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May 14, 2009
Lease document
We about to rent out the second floor of our two family house. I will need the lease document. Do I need to hire an attorney to draft the document? Is there any standard lease document, which will provide good protection of my interests? I am sort of not buying into "each landlord has different situation so you need to talk to lawyer" kind of approach, but if getting a lawyer is the only way, can anybody recommend one.
BTW, do I need C of O to rent out floor in two family house?
thanks for your attention
Comments
You can get a standard residential lease form at office supply and stationery stores. You can also download state specific forms from websites like USLegalForms.com. You won't need a lawyer.
If you are using your building as a two-family house your CofO should state that.
Posted by: hancockone at May 14, 2009 10:36 PM
thanks for the answers. About CofO - I do not have it at all. Do I need to have C of O in order to legally rent the apartment?
Posted by: bobjohn at May 14, 2009 10:55 PM
Hmmmmm.........not sure about the CofO question. Isn't there some thing about how buildings built before 1900 didn't have one? But your building has to be a legal two family for you to rent one unit. I'm not sure.
Posted by: mopar at May 14, 2009 11:52 PM
You can easily obtain either a Bloomberg or a Real Estate
Board of NY lease. Just ask around. They're fairly standard. And, you can alter it with a rider to suit your particular needs.
The C of O is a different matter. You say that your C of O is for a 2 family house. If that is so, you are fine. It either is, or isn't, a 2 family-- look it up. If it's for a a 1 family home that would be a change in use, and illegal. Not easily changed btw. I'd check THAT with an attn'y. People do rent their homes improperly all of the time. Research your home's status and determine if the risk is worth the gain-- Best of luck to you with this!
Posted by: Brooklander at May 15, 2009 12:12 AM
You can go on line here:
For a few bucks you can download a lease with the names and such inserted.
Posted by: mod squad at May 15, 2009 5:17 AM
Brooklander, thanks for answers.
I do not have CofO because building built in 1911. The DOB page states the following:
Department of Finance Building Classification: B1-2 FAMILY DWELLING
DOB Special Place Name:
DOB Building Remarks:
Landmark Status: Special Status: N/A
Local Law: NO Loft Law: NO
SRO Restricted: NO TA Restricted: NO
UB Restricted: NO
Little 'E' Restricted: N/A Grandfathered Sign: NO
Legal Adult Use: NO City Owned: NO
Additional BINs for Building: NONE
So I assume it is 2 family and I can rent it out.
Please confirm.
Posted by: bobjohn at May 15, 2009 7:44 AM
if the building has been modified at any point, i believe you still would need C of O, no matter when it was built.
Posted by: likes2lurk at May 15, 2009 8:09 AM
If you are worried about renting it out, see a lawyer and don't rely on advice here...such as mine...which is, why are you worried? It's a 2-family.
There's a very small chance that you'll rent to an asshat who finds out that you don't have a legal CO and stops paying rent and it takes you 12 months to evict him while he trashes the place and your insurance company won't cover it since you rented it out illegally and the mortgage company may force you get PMI and raise the interest rate.
Worst case scenario (from the archives).
Posted by: cmu at May 15, 2009 9:06 AM
Did you renovate? If you renovated and filed the job with DOB and DOB signed off without requiring a c/o, you do not need a c/o.
Posted by: slopefarm at May 15, 2009 9:23 AM
You don't need a C of O, Most houses built before the middle of the 19th century unless they've had substantial modifications wouldn't have a C of O anyway. It should be a legal 2 family, however. If you have an attorney it doesn’t hurt to ask about insurance issues, injury, property damage etc. You can get leases at most stationary stores, make sure you do a credit/background check on any perspective tenants, if your tenants have small kids, have window guards/lead paint riders, make sure to have riders in like pets/utilities/rent due/smoke, carbon monoxide detectors etc. at lease signing. Simply make sure everyone’s is on the same page about uses/expectations of: outdoor space, smoking noise, guests, parking, storage etc. Good Luck.
Posted by: Crownlfc at May 22, 2009 11:12 PM
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