Surrendering a NYC apartment (sale, lease, lawyer)

[Cityhelicopter]

Hi all. Question on a complicated situation.

The senior citizen tenant next door (rent stabilized ) in the building got sick and moved to an old age home. That was four years ago. The sister lives in Europe and became her guardian and she has numerous trips to clear things out. Things have actually been cleared out and she has written via email to the building management saying that she is out and the apt is back for possession.

The owner proceeds with the sale of the unit with me. After reaching a deal, the owner realizes from his lawyer that no formal letter was signed by the guardian. He then goes to ask for that official signature and now the guardian is somehow not being cooperative.

I want the contract drafted and so does the owner. But the guardian is being such a pain and being in Europe, the situation is very annoying. (The guardian also owes quite a few years of back rent )

Question is : if the owner takes this to court, how long does it take to formally "evict?"
I just can't believe that email alone wasn't enough to prove that she is out!

Any help or insight would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[stormgal]

If a defendant is "no show" in court, I believe the plaintiff automatically wins the case. Being that the guardian seems to be lackadaisical about the whole thing and is in Europe, this scenario seems very likely.

[Cityhelicopter]

Thanks a bunch for the quick reply. The defendant must be there in person and can't have the lawyer represent her in court, right? Thanks again!

[stormgal]

Originally Posted by Cityhelicopter

Thanks a bunch for the quick reply. The defendant must be there in person and can't have the lawyer represent her in court, right? Thanks again!

I think the lawyer can represent her in court, if they come up with a very good reason. I doubt though, that the defendant will want to fight it through though. They'll have to hire a lawyer, not to mention pay back rent whilst making trips back and forth from Europe to NY

[BBMW]

A rent stabilized apartment must be the primary residence of the tenant holding the lease. If the tenant had moved to a nursing home, with no expectation they will return, they can be evicted by a non-primary residence claim.