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I am freaking out because I rented an illegal bedroom and didn't know it and now I'm worried I'm facing legal issues.
I have rented my duplex apartment in Brooklyn for over 17 years and a few years back, I converted one of the bedrooms into a bedroom and a window less office.
A friend of mine wanted to use it short term but ended up living for almost a year. When he complained it was too hot or too cold, I gave him a space heater and also told him to stay in the common room next to the back yard if he was too hot in the summer.
He ended up owing me a lot of rent and when I started pressing him for it, he started talking about the room being illegal and i charged too much etc etc.
He left the premises but says he is talking to lawyers now who will contact my landlord (who doesn't know he was renting the room.)
My question is, can I get into financial or legal trouble over this? if so, is there anything I can do avert it?
If he agreed to stay in the room without the window, does that make him liable at all???
He’s probably trying to scare you into getting off his back on the back rent. It serves him no purpose to waste money on a lawyer. He owes you money, not the other way around. Also, what proof does he have that he was living there? Was there a written lease? If not, he has nothing to stand on, and neither do you as far as getting him to pay up.
Also, I wouldn’t sweat it. The worst you will get is probably a fine, but even that is unlikely with how lax NYC government is nowadays.
As long as he is OUT, you are home free. Had he stayed on without paying rent, you might be stuck with him forever.
I think you might have to kiss the "rent" he owes you goodbye, I hope it wasn't too much.
You cannot sue him for it because you don't have "clean hands." You cannot collect rent on an illegal dwelling.
Maybe you should stop being such a slumlord charging overpriced rents for illegal rooms. They are illegal for a reason; it's miserable to live out of a room without reasons. Then you have the audacity to go after this guy for "unpaid rent" you were BREAKING THE LAW. Hopefully he does go to a lawyer, and you get hard prison time for this
Maybe you should stop being such a slumlord charging overpriced rents for illegal rooms. They are illegal for a reason; it's miserable to live out of a room without reasons. Then you have the audacity to go after this guy for "unpaid rent" you were BREAKING THE LAW. Hopefully he does go to a lawyer, and you get hard prison time for this
About a 9 on the Taking things overboard scale Boogey, don't you think?
Lets keep the over the top reactions contained to just the PR refugee topics...
eh hence why now no one wants to do anyone any favors. some friend you got.
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