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A few months ago, I rented out my whole home to 1 family since I was going to move in with a friend for a while. (a 4 bedroom 1 bath 1st floor and a basement (1 bedroom kitchen and bathroom) which I had no idea was illegal in the first place.) Anyway, I rented it out and for the 1st month everything went smoothly - tenants relatively happy, I got my months rent. After that - not so much. They fell behind on the rent (2 months worth) and couldn't come up with the money and came up with the excuse that they were not happy that the basement had a small leak and wouldn't pay until I fixed it. We agreed that I would drop the rent by $200 if they just mopped it up now and then so i wouldn't have to bother with the renovations and that they would have the backed up rent by next week. SO a week later I come back and they still don't have the rent. This time they say that they want a $500 reduction on the rent or that they will report my illegal basement to the city. I couldnt believe what I was hearing!
I know i really kinda dug myself into a whole on this but does anyone have any advice on what to do. Also whats the fine or penalty for having an illegal basement. And what happens if I just kick them out right now.
Any help would be most appreciated.
Unfortunately, there's always some kind of scam going with people who don't want to pay. I knew people like this. Had you done a background check, you probably would have found that they've been evicted several times from various apartments. Calling the landlord wouldn't have made a difference, because saying something negative about a former tenant (even if true) and it hurts their renting chances could result in a lawsuit.
I'm so sorry this has happened to you. You should have just registered your place with the city and called it a day. Now you WILL have to pay so much in fines and lawyers fees to get these people out of your home. Hopefully, they won't destroy it in the process.
Get a lawyer to evict them. NY state protects the tenant's interests above yours. It's probably going to take around 6 months to evict them.
If your tenant makes a complaint, it cannot be substantiated until an inspector comes into your house and physically sees the illegal apartment conversion. If it was just one of your neighbors that made the complaint, all you had to do was not let the inspector in to your house, but since it's your tenant, they will probably let the inspector in.
This is the reason I decided to go the condo route when purchasing a home, I was afraid of ending up with bad tenants . Hopefully you signed them to a lease, I would think that once they've signed lease, they have to pay you, once they've broken the lease, the court should rule in your favor hopefully, you'll probably end up paying fines however for the illegal apartment.
I agree Marilyn...I suspect the owner did not do their homework. You MUST do a credit check, pay stubs, and eviction history. Is the Tenant constantly paying credit cards late? Maybe defaulted on some, a car loan, etc? The credit report will reveal ALL. I could go on and on about this, but 90% of the time Landlords just care about whomever gets their first and has the money in had as they just want to get the apt rented. When you have that sort of policy you get stuck with deadbeats. Take your time, do your research, and make an informed decision based on QUALITY, not MONEY. I reject anyone who even remotely sounds ghetto, shows up dressed poorly, comes across as agitated, rude, desperate, says the apt is for "just me and my wife" but shows up with kids/grandparents, or anyone that has a government subsidy (i.e. section 8). Words to live by...trust me!
I reject anyone who even remotely sounds ghetto, shows up dressed poorly, comes across as agitated, rude, desperate, says the apt is for "just me and my wife" but shows up with kids/grandparents, or anyone that has a government subsidy (i.e. section 8). Words to live by...trust me!
Sobro...you're the man! EVERY SINGLE LANDLORD SHOULD LISTEN TO THIS MAN'S ADVISE. Landlords, TAKE YOUR TIME!!!!!! Screen and personally meet the lease holder and all occupants! This is exactly what I do. I ask to meet every single occupant that will be living in the apartment. if any of the potential occupants come off as being GHETTO then I REJECT them.
I prefer to have an apartment VACANT for 3-4 month because I COULDN'T find a decent, working and quiet tenant than to rent it out the 1st month to a loud mouth, section 8, ghetto fabalous, unemployeed tenant thats on PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, sells or uses drugs, Moderator cut: urinates in hallways and vandalizes property with graffiti which will ultimately become a nuisance and problem to the building and neighborhood because they have nothing else better to do with their lives. I can spot them from a mile away...lol
Last edited by Green Irish Eyes; 01-12-2009 at 02:18 PM..
Yes I agree Better Bronx. As Landlords are now actually caring about the buildigns and communities, things are changing. The ghetto stranglehold/welfare deadbeats are finally being broken and change is happening. If it is happening in Mott Haven, I can only imagine the changes happening across the city...it is long overdue, as this subculture has outlived its time.
Yes I agree Better Bronx. As Landlords are now actually caring about the buildigns and communities, things are changing. The ghetto stranglehold/welfare deadbeats are finally being broken and change is happening. If it is happening in Mott Haven, I can only imagine the changes happening across the city...it is long overdue, as this subculture has outlived its time.
Yes, and keep in mind rent stabilized landlords that once a tenant signs that lease and later turns out to be a difficult and ghetto tenant but pays the rent, YOU ARE SO SCREWED!!!!!!
With the way the rent stabilization laws are, it is close to IMPOSSIBLE to evict that ghetto tenant. SO DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND INTERVIEW THEM FACE TO FACE BEFORE YOU ACCEPT THEM INTO YOUR BUILDING!
GET A FEEL FOR THE PERSON AND DETERMINE THEIR CHARACTER.
nobody is addressing that fact that the OP might have rented out an illegal apartment anyway. Does the house have a Certificate of Occupancy? The Certificate of Occupancy states its legal use. If it doesn't say something to the effect of "Class A apartment" in the basement, then you're screwed, and you will have to file what is called an ejectment case in civil court. The tenants will get evicted, but in the end you're not going to get back arrears from an illegal apartment, and eventually you will lose the illegal apartment because I believe the marshals come and lock it up so it can't be accessed.
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! 
. Hopefully you signed them to a lease, I would think that once they've signed lease, they have to pay you, once they've broken the lease, the court should rule in your favor hopefully, you'll probably end up paying fines however for the illegal apartment.
