Tenant's Deposit
I just bought a house and I am renting out two apts. One apt is now occupied. The other apt is not occupied because the lady who signed the lease told one day before she was supposed to move in that she will not have the rent for another two to three weeks into the…
I just bought a house and I am renting out two apts. One apt is now occupied. The other apt is not occupied because the lady who signed the lease told one day before she was supposed to move in that she will not have the rent for another two to three weeks into the month. I told her that it would not be acceptable and that if she is having trouble paying the rent this early in the game, then may be this is not a good fit. I would need to find another tenant. She gave a deposit the day she signed about three weeks before the move in date. After she signed the lease, i turned down four people who wanted the apt. I told her she may get the full deposit if I get a new tenant before the end of the month. If not I have no choice but to keep the whole deposit. Is that legally right?
why don’t landlords actually read what the laws are in their state before they rent their places? i’ve never been a landlord, but even i know that you can write anything you want in a lease agreement, but that doesn’t mean it adheres to the laws, or will hold-up in court. just because you own a building that you’re collecting rent for, doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.
i’m experiencing a situation now, where i have been asked to vacate by 10/1 due to my landlords fear of a ruined carpet because my kitty had a pee accident–that i cleaned, covered with rug to deter her, and which she doesn’t do anymore. after emails back and forth, with her combative attitude towards me, i said that i would leave by 11/1. i’m relocating to NY, am unemployed, and my friend has an apt. that i can rent, which is being renovated and not ready until 11/1. i told her all this. but, a letter from her atty. still showed-up on my doorstep for me to vacate by 10/1. guess what? i’m not leaving until 11/1, because the law says i can. I’VE been reasonable, not her. i’ve ALWAYS paid my rent on time, and even she said i was a good tenant. so, she’ll have to file a summons & complaint to begin eviction. i’ll be gone way before a judge gives me a date to vacate. so, if she chooses this route after i tell her i can’t leave until end of oct., so be it.
also, this is a basement apt of her home. she never wanted a lease, but i insisted. she never collected a deposit either. it’s very possible the apt. is not up to code. i already know that the town only recognizes it as a single dwelling, so very likely she is not paying taxes on the rental income, nor increased property taxes. i may have an inpsector come in, just so he can look at the carpet to say it’s not destroyed. in her rants, she said she’ll ‘probably’ have to put in a whole new carpet, after i told her the area affected is 9sf. she’s never seen the area of the carpet i’m referring to.
i write this because i feel that i am an excellent example of a very good tenant, who has always paid rent on time, despite unemployment, and have respected the property of who i rent from. so, when i move to NY, if still unemployed, i probably won’t be able to rent a place despite having a savings and very good credit. i agree to go with your instinct. you cannot get a good view of a person by what’s on paper–credit, employment, etc.
Love the comments deriding the judges in NYC Housing Court for doing their job – enforcing the law. The decisions may not be landlord friendly but anyone who has a problem with the decisions they render in favor of tenants has a problem with the lawmakers not the judges.
johny no doubt, but why dont you as an experienced landlord speak up when the clueless newbies are spewing stupidity
And some of us are experienced landlords that just think tenants have rights.
Ironballs many of the landlords on this blog are new and have no clue. One idiot has a lease with a rider that allows extra rent for 1 additional person. When i told them it was not legal they said it was legal becouse it was in the rider :). They think there rider trumps NYstate laws!
Denton is right: you have a binding contract which both you and the tenant are required to honor. Also, have to echo Johnny in asking whether you ran a credit check. It sounds like you only collected a deposit, and not first and last month plus security. Is that the case? Is her deposit a full month’s rent? In a certain way,
it speaks in favor of your tenant that she was in contact with you and delayed moving in because of her financial situation. Your best option now is that the not-yet-moved-in tenant will agree to have her deposit returned in exchange for a written agreement, signed by both parties, declaring the lease null and void. Otherwise, you could be on the verge of a complicated and expensive non-payment proceeding: http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/housing/pdfs/Landlordbooklet.pdf
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/courts/nyc/housing/nonpayment.shtml
If you’re new to homeownership, it might be better to start by using a realtor for initial rentals. If renting yourself, find out where and how to run a credit check, and what other fundamental questions to ask a potential tenant. There are many online sources for this information. This is one link, though I’m sure there are others which are better: http://www.nolo.com/resource.cfm/catID/5F6E6230-A8FA-41AA-887CA22C004F6C4D/213/178/187/
Because city services (i.e. shelters) are already inundated, right IronBalls?
***Bid half off peak comps***
Anybody who doesn’t think NYC Housing Court judges bend over backwards to enforce “tenant rights” over “landlord rights” has never been to NYC Housing Court.
In other places, it’s cut and dry — you don’t pay the rent, you get evicted. Here, the judges force landlords to accept multiple drawn out “payment plans” before eviction is even considered.
Not to mention, tenants are given multiple chances if they don’t even show up in court, and they can delay for months and months by claiming their apartment has code violations.
poor woman 🙁 having a hard time making the rent and now she loses her security deposit. it’s tough out there, cut her some slack and find a new tenant. give her the deposit back and bake her some chocolate chip cookies for the emotional duress you caused her.
*rob*