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September 27, 2007
RENTERS
Listen my rental appartment the person who originally signed the lease as decided to move.. He subletted a room and the people he subletted to are refusing to move. I the Landlord know nothing about these people except the person on the lease. Can I legally throw them out?and isn't it the person on the lease responsibility. I'm now losing an excellent tennant because of these smoochers.....Any advise would be appreciated...Please nnote my tennant is moving only because the smoochers don't pay rent and he's been paying since April...
Comments
The person who signed the lease is your tenant, and remains responsible for paying rent in accordance with the lease despite his decision to sublet or to move out. The sublessors have no legal right to occupy the apt. Now for the bad news: in order to enforce your rights, you will probably have to go to court. You can sue the tenant for the rent he owes, and you can file a motion to evict the sublessors. You should be aware that if you accept rent from the sublessors, you may be creating a legal tenancy. Therefore, it is in your best interest in the long term to reject any checks you receive from them, and to demand that the tenant pay the rent. Good luck.
Posted by: JH at September 27, 2007 9:54 AM
I understand your ex-tenant is still paying the rent but how can he/she be "excellent" since he subletted it without your knowledge (I think).
If your original lease notes that sublets are allow then it might be a problem. Which I tend to think it didn't say. Plus since the smoochers are not listed on the lease then they are trespassing.
So, you can throw the smoochers out on their ass. But you should get a lawyer.
Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 9:57 AM
"Smootchers"?
You mean they're KISSING in your apartment?
Shocking! Through the bums out:-)
Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 27, 2007 10:11 AM
I am a lawyer. OP, please proceed with caution. A landlord is never entitled to engage in self-help, i.e., putting someone's belongings on the street and changing the locks. Only a marshall can do this, and only pursuant to a court order. If you simply "throw the smoochers out on their ass," as quest has advised, you would be breaking the law.
Posted by: JH at September 27, 2007 10:16 AM
commas are your friend
Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 10:20 AM
How can they have rights to be in the appartment when they never rented from the landlord. They have no right in the building.....They have no lease no rent checks nothing....
Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 12:54 PM
It's a little complicated, I guess. They don't have a legal right to be there, but that has to be determined by the housing court. Once someone is living in the premises, you don't have the right to kick them out without following the proper eviction procedures.
Posted by: JH at September 27, 2007 1:59 PM
i agree with 12:54.
JH
If one day you happen to find strangers in your vacant apartment can't you call the police to throw them out?
Aren't they squaters?
Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 3:19 PM
Wait, aren't you 12:54?
Anyway, yes, as I said, they have no legal right to be there, and the court would certainly find in your favor and evict them. However, you can't just call the police and have them thrown out. Think about it: what if you were my tenant, and I didn't like your taste in music, so I called the police and said, "quest is a squatter, throw him out!" What would the police do? The police can't make this judgment. Only a court can. Do you understand now?
Posted by: JH at September 27, 2007 3:30 PM
Unfortunately, a lot of posters here are not familiar at ALL with the Housing laws of New York State. The people in your house are in no way "strangers" to you. At least it appears that you were not surprised by their existence. Meaning you were aware of the sub-let situation, albeit you didn't approve of it b/4 hand.(or did you). If at any time you accepted $$$ from anyone other than the leassee, you have created a landlord/tenant relationship. You cannot just "kick them out" and change the locks.
"It is illegal to lock a tenant out of an apartment without bringing a proceeding in Housing Court. However, there are special exceptions involving orders of protection and
squatters/licensees who have not lived in the apartment longer than 30 days and from whom you have not accepted any rent. You should consult an attorney before attempting to lock someone out of an apartment. If the landlord locks someone out of an apartment whom you have accepted as a tenant, without coming to Housing Court, there may be liability for TRIPLE the damages the tenant has suffered as a result of the lockout. There may also be liability for damages for wrongfully removing possessions. "
GET AN ATTORNEY and Tread Lightly.
Take it from a Landlord that has "BEEN THERE"
http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/housing/pdfs/Landlordbooklet.pdf
Have a look through this and stop taking advice from folks who don't know.
Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 3:41 PM
Lawyers and courts are a racket. Take the offense, go in take all belongings and throw in plastic bags and change locks.
LET THE SUE YOU, highly unlikely, if they cannot afford rent, they ain't paying for a lawyer.
I have done it before (twice) and never saw those tenants again.
Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 3:59 PM
3:59. You're the definition of "jerk"
If you want to take that risk, you can find yourself in some serious hot water.
3:41 is totally right!
Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 4:05 PM
3:59pm, way to take advantage of people's ignorance and be an absolute jack-a$$.
Posted by: BrooklynZoo at September 27, 2007 4:27 PM
I've listen to all advice and please note the landlord doesn't not live on the premises and as never accepted rent from these people. They never had a lease to live on the premise. There names is not on the lease and this is not low income project or a stabilize rental home. To live in the building you were screened appropriatley and had to have an income and good credit score..... They are going to get thrown out its not a Squatters building...like some one said let them take me to court......
Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 5:10 PM
It is a crime (as in be arrested, go to jail, have to hrie a lawyer, hope youu can plea to a non crime and pay a fine) if you illegally evict someone. If someone has resided in a property longer than 30 days thay have the right to process. They will lose in the end, but you really have to obey the law here. It is not they who will take to court, but the Ditrict Attorney of Kings County. You might want to remind the tenant that s/he will be responsible for the rent until you can re-rent (in Brooklyn you must make efforts to fill the vacancy [not true in Manhattan]) and the continued presence of the subletters in apartment will prevent you from doing so. You might also tell him the danger of being the defendant in a housing court action (many landlords, fairly or unfairly, refuse to rent to those who have had actions filed by them or against them in housing court). BUT NO SELF HELP. Self help can and shoud gets your butt in jail.
Posted by: Putnamdenizen at September 27, 2007 8:40 PM
sounds like a "holdover" proceeding. filed in cases where rent is not the issue but possession of the apartment is the issue. File the paperwork in housing court, 6-10 weeks later you will be in front of a judge. Explain the unauthorized tenancy and have every bit of evidence available, witnesses, leases, photographs, names, dates. The judge should rule in your favor and give these freeloaders a set time to get out. After that order is written, file it with the city marshall and wait. they are unlikely to get an extension due to the nature of their occupancy. the lawyer will cost about two grand, you can do it yourself with help from the pro se attorney available at the housing court as well, but you have to be very smart and detail oriented. You will win in the end but expect to lose a few months of rent and a couple of grand for a lawyer. submit all costs as a loss on next year's taxes.
Posted by: guest at September 27, 2007 10:38 PM
the side note is that your tenant is responsible for all of this, and you can sue him for the money.
If the tenant throws them out and changes the locks, that isnt your problem.
Posted by: slick at September 28, 2007 3:41 AM
Please note that the landlord is not the one throwing them out the tennant is.
Posted by: guest at September 28, 2007 5:05 AM
A dictionary is your friend.
Posted by: guest at September 28, 2007 6:58 AM
Ya know, yeah, yeah, yeah, we all understand the law and why the landlord can't just kick this douche/squatter to the curb, but can somebody here please acknowledge that in this case he SHOULD be able to? Stupid. Git out of my house, loser. I mean, please.
Posted by: Rehab at September 29, 2007 11:13 PM
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