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October 30, 2009
Shifty Landlord or Poor Planning
I have been a renter in Brooklyn for 3 years and am about to move from the deep South Slope further North. My current landlord is presenting a roadblock - I hope someone could offer some advice - this may not be the correct forum, but I am a daily Brownstoner reader so I thought I'd give it a shot. Here is the situation:
I gave one-month notice to move December 1st. I had a one year lease from 2007-08 co-signed with a roommate who moved out in 2008. Since the lease's expiration I have been month-to-month and have had a new roommate. She would like to stay on in the apartment and find someone to take my room.
The landlord's reaction to this was as follows: he wants her to move out of the building at the end of November OR he has offered that she can move to another 2-BR unit in the building provided that she can find someone to sign a lease with her NOVEMBER 1. He wants to renovate our current 2BR and rent it out for more $$ and has had trouble renting the other unit (which is 5th floor walk-up).
Does he have the right to ask her to move - does the fact that she has paid him monthly rent for over a year not constitute as some form of agreement? I am baffled as to why he would act this way especially considering the RE market right now.
Does she have any right to stay? I feel really guilty about potentially getting my roommate evicted.
Comments
Your on a month to month lease. No you don't have a "right" to stay. The LL can give 30 days notice for you to move out just the same way you can give 30 days notice to move out.
If the landlord DIDN'T want you to move out, does he have a right to make you stay?
Posted by: MrHancock at October 29, 2009 10:51 AM
Doesn't sound like the LL is being unreasonable. He has a right to ask her to leave and renovate your existing place. Requiring a co-signer is a reasonable request to limit his credit risk, but if your roommate has the proper financials, she could probably convince him that a co-signer is not necessary. The Nov 1 deadline is a nice try, but that's irrelevant to the overall situation.
Posted by: wyckoff at October 29, 2009 12:50 PM
Market rate month to month rental arrangement, he can give you thirty days to quit or vice versa. Chalk it up to experience. If your roomie wants the 5th floor walk up, she should negotiate for a lower rent.
Posted by: bohuma at October 29, 2009 2:00 PM
He does have to send her a 30-day notice, however.
Posted by: mopar at October 29, 2009 4:11 PM
that might be a gray area as to whether the ll has to serve the roommate with a 30 day notice. it is possible that all the ll has to do is deal with the primary month to month tenant of record whose responsibility it might be to deliver the apartment vacant.
certainly the ll is within his/her rights to offer the other apartment to the roommate, and doesn't have an obligation to either the month to month tenant or the roommate regarding the current apartment other than to provide the apartment on a month to month basis.
imho, never have a month to month arrangement, either as a ll or a tenant. have a lease, make the terms clear and easy to follow.
Posted by: raphael9 at October 29, 2009 6:04 PM
It seems to me that if the leaseholder is vacating, the landlord is within rights to ask for a vacant apartment. If the roommate wants to negotiate with the landlord for the current apartment or the other one, that's her right. But she doesn't have a right to stay in the current apartment absent an agreement with the landlord. The tenant's notice is what is forcing the issue - essentially by giving one-month's notice, you are giving your roommate one-month's notice too.
The roommate is a known quantity for the landlord, and she should be in a good negotiating position. She should deal directly with the landlord, and ask for some time to secure a roommate (in whatever apartment they can agree to). The advantage for the roommate should be that she can negotiate a lease, and no longer be month to month.
Posted by: WBer at October 30, 2009 11:51 AM
Think landlord's approach is probably legal, but still douchey. A tenant that's no bother and pays rent on time deserves to be treated decently.
Posted by: Johnny at October 30, 2009 11:53 AM
If the second tenant has paid rent directly to the landlord, she is technically "on" the lease too.
But it's irrelevant. They have a month-to-month agreement. The landlord can ask them to move at any time, and they can also move at any time.
The landlord is being 100 percent a good guy.
Posted by: mopar at October 30, 2009 12:43 PM
It's legal on a month-to-month agreement.
landlord is required to serve a Notice of Termination with 30 days notice. It would be served to all parties on the rental agreement, plus if he knows what he's doing he'll cover all bases by adding the names of any "Jane Doe" or "John Doe" living in the apartment as well. doesn't matter if you roommate's name is on the agreement or not, the Jane Doe/John Doe thing takes care of that.
to answer your question, "the fact that she has paid him monthly rent for over a year not constitute as some form of agreement? " NO, the apartment is on a month-to-month agreement. in fact, even if there is nothing written on paper as long as the landlord accepts payment each month then it is a month-to-month, even if it's being going on for 10 years.
- I'm a landlord who has gained much painful knowledge from a lawyer and from the trials and tribulations of having to go through 2 evictions due to tenants who were on month-to-month agreements and stopped paying. (I know that isn't your situation, but I just wanted you to know I am familiar with legal issues of month-to-months).
Posted by: roguepetunia at October 30, 2009 12:54 PM
I agree the LL is being a good guy. He didn't choose your roommate, you did. He would now like the opportunity to choose his own tenant, in addition to the opportunity to renovate his apartment. Maybe the timing is very good for him regarding the availability of contractors he knows. Whatever, it's his building and your and your roommate don't have a lease.
Posted by: elizabethJane at October 30, 2009 12:55 PM
Is the building rent regulated (probably, if it is 5 floors). In that case you should look up the rules on the state DHCR site.
Posted by: serpentor at October 30, 2009 1:53 PM
Thanks for all of your comments. I signed my new lease, so I am definitely out of there. The roommate still has two options. 1. Vacate the apartment at the end of the month. or 2. Find a co-signer for the other unit in the building by the end of this month. She may get lucky and get some wiggle room if the landlord does not find anyone to take that unit this month. It's a 5th floor walk-up so that could potentially happen.
mopar - thanks for the "The landlord is being 100 percent a good guy." comment. It gave me a good laugh for the day. Thankfully I'm not posting here to describe some of the other experiences I've had as his tenant.
Posted by: broonuck at October 30, 2009 2:01 PM
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