Do I inherit my father's burden that comes with the house (New York: apartment, city hall)

[theresa70]

Hi Everyone,

I just inherited my father's 2 family house and he was renting out the basement which was illegal. now that the house is mine I don't want the illegal tenants there. now in all due respect to the tenants, they did not know that is was illegal. they showed me the lease they signed years ago, plus my father collected rent from them through FEMA which appartently the landlord has to claim you live there and pay them rent. this would be considered fraud and the FBI investigates this if reported. so it's documented that my father illegally collected rent for these tenants from the federal govt. for this property that I inherited from him, does this effect me? will I pay back what is owed? will I get fined (hope not)?
PS. I just want the illegal tenants out so I can avoid such complications, I wasn't expecting this.
thanks

[theresa70]

also what about the IRS, and housing if ti was to be inspected? thanks again

[omigawd]

Your best bet is to get the place legal --- and FAST. Call the city hall in your area and find out what has to be done to make a basement into a legal apartment and get it done.

If you get caught, your father (even though deceased) is going to owe a helluva lot of back taxes, etc that will come out of his estate (meaning you and any other direct family members) will have to pay.

[theresa70]

how fast/slow would it take? would I need the tenant's cooperation on this?
plus since all this was done when it was illegal does it matter anyway? thanks so much

[Viralmd]

It's not as easy as it sounds. The tenant would likely have to leave to put in the appropriate renovations. And it might just be impossible to make appropriate changes if there are insufficient modes and kinds of egress.

Frankly, I think you need to consult an attorney. Because even if you do make modifications, nobody can legally live in the basement until you get a Certificate of Occupancy, which isn't granted until an inspection by the Department of Buildings is done. Which means that NOBODY can be living there!

[anders]

Assuming that you're in NYC: You can find contact and other info on the NYC Buildings Dept site (Department of Buildings )
That site also includes
-- an illegal-conversions fact sheet:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/download..._factsheet.pdf
-- a how-to-correct checklist:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/downloads/pdf/dob_Illegal.pdf (broken link)
-- ... and general Certificate of Occupancy info:
Department of Buildings (http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob/html/certificates/co_factsheet.shtml - broken link)

But you _should_ get legal counsel before doing anything.

[vantastic10]

If I were you I would tell them look I am selling the house..how much time do you need to find another place?...make them an offer($$$)that they can't refuse.

[scatman]

When does the lease end?

[theresa70]

there's no longer a lease. does that matter?
do I have any defense?

[anders]

Originally Posted by theresa70

there's no longer a lease. does that matter?

In general: When a lease expires and tenants stay on, they become month-to-month holdover tenants. If you want them to vacate, you must give them 30 days' legal notice (no reason necessary).

Legal backup:
-- NY Real Property Law § 232-c says that when a tenant “whose term is longer than one month” stays on after the term has expired, the landlord can either evict (via legal proceeding) or accept rent. If landlord accepts rent despite lack of new lease, the holdover tenant becomes an _implied month-to-month_ tenant.
-- NY RPL § 232-a says that “to terminate monthly tenancy or tenancy from month to month in the city of New York,” landlord must give 30 days’ written notice that he-she is terminating and that unless the tenant moves by X day, "the landlord will commence summary proceedings."
-- You must do this via the legal route ... not informally, or via a note that says "please move by X date."
That's because RPL § 232-a also says that notice must be given "in the same manner in which a notice of petition in summary proceedings is now allowed to be served by law."
And if you're in NYC: NYC Admin Code § 26-521 says that if a someone has a lease _or_ has "lawfully occupied the dwelling unit for thirty consecutive days," a landlord can evict only via warrant of eviction -- not by threats, cutting services, or other unpleasantness (though it's pretty obvious that you wouldn't do that!).

But you must see an attorney before doing anything _whatsoever_, since this and your conversion-correction are part of the same "package," and there might be other details involved.