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Hi all. I have been living in NYC for my entire life.
In 2005, my parents, sisters and myself moved into a home in Queens. The neighborhood is safe, relatively quiet and close to all modes of transportation.
Unfortunately, since moving here in 2005, things have been less than perfect. It has been a very rocky road, but we stayed because the rent is decently priced and we did not want to move from this area. When we moved here, the owner told us that she was going to make repairs but every time we asked her, she claimed she didn't know English. The front of the house was in total disrepair and was very dangerous. Bricks were literally falling out of the stairs and it was dangerous and embarrassing to be living in the only ugly home on the block. Since moving here, we have taken out the garbage, shoveled the snow, kept the front of the home tidy which includes raking leaves and using the weed wacker to trim the grass, etc.
The house is at most supposed to be a 2 family home, however there are two apartments on the second floor of the home, one on the main floor and 2 basement apartments.
Fast-forward a few years, I ended up having a baby in 2009 and the owner allowed me to rent out the recently vacated basement apartment which is pretty much attached via a staircase to the main floor which is the apartment we have been in since 2005. A few months after taking over that apartment, the owner decides to sell the house after I confronted her about the repairs that she had yet to make. (Constantly leaking ceilings that destroyed a couch, the front of the home, peeling paint in the foyer, water damaged window sills, stripped hardwood floors that we were told would be repaired shortly after moving in, floorboards coming up in one of the bedrooms, etc)
Upon selling the house, we were informed that the new owner, was our next door neighbor. He told us that he would be nothing like our previous landlord and agreed to make all of the repairs in a timely fashion. Since we had never had a paint job and our ceilings were horrific due to leaks, he agreed that he would have the apartment painted. This never happened. Instead we were told that he couldn't afford to make the repairs or have the apartment painted. He dropped off buckets of paint and paint supplies instead.
When our side by side door fridge died, he told us he could only afford to pay $500 for a new fridge and being that we couldn't afford to put in any cash, I obtained a discount from a friend's job and we were able to get the cheapest fridge possible instead of him replacing it with an equally sized unit.
When I had issues with my apartment, he put them on the back burner. Instead of fixing my stairwell light, he put an extension cord from the utility closet all the way up my stairs, which he said would be temporary. It has been there for around 3 years.
My living room lights (basement) have been broken for months and he has known about this and has done nothing. He is also aware that there is mold in my bathroom. Upon doing research, I now believe that my basement apartment is illegal and I now have two children, as well as myself and their father living down there. We do not have a stove (although the owner did provide us with a gas-operated hot plate) but we do have a bathroom with a shower, a kitchen-like area with a sink and a fridge that he forced us to pay 60% for. We have a separate entrance and pay our rent separately from the main floor.
Around 6 months ago, the owner finally decided to fix the front of the home, after it being left dangerous and unsightly for the entirety of our residence here. A few weeks ago, he approached both my mother and my boyfriend and informed them that he needs us to move out right away, preferably by the end of the month because his father passed away. He said he "needs to take the apartments back" because he needs to live here with his family now. Although we have been living here for nine years (we pay him cash at his request) we have NO LEASE. Can he really force us to move so quickly without compensating us? All of the repairs he promised and never made ... living in a house that was turned into a multiple dwelling that is probably a danger to all of us. I did not know that my apartment was illegal!
He says he spent 25,000 to repair the front and 200,000 on his father's funeral but never made simple repairs. I know this could be irrelevant but thought it was worth noting. Until now, we have always had a respectful relationship although in my opinion, the last thing I think he deserves is respect! What if there is lead paint in areas of the house?
We have nowhere to move and no money saved up. What are our rights? The owner informed my boyfriend last night that while he would like us to leave now, he will give us until June but we still have to pay rent.
Month to month tenants basically have no "rights". There isn't a written lease binding tenant and landlord only an oral agreement. That sort of thing as any lawyer will tell you is only as good as the paper it is written upon.
Long story short start looking for a new place ASAP!.
I see this often and just don't understand. People are asked to move, and that's when they complain about years of empty promises and horid living conditions. The issues you stated are absolutely irrelevant. You had the right to leave at any time - you didn't have a lease. You could have picked up any month in the last nine years and move, yet you decided to stay despite the conditions you described.
I am sure people will respond about how to game the system, tenant laws, etc. But to me, it seems simple. You don't have a lease. He is giving you three months to find a place (I like how you point out he is still requiring you to pay rent if you stay until june, oh the nerve). Then the OWNER needs it for his use. This is the risk when you rent instead of own.
My advice - you have two months to figure out your situation and almost three until you actually have to move. Let this be a lesson learned when you get your new place. have everything in writing. I've had to learn that the hard way in NYC. But it seems like you have more than enough time to find a new place, that is where I would focus my attention. Not trying to figure out some way to game the system. If you try this....if you thought the house was kept in bad condition before, just wait until you try and get over on the owner.
Can he still collect rent if the apartment is illegal?
And there it goes!! Saw that coming a mile away. More than happy to live in that illegal apartment for all this time. Now he asks you to leave with plenty of notice, and all of a sudden you are sooo taken aback that it is an illegal apartment, you can't even bring yourself to pay rent.
I stated that I did not know it was illegal as it was rented out previously! I started renting the basement midway through 2009. Since 2005, there was another tenant in the apartment! Also, if you can read, which I'm pretty sure you can, you'd see that he originally asked us to move by the end of the month. I love how you are automatically siding with the greedy landlord that has converted a one family home into a 5 apartment building! I never moved because I am currently in nursing school and this apartment is affordable and in a good neighborhood. My parents live right upstairs from me and this situation is very convenient for all of us DESPITE having a negligent landlord. WE WANT TO MOVE now that we know he will NEVER make the repairs he promised he'd make. WE WERE NOT planning on leaving this soon.
Sorry MissPropaa but you won't find any friends in this court.
It is a tough situation you guys are going through, and we went through something similar when our landlord decided to move back into his old home. It happens. We had no right so we focused all our efforts on finding a new place to live.
I don't mean to be snark, although I kind of do....
If you can't afford any extra money to put towards a fridge which is a pretty big necessity, or can't afford to save up money to move into an apartment that isn't disgusting and in disrepair...
Why are you having multiple kids?
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