NYC Housing Connect Application - When current landlord is my parent? (apartments, lease)

[BeyondtheWrap]

I've been applying to apartments on NYC Housing Connect.


The house where I live now is my family home where I grew up, owned by my mother. However, after my mother moved out several years ago, I began paying all the house's bills myself (though most of them are in my mother's name) and still do.

I figure the correct way to describe this situation on the NYCHC application is to say that I am currently renting, and list my mother's name as the landlord, and to list the amount of the bills I pay for the house (average per month) as the rent amount.

However, assuming I get called for the interview, how do I prove that my mother is the landlord and demonstrate my rent payment history? In the "After You Apply" PDF ( https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/hpd/down...glish-text.pdf ) it says to have the following for one's current apartment:

- Copy of your current lease, if you rent your own apartment. If you do not have a lease, a notarized letter from your landlord.
- Copies of your last three (3) to twelve (12) rent receipts or cancelled rent checks.
- Copies of your most recent electric and gas bills (in your name and showing your current address).
- Copy of your most recent telephone bill (in your name and showing your current address).
- If you do not rent your own apartment and are currently living with someone else, bring a notarized letter from your housemate along with a copy of their lease and copies of their utility bills.

I'm guessing something like a notarized letter from my mother explaining that she is the owner of the property, that I currently reside there and pay all the bills, listing those bills, and showing how the math works out to equal the rent I stated in my application?

Maybe it's not necessary to prove rent payment. Are the documents requested above only for proof of current address?

Would it be easier just to pretend I pay no rent (since in practice I am not paying money to my mother but to the companies who bill her) and that my mother is letting me live here for free, and to have a notarized letter from my mother saying that, or would that potentially disqualify me?

[macnyc2003]

You will not be disqualified for not paying your mother rent. The agents will be looking at your income, debt load, etc. They don't particularly care what your living situation is now. Some applicants are living in shelters.

Personally I think you should say you don't pay rent. It's simpler that way.

I think your ideas are good. You live with your mother. There really is no landlord. Does your mother own the house outright? She will need to write a letter and have it notarized saying that she owns the house (or that her mortgage payment is x per month) and her utilities are x per month.

I think you should keep it as simple as possible. Give that a try and see what happens.

I assume you're handing in other documents that prove your address, right?

[TeaCupCoffee]

Notarized letter from your mother stating what you give her monthly

And copies of her proof of ownership

[Marshabrady]

Originally Posted by TeaCupCoffee

Notarized letter from your mother stating what you give her monthly

And copies of her proof of ownership

This, exactly what I had to do when I crashed with my mom for a year. Except for the ownership bit, that was not require.

[BeyondtheWrap]

Thanks all for the responses. I do have a document proving my mom is the owner, in addition to bills in her name, and I also have one bill with my name on it to prove my current address.

I guess it would indeed be simpler just to say I pay no rent. Going forward that might be what I’ll do.

Now, on the applications I’ve already done, I’ve indicated that I do pay rent. If one of these applications leads to the interview (which it might since I’m a municipal employee), will I need to show proof of my rent transactions? Will they be looking for them in my bank statements? If they do, that would make it more complicated since the payments are in varying amounts to several payees and using different payment methods in some cases.

[macnyc2003]

No, you will not need to show proof you paid rent, even if you indicated that on your application. That has been my experience. They really don't care about that. They can't look at everyone's overall budgets. They just care about your income and your debt load, meaning credit cards, loans, and student debt. That's looked at closely.

[parasoliloquy]

I applied to a lottery where you had to submit past six months of bank statements and proof of paying the last six months rent (and if your current living situation did not involve a lease, it recommended getting a notarized letter from whoever was the roommate/holder of lease). Not sure how much that varies from case to case, but it seems like the notarized letter is the way to go.