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Hi All, I have been following the threads on this forum and there are a lot of helpful people replying threads, and I'd like to ask for your help.
I am a landlord, renting out a co op studio apartment in queens. 2.5 years ago in august, a hispanic female in her early 30's approached me with her 1 year old daughter. She said she desperately needs to rent an apartment but she can not afford to pay high rent but she's willing to sign a long term lease (3 years) for a lower monthly rent, her husband was deployed in afghanistan, and she'd like to rent my apartment because it's only 1 block away from her mom. She also asked if I can allow pets in the apartment, she does not have a dog but her mom might visit occasionally with her dog. I fell for the single mother/soldier crap and signed a 3 year lease with her, allowing dogs in the apartment.
On the day she moved in, she complained about everything in the apartment even thou I re-did it right before she moved in. She said there are gaps in 1 of the closets, which will allow roaches to come in. There is a hole in a kitchen cabinet (it's for ventilation), it'll allow roaches to come in. She needs a door sweeper to block out roaches. etc. On the 9th day, she said the apartment looks dingy, and she'll move out once she finds a place. She has been there every since.
Last year, I received a complaint letter from the co op building's management company, about 1, over crowding; 2, smoking; 3, noise; 4, vermin (roaches)
1. after talking to her downstairs neighbor, I found out that her husband has been living there with her since the first day she moved in, her mother also stays over sometimes
2. her husband smokes in the building's hallway
3. she gave birth to another daughter, so there are 2 adults and 2 children in the apartment at all time. She also has a dog, which she lied to me about
4. her dog and her mother dog pee, poop, and leave dog food all over the floor, which created a serious roach infestation
Besides the above 4 issues, due to the number of people in this apartment, there are some serious repairs need. Kitchen cabinets and kitchen sink need to be replaced. 1 ceiling light fixture needs to be replaced because she knocked it down. 1 interior door needs to be replaced, it came off after being slammed repeatedly. 1 floor tile needs to be replaced, it cracked after she put a corner of the fridge on it.
It is extremely hard to set up a repair appointment with her because she has to make sure her husband is not present. I managed to replace the broken tile and 1 kitchen cabinet. I told her not to step on the tile for 24 hours so the mortar can dry, but she stepped on it and it needs to be replaced again. I replaced the tile and she agreed for me to go back on the second day to grout around the tile. On the second day, 30 minutes before I arrived at the apartment, she canceled the appointment with me. 2 days later, she said the repairs done so far are sub par and she's not happy with them. I told her that I can not make any major repairs unless we have a set appointment, with no last minute cancellations, or if she's really unhappy with the apartment, she can move out and I will not charge her any penalties for breaking the lease. She went crazy and said the only way I will get my rent is in court.
That was December 2013, I hired a lawyer and started a non payment case against her. She was served with a non payment notice, later on with a non payment petition and notice of non payment petition. She paid december 2013 rent on Jan 15, 2014, which means the non payment case against her is closed. Now she's not paying jan 2014 rent.
My question now is, what are my options? I can't just keep on opening non payment cases against her and close the case after she pays. Each non payment case costs $555 in legal fee.
The guy who lives below her complains about noises late at night but he would not call 911 to report her because he does not speak english.
Thank you guys for reading my super long power and I greatly appreciate any helpful suggestions.
NYC is tenant friendly city so eviction is not easy or quick process. Especially if the tenant knows their legal rights and recourse. So prepare yourself for that and good luck.
Hi All, I have been following the threads on this forum and there are a lot of helpful people replying threads, and I'd like to ask for your help.
I am a landlord, renting out a co op studio apartment in queens. 2.5 years ago in august, a hispanic female in her early 30's approached me with her 1 year old daughter. She said she desperately needs to rent an apartment but she can not afford to pay high rent but she's willing to sign a long term lease (3 years) for a lower monthly rent, her husband was deployed in afghanistan, and she'd like to rent my apartment because it's only 1 block away from her mom. She also asked if I can allow pets in the apartment, she does not have a dog but her mom might visit occasionally with her dog. I fell for the single mother/soldier crap and signed a 3 year lease with her, allowing dogs in the apartment.
On the day she moved in, she complained about everything in the apartment even thou I re-did it right before she moved in. She said there are gaps in 1 of the closets, which will allow roaches to come in. There is a hole in a kitchen cabinet (it's for ventilation), it'll allow roaches to come in. She needs a door sweeper to block out roaches. etc. On the 9th day, she said the apartment looks dingy, and she'll move out once she finds a place. She has been there every since.
Last year, I received a complaint letter from the co op building's management company, about 1, over crowding; 2, smoking; 3, noise; 4, vermin (roaches)
1. after talking to her downstairs neighbor, I found out that her husband has been living there with her since the first day she moved in, her mother also stays over sometimes
2. her husband smokes in the building's hallway
3. she gave birth to another daughter, so there are 2 adults and 2 children in the apartment at all time. She also has a dog, which she lied to me about
4. her dog and her mother dog pee, poop, and leave dog food all over the floor, which created a serious roach infestation
Besides the above 4 issues, due to the number of people in this apartment, there are some serious repairs need. Kitchen cabinets and kitchen sink need to be replaced. 1 ceiling light fixture needs to be replaced because she knocked it down. 1 interior door needs to be replaced, it came off after being slammed repeatedly. 1 floor tile needs to be replaced, it cracked after she put a corner of the fridge on it.
It is extremely hard to set up a repair appointment with her because she has to make sure her husband is not present. I managed to replace the broken tile and 1 kitchen cabinet. I told her not to step on the tile for 24 hours so the mortar can dry, but she stepped on it and it needs to be replaced again. I replaced the tile and she agreed for me to go back on the second day to grout around the tile. On the second day, 30 minutes before I arrived at the apartment, she canceled the appointment with me. 2 days later, she said the repairs done so far are sub par and she's not happy with them. I told her that I can not make any major repairs unless we have a set appointment, with no last minute cancellations, or if she's really unhappy with the apartment, she can move out and I will not charge her any penalties for breaking the lease. She went crazy and said the only way I will get my rent is in court.
That was December 2013, I hired a lawyer and started a non payment case against her. She was served with a non payment notice, later on with a non payment petition and notice of non payment petition. She paid december 2013 rent on Jan 15, 2014, which means the non payment case against her is closed. Now she's not paying jan 2014 rent.
My question now is, what are my options? I can't just keep on opening non payment cases against her and close the case after she pays. Each non payment case costs $555 in legal fee.
The guy who lives below her complains about noises late at night but he would not call 911 to report her because he does not speak english.
Thank you guys for reading my super long power and I greatly appreciate any helpful suggestions.
sincerely,
a desperate landlord
Not sure the lease you gave her is even valid,especially if it conflicts with the proprietary lease.Definitely get a good lawyer.
On second thought,it sounds like she only has 6 months left on the lease anyway.It will be much easier to get her out when the lease expires….. in August ?
Sort of surprised the co op hasn't moved against you.My co op has a $5,000 fine for subletting.
That's a sticky situation.
You might have to take a loss somewhere if you want her gone.
Here's a suggestion;
If she's not paying this month, say that you'll start eviction proceedings for non-payment and breaches to the lease for the people and/or animals she failed to disclose. Advise her that evictions proceedings will blemish her record and she might have trouble finding proper housing later down the road because of it. At that point suggest that if she's willing to leave by mid-February, you will forget about her unpaid rent and won't go to court for it.
If she's unwilling to do that, you might have to consider going through with the eviction threat. If you can document or get a neighbor as a witness of her having extra people not listed on the lease, you might have a case.
On the other hand, since she's got only 6 months left, you might just have to suck those up and take this as a lesson (albeit an expensive one) that it is better to be selective and have a vacant apt than to get burned.
There are people on here, who are actual landlords so they might give you more specific information on your case, but I do feel bad for you.
You made the rookie L/L mistake of falling for someone with a story.
Renting an apartment is a tricky business, especially in NYC with its pro-tenant laws, but it's a business nonetheless, and all emotions that might could your decision-making process should be brushed aside. Business is business.
Have you considered filing the housing court papers yourself? My understanding is that you do not need a lawyer to do that. That should save you some money if you need to repeat the process for non-payment.
thank you guys for your replies! I was feeling really lost and helpless and didn't expect any answers till later tonight or tomorrow!
I'd love to wait till the lease is up but she demands repairs even thou she would not set up a date or time for me to do all the repairs. I need to hire a contractor to do all the work, if she cancels or reschedules last minute again, what am I going to do with the contractors and all the kitchen cabinets? She also filed 16 complains with the department of housing and preservation.
babo111, thanks you for your reply and I'll take that "good luck" from you. =]
Ballervision, I"D LOVE TO DO THAT!!
bluedog2, I'm not sure if the lease is valid, I'm just waiting on my lawyer's call right now. Yup, her lease expires on august 31st.
likeminas, I went to her downstairs neighbor last friday but he doesn't want to be involved since he doesn't speak english, but his ceiling has been damaged due to her kids jumping and moving furniture around. I'll talk to him again to see if he's wiling to help. So far I've already lost $555 on legal fee for dec 2013's non payment proceedings, but she paid dec rent, so that $555 went down the drain
If moving furniture and a jumping small child has caused damage to the ceilings below, your building has MAJOR structual issues and should probably be considered uninhabitable.
Any chance you are exaggerating, just a little bit?
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