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I'm undergoing some landlord tenant problems right now and need advice/answers!
1. The woman I'm subleasing my current apartment from (I don't know if she owns the apartment or if her name is simply on the lease) rented out all the rooms to me and two other girls. This woman does not pay rent or utilities, but has the keys to the place and comes every single day to just chill and watch TV or cook food. Is this illegal?
2. Is there any way for me to find out if she's subleasing the apartment illegally? She subleases the apartment to so many girls that I feel like she's running some kind of illegal business by doing this. And I'm pretty sure she overcharges us.
3. I am moving out very soon and I'm actually moving to another state. She and I agreed to meet on a certain day for me to get my security deposit. I do not trust her and I'm very sure that she's going to bail out on me. Is there any way to guarantee that I will get my deposit back? I thought of the possibility of taking it to civil court, but keep in mind that I will be in another state by then.
3a. In lieu of the previous question...if I do take it to civil court and end up having to fly back to NY to settle this, is it possible to sue her for the amount of the security deposit + the amount of the airfare?
1 and 2. First question: Is there a sublease agreement among you, the other girls and the landlady? If not, then it might mean a couple of things: a. the buliding does not allow sublease and therefore, the sublease is illegal. Any illegal contract is void, therefore, technically, you don't have to pay her and she cannot sue you because the agreement is illegal in the first place, that is, she cannot take you to court to demand rent payment. b. Even if the building does allow sublease, and she owns the apartment, she might not want to have a sublease because that would mean that she must show rental income. I don't know how you would find this out short of asking the building management if sublease is allowed. In terms of her entering the apartment-the landlord needs permission from the tenant to be on premises, so yes, it's illegal. In terms of her overcharging you-it's a free market, so not illegal.
3. You can just not pay your share of the last month's rent and tell her to apply the deposit againt it. Whether you can sue her for the security deposit depends on whether you have the sublease agreement. If you don't then, where is the proof that you have given her a deposit in the first place? However, if there is a sublease agreement and you have not done anything to prevent return of the deposit such as trash the apartment and she refuses to return it, then yes, you can sue in a small claims court and if you have to appear there, you can get airfare covered under the incidental damages provision. Honestly, the way you have described things, I think you are better off just not paying for last month's rent and tell her to deduct it against the deposit. Again, if there is no sublease agreement, she cannot go after you to recover the rent.
Disclosure: I am not an attorney, just someone who dealt a lot with NY landlords and happened to ace landlord-tenant portion of the business law class in business school.
Yes, there is a sublease agreement. I have a contract that states my move in and move out date. The contract also asks for first month, last month, and security deposit. So basically, she already has my money for the last month rent.
She does not have permission from us to enter the premises. If I do take this to court (if she doesn't return my security deposit), should I bring this up? Would there be any kind of compensation? Also...could I possibly call the cops on her if she enters the premise without the tenants' permission?
The thing about my landlady is that I know she's trying to create a false claim to deduct a certain amount from my security deposit. For one, she verbally assured me that there have been no damages in the apartment (so far) by me...but she kept saying that the building people might complain and neighbors might complain. Basically, I'm doing everything I can to prevent her from making false claims (such as getting a notarized letter from the building guaranteeing that my moving-out process is satisfactory) but if she does make a false claim...what consequence can she receive?
So yea, basically I have the last month rent already paid for. She has all the balls in her court and basically she's holding the strings to my security deposit. And there's no real guarantee that she'll give it back to me unless I keep the keys until she gives it to me...
1. Take pictures of the apartment before you move out. She cannot deduct for damages that are due to normal wear and tear such as chipped paint on the walls, only for things that you truly broke and need repair, let's say for example, you had a wild party and broke glass in one of the windows, you would have to pay for that. Also, get written witness statements from the superintendant of the building, and your roommates attesting to the good condition of the apartment. Getting the security deposit back from landlors could be hard as in almost all cases, they assert there was damage.
2. In terms of her entering the premises without permission, while you could call the cops or even take her to court, I would attempt to resolve the matter peacefully, say something like "X, by the way, if I understand correctly, you need our permission to enter the apartment". Whether you can get any kind of compensation for it, I doubt it, as you need to suffer damages to get compensation.
3. When you meet with her, if she starts balking at giving you the deposit back, show her the evidence-the pictures, the signed letters from the bldg super, and your roommates and say "I hope we can resolve this matter amicably without the need of having to go through the small claims court because in case I win, not only would I collect the security deposit, but also, all the incidental damages such as airfare, the time I need to take off work, etc"
Is there a site that states that it's illegal for her to enter the premise without the tenants' permission? I want to keep it in handy in case she says that she can do whatever she wants because she bought the furniture, etc.
If you are renting the entire apt with the other girls she should not come in at will. But if you are only renting rooms she can come into the shared part of the apt, but not into your rooms without permission.
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