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I am currently renting out my 2-family home to a few people, I divided the top 2 floors into 2 rooms each and 1 apartment in my finished basement. So basically I have a "rooming house". I want to evict a tenant without being penalized for having illegal apartments. I am skipping the non-payment preceding since I know they will probably accuse me of having illegal apartments, so I am taking them to court for a holdover case. Will my case be dismissed on the grounds my unit is illegal? How long will it take to get them out? I cannot afford to pay heavy fines so I am looking to get through with this as soon and painlessly possible.
Is your goal in evicting your tenant to return your illegal rooming house to a legal 2 family? Does it thus include holdover actions against all the other" roomers?"
No, I just want one couple to move out. I have no intentions of converting it back, and I would like to avoid having to tell a judge I have illegal units.
Would the tenants be able to bring this up as a defense in court?
I know holdover cases and different from non-payment, so im hoping I can remove them quickly.
Also, does it matter that they have a 2 year old child?
In that case, I think you can rest assured it WILL come out. Of course, a savvy tenant will bring this up in court.
I think a judge will take a pretty jaundiced view of any landlord wanting to toss out a family with a two year old so he can continue to rent illegally to others.
I don't condone what you are doing but if I were in your shoes I would probably make the tenants an offer to move out quietly. It would seem that once you try any method that involves a court you will open up a painful can of worms for yourself.
You DO know that even if you dodge this bullet the subject will likely come up again.
You can't really expect the courts ever to help you to behave in violation of law.
No, I just want one couple to move out. I have no intentions of converting it back, and I would like to avoid having to tell a judge I have illegal units.
Would the tenants be able to bring this up as a defense in court?
I know holdover cases and different from non-payment, so im hoping I can remove them quickly.
Also, does it matter that they have a 2 year old child?
You subdivided it going against building code, And the tenants certainly can use this in court.
I would hope you at least have proper egress somehow for the people living there in case of a fire. We hate hearing about illegal rooming house/subdivision fires where people slowly burned alive so a landlord can make some bucks.
If you are renting out an illegal basement apt and trying to evict a tenant in court, you will doom yourself and open a can of worms. It WILL come out in court, as it will be the only defense the tenant has, and if they have an attorney you will be totally screwed. I do NOT recommend going to court, with the preferable solution playing the nice guy and paying them X amount to leave. Just so you know, if the basement is illegal (and you know it is), the tenant will get all rent back since they starting renting, plus moving expenses to another apt. You will then get violations from the city, and they will make you return the apt to its original conditions = $$$$$$
Keep that in mind when you figure out how much to pay them to get them out without going to court. And I would also like to repeat D. Scott's comment above: I really hope that if you do have a basement apt, that there are at least 2 means of egress in case of a fire. That's the very least you should do.
I also rent an illegal basement apt, however I have 3 means of egress (direct backyard access, main entrance under the staircase, and entrance to the internal hallway), as well as 3 full size windows in the unit, with smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. It has better egress than every other apt!
No, I just want one couple to move out. I have no intentions of converting it back, and I would like to avoid having to tell a judge I have illegal units.
Would the tenants be able to bring this up as a defense in court?
I know holdover cases and different from non-payment, so im hoping I can remove them quickly.
Also, does it matter that they have a 2 year old child?
Not only will it come out in court and you have to pay the tenants all the rent they paid, plus huge fines, the city will also come in and destroy the basement's flooring to make sure it's uninhabitable again in the future.
Your entire place is illegal. Why would you get the courts involved? Also, most housing judges have a problem evicting families with kids in a winter city.
lol no no im not asking how to do something illegal, just trying to avoid paying huge fines.
they have 2 means of egress, one door to the backyard and the other inside the house that eventually leads them outside.
Ok so i understand it will come out in court, but will the judge dismiss the case?
If so I guess i can make an agreement to have them leave soon
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