, is crap and at best a cop out. You as a tenant are entitled to what is known as "quiet enjoyment" of the property you are renting (a legal term used in landlord tenant law). Your landlord MUST make sure you have your "quiet enjoyment." In this case you're not getting your "quiet enjoyment" since the tenant upstairs is waking you up every day to move your car. It is legally in her ballpark to fix this. You could sue her over your lack of quiet enjoyment. And win.
7. If you want to get her good, after you move, report the basement apartment to the town. That will fix her.
If you have no lease you can leave whenever you want. If the landlord is holding security you may need to give her notice you are leaving or you can threaten to take her to court to get the security back. Assuming the basement is not legal the "what can I do?" person won't really want to deal with the court or building department.
There is no lease agreement... so that means we do not have access to the backyard..?
Having no lease agreement also means that the apartment is most likely illegal and you will have no recourse in a court of law.
As the other posters have said, move out. Move into a legal apartment. And enjoy.
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