Question on renting in NYC

[jflores]

Well to be honest with you i just moved last year and we never signed any lease, we been there 26 years and of course rent has gone up, but I guess the problem is my old man has been paying 750 for the last 3-5 years and now they want him to pay $800 the last three months he is there until they kick him out. Which doesnt really make any sense. Since I can remember as long as we been there, there has never been a lease to sign.

[ontheroad]

It's not really as relevant that he doesn't have a lease, as I believe he has occupancy rights and inasmuch as that occupancy has been over a period of more than 26 years, a strong leg to stand on.

Is your father able to make some calls and see how he can best seek some legal assistance on his status.

Also, please do not allow him to pay one penny more than the original rent because by paying an increase he is "unintentionally" agreeing to a different renting status. In other words, by sending the additional 50 dollars, he is by law assenting to the changes in his occupancy status.

Originally Posted by jflores

Well to be honest with you i just moved last year and we never signed any lease, we been there 26 years and of course rent has gone up, but I guess the problem is my old man has been paying 750 for the last 3-5 years and now they want him to pay $800 the last three months he is there until they kick him out. Which doesnt really make any sense. Since I can remember as long as we been there, there has never been a lease to sign.

[jflores]

yeah thats why I told him. My older brother went by the house today to speak to the landlord. My dad aint that old just in his mid 50's but he doesnt work due to disability which prevents him from work (car accident but walks just cant do rigorous labor), so his main income is ssi and workers comp. I have informed him to seek out a lawyer or something. If they are looking to sell the house then we should atleast be giving a chance to buy the house as is.

[ElizaTeal]

Without a lease, your dad is renting on a month to month basis. Either party must give 30 days notice in order to end the rental agreement. Landlord can tell tenant he has 30 days to vacate the apartment as he needs to renovate the building and put the house on the market. On the other hand your dad was free to vacate the apartment by giving landlord only 30 days notice.

[ontheroad]

I believe that this is the black&white of it, but then tenancy has more clout than one realizes. I've lived in rent controlled apartments--and did try to understand the rights of the tenant, especially in view of changing law and misconduct on the part of many landlords. However, as this was many years ago, I am loath to quote or repeat information that may be outdated.

Rather than take my word or the word of any of the posters, I'd want legal counsel to sort out the small print!

Originally Posted by zonababe

Without a lease, your dad is renting on a month to month basis. Either party must give 30 days notice in order to end the rental agreement. Landlord can tell tenant he has 30 days to vacate the apartment as he needs to renovate the building and put the house on the market. On the other hand your dad was free to vacate the apartment by giving landlord only 30 days notice.

[Check123]

Which apartments are under Rent Control?

The rent control program applies to residential buildings constructed before February, 1947 in municipalities that have not declared an end to the postwar rental housing emergency. There are 55 municipalities that have rent control, including New York City, Albany, Buffalo, and various cities, towns and villages in Albany, Erie, Nassau, Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Westchester counties.

In order for an apartment to be under rent control the tenant must have been living there continuously since before July 1, 1971. When a rent controlled apartment is vacated in NYC or most ETPA localities, it becomes rent stabilized (where the building contains at least six units), or completely removed from regulation.

Which apartments are under Rent Stabilization?

In New York City, apartments are under rent stabilization if they are in buildings of six or more units built between February 1, 1947, and December 31, 1973. Tenants in buildings built before February 1, 1947, who moved in after June 30, 1971, are also covered by rent stabilization. A third category of rent stabilized apartments covers buildings with three or more apartments constructed or extensively renovated on or after January 1, 1974 with special tax benefits. Generally, those buildings are only subject to stabilization while the tax benefits continue or, in some cases, until the tenant vacates.

What is luxury decontrol?

The Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997, New York City Local Law 4 of 1994 and the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1993 provide for the deregulation of certain apartments based on the following conditions.

Statewide, pursuant to the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997, an apartment with a legal regulated or maximum rent of $2,000 or more per month on or after June 19, 1997, and which was or becomes vacant on or after June 19, 1997, is not subject to rent regulation. Previously, pursuant to the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1993, apartments were exempt from rent regulation, statewide, if they had legal rents of $2,000 or more per month at any time between July 7, 1993 and October 1, 1993 and were or became vacant on or after July 7, 1993. In New York City, Local Law No. 4 of 1994 further provided for deregulation of apartments with legal rents of $2,000 or more per month at any time which were or became vacant on or after April 1, 1994.

These laws also provide for deregulation of high-rent apartments occupied by high-income tenants by order of DHCR in response to the filing of an owner's petition for luxury deregulation.

Pursuant to the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1993 and Local Law No. 4 of 1994, for luxury deregulation petitions filed with DHCR on or before June 30, 1997 involving New York City apartments, deregulation occurs for apartments with legal rents of $2,000 or more per month and which are occupied by tenants whose household incomes were in excess of $250,000 in each of the two successive years prior to the filing of the owner's petition. Pursuant to the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1993, for deregulation petitions filed on or before June 30, 1997 involving apartments located outside New York City, deregulation occurs for apartments with legal rents of $2,000 or more on October 1, 1993 and which are occupied by tenants whose household incomes were in excess of $250,000 in each of the two successive years prior to the filing of the owner's petition.

Pursuant to the Rent Regulation Reform Act of 1997, for deregulation petitions filed with DHCR after January 1, 1998, deregulation will occur statewide for apartments with legal rents of $2,000 or more per month and which are occupied by tenants whose household incomes were in excess of $175,000 in each of the two successive years prior to the filing of the owner's petition.

Source: http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/index.htm

[yodel]

Apartments in two-family houses aren't covered by rent stabilization or rent control laws, and it may be that your dad does not have a lease. That said, it is a long process to evict a tenant, if he continues to pay rent. If your father stops paying, it will be easier for the landlord to evict him. The landlord may agree to pay your father to vacate the apartment rather than go through the court process. There are free lawyers your father can consult with in housing court. (He doesn't have to have an open case to see one of the lawyers.) I agree that he should also see the city agency that deals with this issue, maybe it's the Department of Housing and Community Renewel, but 311 will know.