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I moved to NYC at the beginning of April, to a housing collective. There are three other small families that live here, and all of our children are under 7. It's an 8-bedroom house. There have been questionable issues with the possible safety of the dwelling:
-we have a mice infestation
-the drain in the upstairs tub doesn't drain properly (the landlady gave us Drano, but it doesn't work)
-there are no smoke detectors in the house
-the locks on many of the windows don't work
-there are no safety bars in the windows of the house
-there is very likely lead in the house (one of the children tested positive for lead on his skin, and the basement paint is peeling)
-last summer, there was a bedbug infestation, and it will probably continue this summer
I paid the one month's rent and one month's security when I moved in, only to be told after I moved in that TWO months' security was required, so now my rent is $100 more a month until the security is paid. No one is on a lease; instead, we have a simple list of rules that we all signed upon move-in.
When I moved in, I had some unexpected financial misfortunes. My child's father's unemployment ended, and he stopped paying his child support. I had not yet explored the option of state benefits for us. My car kept breaking down and needing repairs. Before I knew it, I was two months behind on rent--the landlady would not accept partial rent from me. She kept coming around and threatening me for what I oweed in a non-serious way--there was no talk of eviction from her, though, which I found strange.
I have definitely been feeling the pressure to come up with the two months' rent owed. Because I'm a single mom, I don't have the time or resources to look for a second job. I couldn't borrow money from my family, or the bank (bad credit). I had been looking into the One-Shot Deal when I found out some info: there is no Certificate of Occupancy for the dwelling. If this is truly the case, then from what I'm researching, the landlady should never have collected rent from any of us until the building was up to code. I'm cautiously concluding that I don't owe her any back-rent, and in fact, I could file a lawsuit against the landlady for the security deposit and moving expenses. I used up the majority of my tax return to fund the cost of the move, including hundreds of dollars spent buying furniture for the place.
The only thing I could find that would possibly make everything I'm saying untrue is the fact that the house was built pre-1938, and houses that old don't require a certificate--however, if the occupancy of the house has changed, or construction has been done to change the occupancy of the dwelling, a C of O is still required. The occupancy/egress has obviously changed many times since 1938, and the lanlady did construction over the summer before she moved anyone in.
So this is the point where I'm at--last week, I promised the landlady that I would pay her a month's rent on Friday, and continue paying rent each month. My son's father finally got a job, my benefits went through, and I'm getting more hours at work, so now I can afford the full rent. However, with this newly discovered information, I would be more inclined to not pay her the rent, because the house is illegal, and vacate the building as soon as humanly possible. I'm not sure what to do, but I think I need a lawyer for the first time in my life. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
You getting a lawyer is going to cost you more than you're saving. Be a big girl and do things right. You lived there? pay the rent you owe for the time you lived there. You want to move? fine. Give her the agreed upon notice, I suppose without a lease, two weeks or one month would be fine. Go about your business. Don't go looking to screw people over, though it looks like that's exactly what you are looking to do. Why? Because that's what people like you look to do.
In your defense, your brain has been programeed to think you are actually in the right, and don't owe this lady money b/c of some certificate of occupancy.
In my eyes she screwed ME over. The law is the law. The eyes of legality are blind and therefore unbiased, but clearly you are not. Instead of looking at my situation from a neutral perspective like a judge is wont to do, you are putting yourself in the shoes of my landlord, and panicking as a result. Why? Because your brain was programmed to think in dollar signs, while ignoring my rights as a tenants to a SAFE and HABITABLE home for my family.
You must not be a parent, so let me repeat this for you: there is LEAD in the house. Lead is extremely harmful to children under the age of six. ALL of the children in the house are under six. There are no window bars on the windows, and the house is located in a high-crime area. Again, there are CHILDREN in the household. There is a reason why these building codes are in place, and the house is not up to code. THAT is why there is no C of O. No matter which way you slice it, the landlady is in the wrong, and justice needs to be served.
Just like you (presumably) exercise your rights as a citizen daily, I will NOT be denied my rights as a tenant just because one anonymous stranger believes that I'm looking for a "free ride".
Two wrongs don't make a right. Your landlord wasn't responsible for your financial problems. You lived there so you should have paid the rent. If you are right about all the issues in the apartment, that is the landlord's responsibility. Then you could have sued her to get some compensation for that. Two entirely different issues.
It is your job! You should have thought about all of this before you moved in! Now that you have problem you are looking for a way out! Are you blind? Can you honestly say you could not see what the living arrangement was before you paid & moved in.
Sometime all you can do as laugh at some of these people that come on here with same MO.
I'm not sure you understand the severity of my situation. My lease/contract/agreement between myself and the landlady is null and void without the C of O. A tenant in an illegal unit has no obligation to pay rent, and the landlady is not entitled to collect rent without the certificate. If the city caught wind of this illegal rental, she would be heavily fined, we would all be forced to vacate, and we would all have a right to file (and likely win) a lawsuit against her for at least the security deposit and possibly moving expenses.
The house is UN-IN-HABIT-ABLE. What don't you understand?
It is your job! You should have thought about all of this before you moved in! Now that you have problem you are looking for a way out! Are you blind? Can you honestly say you could not see what the living arrangement was before you paid & moved in.
Sometime all you can do as laugh at some of these people that come on here with same MO.
It sounds like you (and everyone else) is victim-blaming. If I DIDN'T owe rent, would you still be singing the same tune?
I should have thought about WHAT? The landlady has been managing housing for twenty years. She KNEW what was required to rent out the house. Instead, she decided to advantage of those looking for cheap housing, hoping that we would look the other way.
I can honestly say that nope, I DIDN'T see mice before I moved in, because they tend to hide during the day. I didn't know the window locks didn't work, and I didn't know about the safety locks, smoke detectors, or the lead. But don't you see? This slumlord has EXPERIENCE, she's expecting us to look the other way while she illegally collects our rent.
A C of O is required for EVERY rental building. Why should things be different for THIS building? Why am I not owed the same tenant rights as everyone else? Why demonize me just because I fell a little behind due to extenuating circumstances aka LIFE?
I'm not sure you understand the severity of my situation. My lease/contract/agreement between myself and the landlady is null and void without the C of O. A tenant in an illegal unit has no obligation to pay rent, and the landlady is not entitled to collect rent without the certificate. If the city caught wind of this illegal rental, she would be heavily fined, we would all be forced to vacate, and we would all have a right to file (and likely win) a lawsuit against her for at least the security deposit and possibly moving expenses.
The house is UN-IN-HABIT-ABLE. What don't you understand?
If this is true & you do not want to pay! MOVE!! You are only using this as excuse not to pay!
If landlord is giving you roof over your head it is your obligation to pay! Stop looking for a free ride..pay or move simple as that! If it is not habitable as you clain you are putting your child in danger...social services can be called!
It sounds like you (and everyone else) is victim-blaming. If I DIDN'T owe rent, would you still be singing the same tune?
I should have thought about WHAT? The landlady has been managing housing for twenty years. She KNEW what was required to rent out the house. Instead, she decided to advantage of those looking for cheap housing, hoping that we would look the other way.
I can honestly say that nope, I DIDN'T see mice before I moved in, because they tend to hide during the day. I didn't know the window locks didn't work, and I didn't know about the safety locks, smoke detectors, or the lead. But don't you see? This slumlord has EXPERIENCE, she's expecting us to look the other way while she illegally collects our rent.
A C of O is required for EVERY rental building. Why should things be different for THIS building? Why am I not owed the same tenant rights as everyone else? Why demonize me just because I fell a little behind due to extenuating circumstances aka LIFE?
And why did you not ask these questions before you moved in? Probably because you needed palce to live & this was priced right. Am I wrong? You probably were desperate & did not care when you NEEDED place to live...now you are looking to screw person that probably helped you get off the street or be homeless. This is pretty common. Probably a rooming house.
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