Hello i am wondering if anyone could be of assistance? I have sublet agreement until october 31, 2007. Yesterday when i came home from work there was notice on my door saying that the lease was terminated July 23, 2007 and that there is an august court hearing for the respondents who receive this notice. As the individual who i sublet the apartment for lives in a completely different state and... [more]
Hello i am wondering if anyone could be of assistance? I have sublet agreement until october 31, 2007. Yesterday when i came home from work there was notice on my door saying that the lease was terminated July 23, 2007 and that there is an august court hearing for the respondents who receive this notice.
As the individual who i sublet the apartment for lives in a completely different state and told me my lease is good until October 31, 2007 what rights do I have? I provided a deposit and last months rent to the individual who i sublet from. I have also sent him money orders each month paying rent. I have a written agreement made with him. According to the documents he violated rules of rent stabilization.
I just dont know what to do as I have never received any mail or notices notifying me that the landlord was terminating the lease. Do i appear in court in august or is that the job of the primary tenant? The documents list him as the Tenant-respondent and beneath lists my name, mr jane doe, and mrs. jane doe as under-tenants-respondents.
I'm in complete shock. I don't know what to do. Can someone please advise? I feel as if I have been taken. I cannot reach the tenant who i rented from and he has my last months rent and security deposit.
Thank you for any help
[less]
Response by 411asap
over 18 years ago
Posts: 2
Member since: Jul 2007
I would also like to make a quick note that my name is not on the lease with the landlord. I have a sublease made where I was told the landlord had give given verbal agreement that the sublet was ok. This was mentioned from the tenant who i am renting from.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by zizizi
over 18 years ago
Posts: 371
Member since: Apr 2007
find another place.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by Daniel
over 18 years ago
Posts: 115
Member since: Apr 2007
I'm a little surprised that you don't have a phone number for the guy you're subleasing from (in case of emergencies, etc) but it is what it is. However, you do have an address since you say you've been sending him money orders, right? You should immediately send him the copies of whatever notices you've received so that he can begin to legally defend his (and in the process your) rights as a tenant. The good news for YOU is that court dates can easily be repeatedly postponed for several months. I was in this exact same situation many years ago, and we delayed for NINE months and by that time the sub-lease was up and I moved out. October 31 is just around the corner, and by the time this really goes to court or arbitration, you'll also be long gone. Hopefully, however, the tenant you're renting from desires to keep the main lease, and will foot the legal bill (that was the situation in my case).
Also, you don't have to shell out another penny for rent until you leave as having to put up with this crap was obviously not part of the deal. For example, if you've already paid for August, just let the deposit and last month's cover September and October and be on your merry way. I realize that these notices can look intimidating, but the law is on your side.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by spunky
over 18 years ago
Posts: 1627
Member since: Jan 2007
Wait a minute he told you the lease is good until Oct 31th. What's that all about. Is that in writing or are you just going by his word.What does the original lease with the landlord state.
forget about this legal advice stuff if your time is valuable, find another place and try one with an actual lease this time
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by uptowngal
over 18 years ago
Posts: 631
Member since: Sep 2006
Unfortunately a verbal agreement from the landlord is probably not cutting it, but I agree with Daniel's advice (#4). I belive it should take a while for the landlord to evict you so if you can wait it out till the end of October then don't worry about it. The person from whom you are subletting is the one who has to bear the brunt of this.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by mcfm85a
over 18 years ago
Posts: 72
Member since: Dec 2006
I would call the landlord and explain the situation....and tell them you will co-operate with them kicking out the main lease holder. It would be cheaper for them if you turn apt over to them then in oct(and faster). I would also stop paying rent to the lessee. Generally the landlord will work with you.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by realestatejunkie
over 18 years ago
Posts: 259
Member since: Oct 2006
Pause a moment and take a deep breath...New York law is extremely favorable to tenants, sublease or not.
Sounds like the landlord is trying to establish that this is an illegal sublet but the law is on your side (relating to a reasonable amount of time to find a new place) and you should be able to easily stretch out the proceedings to October, 2007.
Contact a lawyer and get him or her to work out an arrangement for you to stay in the apartment through October, 2007. The landlord knows the law is in your favor and that ANY judge in housing court will grant you a couple months, at a minimum, to find a new place since you found yourself in this situation through no fault of your own. Landlord will want to work out a deal with you because you are, I bet you can avoid going to court altogether.
Find a lawyer who has a specialization in residential landlord tenant law. They should be able to pull this off with a couple hours of work, probably will cost you about $500.
Do a cost benefit analysis and see if spending the time and money is worth it to have the peace of mind that you are safe until October.
Not how I would do it but I bet if you showed up yourself with supporting documentation, sans lawyer, to court the date of the hearing the judge would allow you to stay through October.
Good luck, let us know how it turns out.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by stealth1
over 18 years ago
Posts: 271
Member since: Feb 2007
Stop paying rent - chances are you will not get the security deposit back and won't get credit for your last months rent. The original lessor is probably not paying the landlord or the court action is for an illegal sublet that was not authorized by the original lease. Do not bother with an attorney since you were expecting to leave in October anyway - you probably have at least until then before this works its way through the court system. Further, the landlord has no cause of action aginst you since he has no contract/lease with you. But make sure your frined (the original lessor) gets the legal notice.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by totallyanonymous
over 18 years ago
Posts: 661
Member since: Jul 2007
#11-- Are you an attorney? Clearly not. The LL has no cause of action against an illegal tenant? Of course he does. He can cause the illegal tenant to vacate the apartment. Moreover, the illegal tenant likely has no claim against the landlord. Second, the primary tentant is the original "lessee" not the "lessor". the "lessor" is the landlord, i.e. the one giving the lease.
OP--You will get varied advice off this thing, most of it wrong by people with too much time on their hands. Disclosure: I am an attorney. If I were you, I'd stop paying rent, look for another place to live a.s.a.p. and hope the landlord doesn't go after you for damage to the place, if there is any.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by jsfitz22
over 18 years ago
Posts: 24
Member since: Jan 2007
Rent stabilization laws do permit subletting, so on what grounds are they "claiming" to terminate the lease? Remember - this is just a notice of termination of lease - it is not a court ordered eviction - my questions is: what are the details? Find out then formulate a plan - could be LL just wants the original lessor out (I had the a similar thing happen to me - LL wanted me out so he could turn the place over and charge more rent and get closer to the threshold to destabilize! - I ignored the ordered and nothing happen [that was the advise I got from a RE attorney and we were prepared for other scenarios also]) - your case has it's own particulars, of course - just get all of the facts and do what is best for you with the least amount of hassle/time - that's my advice.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by jsfitz22
over 18 years ago
Posts: 24
Member since: Jan 2007
Correction: should be ..."original lessee out"
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by mcfm85a
over 18 years ago
Posts: 72
Member since: Dec 2006
actually rent stabilization laws allow 2 year sublet for no profit....at least it did when I had lease
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by julia
over 18 years ago
Posts: 2841
Member since: Feb 2007
I sublet my rent stabilized apartment for two years but I did it with the landlord's agreement. You should call the landlord who sent the letter under your door and see if you can work out a deal until your lease is supposed to expire.
I always thought that the landlord must always be informed about subletting. If this wasn't the case that anyone who is renting can allow anyone off the street to sublease his/her apt and that person would be protected.The OP didn't say anything about this being a rent stabilized apt.
If in the lease with the landlord it clearly states that tenant will not assign this agreement without notifying landlord than what are the grounds for protection of the subletter.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by spunky
over 18 years ago
Posts: 1627
Member since: Jan 2007
Secondly, why are there discussions on rent stabilization laws. The OP si not in a rent stabilized apt. It is quite interesting that most are in in defense of the OP on the grounds that all that matters is the fact that the OP is occupying this space so therefore he is protected and entitled to stay in the apt. This is nothing short of squatting in my opinion.
Ignored comment.
Unhide
Response by alanhart
over 18 years ago
Posts: 12397
Member since: Feb 2007
OP specifically states that the (presumably landlord's) document indicates that rent-stabilization regulations are being violated, so those giving advice based on rent-stabilization are correct in doing so. But not necessarily correct in the specifics. Primary tenants have the right to sublet for two years, but certain procedures and conditions must be met. If so, LL can't unreasonably deny approval of the sublet. But it wasn't done that way.
DO NOT contact DHCR for legal advice -- they've become totally anti-tenant in the past decade or so, and will not give accurate info. Met Council (see my post #6) can give you a rough overview; chances are you can feel the situation out with the LL regarding riding it out through October in exchange for cooperating with LL terminating primary tenant's lease. Primary tenant might or might not deserve that termination, legally and ethically. But that's not your problem anyway.
'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
I would also like to make a quick note that my name is not on the lease with the landlord. I have a sublease made where I was told the landlord had give given verbal agreement that the sublet was ok. This was mentioned from the tenant who i am renting from.
find another place.
I'm a little surprised that you don't have a phone number for the guy you're subleasing from (in case of emergencies, etc) but it is what it is. However, you do have an address since you say you've been sending him money orders, right? You should immediately send him the copies of whatever notices you've received so that he can begin to legally defend his (and in the process your) rights as a tenant. The good news for YOU is that court dates can easily be repeatedly postponed for several months. I was in this exact same situation many years ago, and we delayed for NINE months and by that time the sub-lease was up and I moved out. October 31 is just around the corner, and by the time this really goes to court or arbitration, you'll also be long gone. Hopefully, however, the tenant you're renting from desires to keep the main lease, and will foot the legal bill (that was the situation in my case).
Also, you don't have to shell out another penny for rent until you leave as having to put up with this crap was obviously not part of the deal. For example, if you've already paid for August, just let the deposit and last month's cover September and October and be on your merry way. I realize that these notices can look intimidating, but the law is on your side.
Wait a minute he told you the lease is good until Oct 31th. What's that all about. Is that in writing or are you just going by his word.What does the original lease with the landlord state.
Contact http://www.metcouncil.net/contact.htm for initial advice.
forget about this legal advice stuff if your time is valuable, find another place and try one with an actual lease this time
Unfortunately a verbal agreement from the landlord is probably not cutting it, but I agree with Daniel's advice (#4). I belive it should take a while for the landlord to evict you so if you can wait it out till the end of October then don't worry about it. The person from whom you are subletting is the one who has to bear the brunt of this.
I would call the landlord and explain the situation....and tell them you will co-operate with them kicking out the main lease holder. It would be cheaper for them if you turn apt over to them then in oct(and faster). I would also stop paying rent to the lessee. Generally the landlord will work with you.
Pause a moment and take a deep breath...New York law is extremely favorable to tenants, sublease or not.
Sounds like the landlord is trying to establish that this is an illegal sublet but the law is on your side (relating to a reasonable amount of time to find a new place) and you should be able to easily stretch out the proceedings to October, 2007.
Contact a lawyer and get him or her to work out an arrangement for you to stay in the apartment through October, 2007. The landlord knows the law is in your favor and that ANY judge in housing court will grant you a couple months, at a minimum, to find a new place since you found yourself in this situation through no fault of your own. Landlord will want to work out a deal with you because you are, I bet you can avoid going to court altogether.
Find a lawyer who has a specialization in residential landlord tenant law. They should be able to pull this off with a couple hours of work, probably will cost you about $500.
Do a cost benefit analysis and see if spending the time and money is worth it to have the peace of mind that you are safe until October.
Not how I would do it but I bet if you showed up yourself with supporting documentation, sans lawyer, to court the date of the hearing the judge would allow you to stay through October.
Good luck, let us know how it turns out.
Stop paying rent - chances are you will not get the security deposit back and won't get credit for your last months rent. The original lessor is probably not paying the landlord or the court action is for an illegal sublet that was not authorized by the original lease. Do not bother with an attorney since you were expecting to leave in October anyway - you probably have at least until then before this works its way through the court system. Further, the landlord has no cause of action aginst you since he has no contract/lease with you. But make sure your frined (the original lessor) gets the legal notice.
#11-- Are you an attorney? Clearly not. The LL has no cause of action against an illegal tenant? Of course he does. He can cause the illegal tenant to vacate the apartment. Moreover, the illegal tenant likely has no claim against the landlord. Second, the primary tentant is the original "lessee" not the "lessor". the "lessor" is the landlord, i.e. the one giving the lease.
OP--You will get varied advice off this thing, most of it wrong by people with too much time on their hands. Disclosure: I am an attorney. If I were you, I'd stop paying rent, look for another place to live a.s.a.p. and hope the landlord doesn't go after you for damage to the place, if there is any.
Rent stabilization laws do permit subletting, so on what grounds are they "claiming" to terminate the lease? Remember - this is just a notice of termination of lease - it is not a court ordered eviction - my questions is: what are the details? Find out then formulate a plan - could be LL just wants the original lessor out (I had the a similar thing happen to me - LL wanted me out so he could turn the place over and charge more rent and get closer to the threshold to destabilize! - I ignored the ordered and nothing happen [that was the advise I got from a RE attorney and we were prepared for other scenarios also]) - your case has it's own particulars, of course - just get all of the facts and do what is best for you with the least amount of hassle/time - that's my advice.
Correction: should be ..."original lessee out"
actually rent stabilization laws allow 2 year sublet for no profit....at least it did when I had lease
I sublet my rent stabilized apartment for two years but I did it with the landlord's agreement. You should call the landlord who sent the letter under your door and see if you can work out a deal until your lease is supposed to expire.
http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/ora/faqs.htm
http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us/general/contact.htm#ora
contact them.They will let you know what to do.
I always thought that the landlord must always be informed about subletting. If this wasn't the case that anyone who is renting can allow anyone off the street to sublease his/her apt and that person would be protected.The OP didn't say anything about this being a rent stabilized apt.
If in the lease with the landlord it clearly states that tenant will not assign this agreement without notifying landlord than what are the grounds for protection of the subletter.
Secondly, why are there discussions on rent stabilization laws. The OP si not in a rent stabilized apt. It is quite interesting that most are in in defense of the OP on the grounds that all that matters is the fact that the OP is occupying this space so therefore he is protected and entitled to stay in the apt. This is nothing short of squatting in my opinion.
OP specifically states that the (presumably landlord's) document indicates that rent-stabilization regulations are being violated, so those giving advice based on rent-stabilization are correct in doing so. But not necessarily correct in the specifics. Primary tenants have the right to sublet for two years, but certain procedures and conditions must be met. If so, LL can't unreasonably deny approval of the sublet. But it wasn't done that way.
DO NOT contact DHCR for legal advice -- they've become totally anti-tenant in the past decade or so, and will not give accurate info. Met Council (see my post #6) can give you a rough overview; chances are you can feel the situation out with the LL regarding riding it out through October in exchange for cooperating with LL terminating primary tenant's lease. Primary tenant might or might not deserve that termination, legally and ethically. But that's not your problem anyway.