NYC Tenant Lawyer Blog

If You Can't Sublet, then Assign

Let’s say you get a terrific job opportunity that requires you to move. You’re in the midst of a lease, whether rent-stabilized or unregulated. The circumstances are such that you cannot sublet your apartment – there may be legal or practical reasons for this, perhaps both. Are you stuck? Not necessarily. You can ask your landlord to permit you to assign your rights in the lease to another tenant, of similar financial capacity and credit-worthiness. Under the law, your landlord cannot unreasonably withhold consent to accept the assignment. If he or she does, then you have the right to be released from your lease obligations with 30 days notice of your intent to vacate.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting.

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McAdams Law
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212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

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Be Sure Who You're Dealing With

If you take a sublet, you want to be sure that you are dealing with the prime tenant, and not an imposter or individual who has already sublet the apartment from the person who’s name is actually on the lease. That would make you a secondary subletting tenant at best, which is probably illegal without the landlord’s permission. With a rent-stabilized lease, it also presents the landlord with an opportunity to evict the prime tenant and all subletting tenants, freeing the apartment from regulation. Rent-stabilized leases have strict rules governing subletting, which must be complied with if the regulated status of the tenancy is to stay intact. There’s nothing worse than a nasty surprise when it comes to the roof over your head.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting. Please see more details here.

Click here to see valuable Back Issues , conveniently organized by topic.

McAdams Law
305 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

Attorney Advertising

Copyright 2010 McAdams Law

Roommate Realities People Don't Consider, Then Live to Regret

By law, you are generally entitled to live in an apartment with your immediate family and one roommate. There are a few exceptions, but if you notify your landlord in writing and continue to pay your rent on time, the landlord is unlikely to have a reasonable basis to object. Seems simple enough, but unfortunately, roommate transactions are rarely as uncomplicated as they first may appear to be. Here are several considerations that are frequently overlooked and can fuel disputes:

• If you rent an apartment with roommates, and one of them decides to leave prior to the expiration of the lease, you are entitled to stay. The landlord cannot force the termination of your tenant rights as long as the rent continues to be paid in timely fashion, and you comply with the other terms of the lease.

  Difficulties can arise though if your name isn’t on the lease. While it is easier to escape liability and lawsuits if your name isn’t on it, you also lose control of your right to be there and who lives with you.

• Some landlords don’t like the idea of roommates. If your landlord sues you just for taking in a roommate, you may be able to win under New York State’s “retaliatory eviction” defense and preserve your tenancy. However, this can be a costly option and there’s no guarantee of prevailing in Housing Court. You may end up paying legal fees and will be subject to blacklisting even if you win.

• If the landlord does not offer a renewal lease because he or she objects to your having a roommate, you may have grounds to sue for retaliation in New York State Supreme Court. In Supreme Court, you can force the landlord to renew your lease if you win. Once again though, you’re involved in a lawsuit, with no assurance your legal fees will be reimbursed. However, in the Supreme Court, you avoid blacklisting because unlike Housing Court, it does not sell names of litigants to background checking agencies.

• If anyone moves in with you, and the landlord inquires about it, tell the truth. The law requires you to respond in 30 days to a landlord’s inquiry about a roommate. If you don’t abide by that rule, it may weaken your tenancy rights.

• If all roommates are to be named on the lease, each is responsible for the full rent if one or more of the others don’t pay. That’s because under most leases of this type the named tenants are “jointly and severally” responsible for the rent. So if you don’t think someone has the financial means or stability to cover his or her share, don’t enter into a lease with that person.

• If you’re renting in a co-op or condo, you have the legal right to a roommate, but the landlord or board may establish certain limits. While they cannot simply prevent you from having one, dealing with the board is an extra hurdle to clear.

Having a roommate as a means to reduce your monthly expense may be a seductive proposition, but as you can see, it warrants careful thought before proceeding. It’s far easier to end up with roommate legal trouble than most people imagine.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting. Please see more details here.

Click here to see valuable Back Issues , conveniently organized by topic.

McAdams Law
305 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

Attorney Advertising

Copyright 2010 McAdams Law

Sue Your Landlord for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

If you rent from a landlord who is for all practical purposes a slumlord, and is negligent in failing to make repairs in a willful or wanton way, your lawyer may be able to make a claim for emotional distress. Specifically, the distress must be caused by fear of dangerous conditions in your apartment, in order to be considered valid and permit recovery of punitive damages. Punitive damages are designed to punish for malicious behavior. This isn’t an easy claim to prove, however if your landlord’s conduct is truly egregious, and your apartment conditions are terrible, your lawyer may pursue it and a judge may make a favorable ruling. It helps if you have a history of emotional illness, and can demonstrate deterioration of your condition. For example, if you have more visits to a psychotherapist, or an increase or changes to medication, it helps to substantiate your position. However, it’s not a good idea to try making this kind of claim on your own. Get proper representation.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting. Please see more details here.

Click here to see valuable Back Issues , conveniently organized by topic.

McAdams Law
305 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

Attorney Advertising

Copyright 2010 McAdams Law

The Landlord May Consider Your Guest a Lease Violation

Most landlords will look for any excuse these days to seize a rent-stabilized apartment, so they can deregulate and raise rents to market level. An often-overlooked aspect of most rent-regulated leases concerns others who may be staying in your apartment. In general, unless you are in public housing – and even if your lease says otherwise – New York law allows tenants to live with their entire immediate family, plus at least one roommate who is not related. If you have a guest that stays with you for more than a few days, your landlord may try to use this as grounds to evict you. Let’s say you already have roommates, and one of your friends currently has no permanent living accommodations, so you let the person stay with you until he or she finds a place. Don’t be surprised if you get legal papers from your landlord claiming you are violating your lease because of the extra people living with you. There are defenses in Housing Court to these kinds of proceedings, but you risk blacklisting. Defending yourself in New York State Supreme Court can avoid blacklisting, but can also be more expensive, and you may or may not be able to recover attorneys fees. If you think you could have a problem with your landlord based on your past experience, or that of neighbors, it might be best to explain to prospective guests that you can’t jeopardize your lease, and help them find another place to stay.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting. Please see more details here.

Click here to see valuable Back Issues , conveniently organized by topic.

McAdams Law
305 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

Attorney Advertising

Copyright 2010 McAdams Law

Renew Promptly or You May End Up Regretting It

If your lease is up for renewal and you want to stay, sign and send it back right away. If you wait too long, your landlord can decide whether to consider the lease renewed, or sue to evict you. If your lease is deemed renewed and you want to move out shortly thereafter, you may then be liable for the full amount of the rent over its entire term, even though you’ve vacated.

Alternatively, if you want to stay but did not renew, the landlord can sue to evict you, and to obtain the lease’s full term of increased rent that you should have paid under the renewal. With litigation you always risk eviction, attorneys fees and blacklisting.

If you’re undecided as to whether you’ll continue occupancy, consider having a Tenant’s attorney negotiate a written agreement with your landlord that gives you an early right of termination, with a specific term of notice. For example, perhaps you could vacate on 90 days notice with no additional obligations. Otherwise, procrastination can be an expensive proposition when you’re dealing with a New York City landlord.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting. Please see more details here.

Click here to see valuable Back Issues , conveniently organized by topic.

McAdams Law
305 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

Attorney Advertising

Copyright 2010 McAdams Law

Clutter is Cause for Eviction

What’s a library to you, is a nuisance to the landlord. What you consider a bit of disorganization, the landlord considers a fire hazard…all those newspapers and magazines you have piled up around the apartment. As a general rule, you may not occupy your apartment in a manner that exposes the building or other tenants to danger without risking loss of your tenancy. Hazardous clutter is grounds for eviction. Some people have Collyer’s Syndrome, a condition that generates hoarding behaviors they cannot stop without professional assistance. Sooner or later, the landlord, building super, or a repair person will need access to your unit. If the place looks as if it’s beyond what could simply be considered ordinary sloppiness, you may get a “notice to cure,” followed by a set of eviction papers. If that happens, be prepared to put your stuff in storage quickly, if you want to keep your apartment.

Please Note: Every McAdams Law Tenant Protection Tip and article is for informational purposes only and cannot substitute for legal advice. Before taking action, consult an experienced New York Landlord Tenant attorney about your situation. Beware that being a party in a lawsuit in New York City’s Housing Court can subject you to blacklisting.

Please see more details here. Click here to see valuable Back Issues , conveniently organized by topic.

McAdams Law
305 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
212-406-5145
Fax: (212) 619-0714

Attorney Advertising

Copyright 2010 McAdams Law