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Q: I not too long ago moved right into a room in a three-bedroom house in Astoria. Every tenant has a separate lease with the proprietor, and the tenants are accountable for some utilities, with one roommate paying and the others reimbursing them. After I signed my lease, just one bed room was occupied. Earlier than I moved in, the owner moved a tenant from a distinct unit into the third bed room in my house. This roommate is an alcoholic, hasn’t paid lease for no less than six months and has by no means paid utilities; not too long ago, we’ve needed to cowl his share. I’ve requested the owner to serve an eviction discover on this tenant, however she refuses. What rights do I’ve with respect to creating the owner evict the nonpaying roommate?
A: The lease settlement between the owner and the nonpaying tenant includes these two events — so no, you can not insist that the owner evict your roommate on these grounds.
So far as sharing utility prices, does your lease element the varied cost obligations? If not, attempt to resolve it privately together with your problematic roommate. If that fails, you could possibly pursue the matter in small claims court docket, however your success will rely upon the settlement among the many tenants. Did you agree in writing to share the price of utilities? Did you focus on it in particular person, and is there a report of that dialog, or any witnesses?
“Oral agreements are enforceable, however except you could have witnesses, it’s only one phrase towards the opposite,” stated Lawrence Chaifetz, an actual property lawyer in Manhattan.
Within the state of affairs that you’ve got described, you aren’t “roommates” however tenants with separate rental agreements, stated Steven Ben Gordon, a tenant lawyer in Queens. It’s possible you’ll request that your landlord go to housing court docket if one other tenant is interfering with the well being, security, or quiet enjoyment of your unit, in what’s known as a nuisance holdover case. Nonetheless, that course of can take years, and most tenants aren’t keen to go to housing court docket to take part, Mr. Gordon stated.
Furthermore, it sounds as if your house could have been illegally subdivided. The town has a restricted variety of rooming homes, or single-room occupancy models, and the legal guidelines regulating these buildings are completely different. You possibly can test with the Division of Buildings and the Division of Housing Preservation and Improvement to see if yours is a authorized single-room occupancy unit.
If the setup is against the law, you’ll be able to name 311 to report it, however that might result in you shedding your lease, stated Rosalind Black, director of citywide housing at Authorized Companies NYC, which offers free authorized help to low-income New Yorkers.
“Such a violation must be corrected by the owner, ending the unlawful occupancy or legalizing the state of affairs,” Ms. Black stated.
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