Need advice, landlord trying to evict me (apartment, rent)

[dmt3d]

Its a long read but I do need some help.

On Aug 25th my landlord filled the petition for eviction based on me not paying July and August rent. I just got the letter the other day, a month late after everything was signed off on.

One of the letter was from landlord’s attorney stating that I have 30 days to respond to the letter regarding unpaid rent or I default and acknowledge that I own it, the problem is this letter was generated on August 25th and they gave me letter Sept 26.

From NYC courts the letter say I need to respond within 5 days of date of letter, again letter generated on Aug 25, I got it Sept 26. I will go in tomorrow.
Am I screwed?


Here are some discrepancies I found in letter;

1. I paid August rent; I pay with check so I got proof.
2. The rent amount is incorrect. I like in rent stabilized apartment and have been paying at least $100 more than letter states, which makes me think that landlord might be overcharging me more than city allows.


I did not pay for July because of a bad leak; in fact same leak has been going on for a while. It was leaking so badly without anyone coming to fix it that every 2 hours I had to empty the bucket, a big bucket as well as half the ceiling clappsed in bathroom. We finally called the City after 2 days of landlord ignoring us and hour later landlord came yelling at my wife. 2 days later leak stopped, a week later the hole was patched up, 2 months later my bathroom has not been repainted. This is why I didn’t pay July.

Now he is sending people over to look at the apartment. A couple came this morning and another one in afternoon, the second couple started yelling at my wife for not letting them in.

Any advice, I need to keep this place long enough till I fully transfer jobs to PA and buy or rent something there.

[Harlem resident]

Given that you have not had the wherewithal to research this on the numerous sites that exist, and/or with one of the numerous organizations that exist to help tenants, your chances of making out well in the end here are slim to none.

Did you even do a search on this site ?
Such things have been gone over exhaustively.

[rlrl]

you cannot just fail to pay because of the leak. if you are in a RS stabilized bldg, you send a letter to the landlord certified mail stating that you have a leak and to pls repair. wait about 10 days if the landlord does not respond send a copy of the letter and a copy of the mailing receipt to DHCR along with a request for a rent reduction for a decrease in services. DHCR will determine when your rent will be reduced

just pay the July rent. and keep a copy of the July check when you go to court. explain to the judge what your're telling us

you can inquire about the rent amount with DHCR if youre rent stabilized

[TeamHobbes]

It is very hard to evict a tenant in NYC. The courts always side with the tenant, so don't panic and don't let the bully you. Keep a log of everything that is happening. Call a lawyer or a tenant advocate.

[BBMW]

Did you get and miss the court date? If yes, you're probably screwed. If not, you can go to court, you can present your evidence to the judge. Be ready to pay the missed rent, which the judge will give you the opportunity to do. If you do, the judge will likely dismiss the case. He may even give your a reduction based on the leak, but don't count it.

You can also work this out with the LL any time before you go to court.